New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Shelton native makes music waves
Mike Bednarsky fronts L.A. pop duo Ginkgo Balboa
SHELTON — The new Los Angeles pop duo Ginkgo Balboa will have a familiar sound for those Shelton residents taking a listen.
Shelton native Mike Bednarsky is fronting the indie pop outfit, which released its first single, a dance track titled “The Other Day” in May to internet acclaim. The release earned Ginkgo Balboa about 500 listeners in less than a month and that’s on Spotify alone.
“I’m just blown away each and every day,” said Bednarsky about his musical success.
Since then, Bednarsky and band partner Benjamin Masbaum have been auditioning musicians for live performances — including a drummer who previously toured with Lady Gaga who wishes to keep his name private.
Ginkgo Balboa’s sound can range from buzzy and upbeat to spacey and subdued. They use varying synth sounds, electric guitar and bass, vocal harmonies and Bednarsky’s bluesy timbre as lead singer. Musical pundits have compared the group to electronica stalwarts Tame Impala, Holy Ghost! and Empire of the Sun.
Bednarsky, son of local guitar legend Bruce Bednarsky and brother of singer-songwriter Matt Bednarsky, whose song “You Know You Wanna Let It Go” was featured on CBS’s “The Young and the Restless” in April, said he always felt the pressure of pursuing a career in music.
“The Bednarsky name has held weight in my hometown, creatively, for as long as I’ve been alive,” he said. “And I’ve always known that I could write a good song. It was just a matter of navigating my journey as a writer and performer in a way that worked for me.
“I love Shelton. It has helped to shape who I have become. It is so diverse, so patient ... it is a great arts community. I was really allowed to flex my muscles ... become a better performer,” added Bednarsky.
Bednarsky cites his childhood days in Shelton-based activities, including musical theater performance with Gary and Fran Scarpa’s Youth CONNection, as integral to his professional pursuit of music.
“I also studied voice with Dr. Robert Ford during my time at Shelton High, both in the choir and a cappella capacities, and that has shaped my singing capabilities tremendously,” he said. “I’m proud to be from Shelton, and who
knows, maybe (Ginkgo Balboa) will have the opportunity to perform in Huntington Center someday. I’d love to give back to where it all began.”
During his time at Shelton High School, Bednarsky was praised by his peers as a rapper under the stage name Mox Narsky. After graduating in 2009, he moved to Iowa City, Iowa, to pursue a similar, written medium: poetry.
“I was worried that hiphop was bad for my ego,” said Bednarsky. “I wanted to write and perform alongside peers rather than competitors. Studying poetry, classically, grounded me, and my confidence took on a more nuanced form while I dug deeper into my themes that define my being.”
It was in college that Bednarsky melded his love of words with his skills of creating melodies. He shaped his vocal identity as a bourbon-drinking, philandering, late-night philosopher during his time at Iowa, and developed his first solo album under his real name, a melancholy piano-driven collection titled “That Ashtray.” His newest solo music album, “Misspent Youth,” was released June 19. It presents a number of genres from folk rock and R&B to hip-hop.
His partnership with Masbaum happened after Bednarsky moved to Los Angeles in 2017, when he met Masbaum, a multiinstrumentalist and songwriter from Indianapolis, in 2018.
Masbaum was a former frontman of Lafcadio, a band that was signed by indie rock record label Joyful Noise before disbanding at the start of the 2010s. Masbaum’s mostrecent solo completion, “Field Note Poetry,” became available on streaming services earlier this summer.
Masbaum left the indie music scene for Los Angeles’ diverse rock communities in 2018 and met Bednarsky.
“First, we learned that we had some of the same musical influences. Then we became great friends, jammed together and realized we have different strengths. Ben usually puts the instrumentation together, and then I come in to write the lyrics, and the melody, of what we sing. I zig where he zags, so to speak.”
Per Ginkgo Balboa’s debut official email newsletter entry, which was sent to fans last April, “Ben Masbaum is the quiet genius responsible for the band’s unique sound. Mike Bednarsky is the sultry singer and scribe who gives a face to the name.” The band’s second single, “IDK Your Dog,” hit streaming music services June 12.