Benicia’s British invasion a father-son affair
Andy, Ruben Brunt in triple-decker band
Colin Frissell, a character in the star-studded 2003 film, “Love, Actually,” said it best.
“American girls would seriously dig me with my cute British accent.”
Andy Brunt couldn’t agree more. Though he’s far too humble to presume his accent is “cute,” Brunt said that, yes, his London roots were undoubtedly beneficial when he ran lead for a British-owned business in Benicia in the 1990s.
“It opened doors, I have to say. When I was setting up the business, it sure made it easier to get in places,” Brunt said. “When I set up a meeting to talk about my company, it seemed much easier here than in the U.K. I was thinking, ‘Could it be my natural charm or does it have to do with my accent?'”
Brunt, 58, not only parlayed that “cute British accent” into business success, he found it quite handy when fronting a band that features British Invasion music. And not just one band, but three: The main group, “Uncommonwealth,” includes Vallejo’s Kevin Karr on bass, Vallejo guitarist Doug Marcos, and Vallejo native and Benicia resident Jon Leon Guerrero on drums. On keyboards is Brunt’s 23-year-old son, Ruben.
A second, more acoustic band, “Ladbrooke Groove,” includes all of the above sans Guerrero. And a third group — they’ll be a test on all this later — includes the Brunts and Karr and also goes by “Ladbrooke
Groove.”
Years past the days of trying to impress record executives and flirty groupies, Andy Brunt is enjoying stage time presenting everything from the Psychedelic Furs to The Cure, the Rolling Stones, and, of course, The Beatles.
“It’s totally different now,” said Brunt, minutes before taking the stage at Bambino’s restaurant last weekend in downtown Vallejo.
Back in London days, “we used to troll the record companies … EMI … Virgin … with a cassette tape in hand,” Brunt said grinning, recalling showcases at 1 or 2 in the morning in central London “and not going home until 6 or 7 in the morning.”
He was guitarist and back-up vocalist at the time for “Cause and Effect,” which “had a reasonable amount of success,” Brunt said. “We played some great venues. We did tours.”
The difference now? “This is more fun because it isn’t so serious,” said Brunt, with his talented son and Karr sitting close by.
The elder Brunt has final say on the tunes. After all, “it’s my project,” he said. “I do, obviously, listen to everybody else. I have to suit my style and suit my voice. I like to sing songs I feel comfortable with. There will be songs that will fit almost immediately. Others, you’ll try and they just don’t click.”
Yes, both Brunts nodded, the father-son relationship flourishes because of the mutual love of music and, generally, of the same bands.
“Ruben and I have this understanding between us, which is important as a musician,” the elder Brunt said.
It’s easier these days to have a musician-to-musician relationship, Ruben noted.
“It’s different now because I’m in my 20s,” he said. “It’s not as if I’m a young kid.”
Poppa Brunt said he has nothing against bands from the states.
“We love playing American songs,” he said. “But we wanted to have an identity. When people see ‘Uncommonwealth,’ they know what they’re going to hear.”
Andy Brunt was 27 when he was hired by a British company to set up shop in America, signing a fiveyear contract in 1992. When that expired, he took Vallejo-born Ruben — then a mere 1 — and a 5-year-old daughter back to England where he wanted to raise his kids.
Some 15 years later, Brunt returned to Benicia, establishing a business relationship and friendship with the late Jim Dunlop Sr., the head of Dunlop Manufacturing in Benicia known globally for its guitar accessories.
“I came to Benicia looking for a place to set up my own company and had lunch with Jim,” said
Brunt. “He said, ‘You can do a lot worse than Benicia.’ We settled here and that was it.”
Brunt, obviously, had to leave the band he played with in England “and that was disappointing,” he said. “But I have no regrets.”
After doing time at a high school and college boarding school, Ruben joined his dad in Benicia. His playing is more than appreciated by his dad, praising Ruben for his uncanny ability to identify any note.
“He has perfect pitch,” praised Ruben’s dad. “Tuning a guitar is easy because he can identify notes from the sound and he’s been able to do it since he was 5 or 6.”
When Ruben was 3 “he could identify the steam train whistle from a mile away,” Andy said. “There were three trains, each with different whistles. Ruben knew which one was coming. It was amazing.”
Andy Brunt knows what “Uncommonweath” is facing with Solano County gigs that includes an Aug. 12 date at Lucca’s Beer Garden in downtown Benicia. Back in London, there was this one pub gig he’ll never forget.
“It was this ‘showcase’ gig and we were the only band and it was freezing,” Brunt said. “We were playing in front of a tramp and he was dancing. We’re all looking at each other, ‘He’s enjoying himself, so we might as well carry on.'”
Minutes later, a fight breaks out in the crowd between girls.
“We kept playing,” Brunt said.
Flashback gig No. 2. Brunt turns on a fog machine and strobe and couldn’t turn off either.
“At the end of the song, the pub was filled with dry ice with the strobe going on and the people were like, ‘What the hell was that?’ That was a fun experience. There’s been a lot of them.”
Interview wrapped up, it was time for the Brunts and Karr to take the Bambino’s stage.
“The whole ethos of this project is that we enjoy each other’s company,” Andy Brunt said. “We don’t want egos. Not at this point. We just want to enjoy ourselves and have fun with it.”
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