Bryan Benner: Stay Hydrated

Stay Hydrated. It's just good advice.

I grew up in Orlando, Florida where at times it can get hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. As I would leave the house each day my mother would shout «Stay hydrated boo!» and I knew she meant «Be safe, I love you». Now, having lived in Vienna, Austria for nearly 10 years I’ve learned that people say «I love you» in a lot of different ways. As I grow to enjoy and appreciate Austrian culture more fully, I am inspired to reflect on my own upbringing as an American and to celebrate the differences I’ve discovered. That’s what this album is about. Family, self-discovery, and the different ways we learn to say «I love you».

The Stay Hydrated Band

After nearly 15 years of making very simple, acoustic arrangements of my songs I’ve decided to get back to my American roots. The Stay Hydrated album will be recorded with a full band, incorporating influences from rock, funk, soul and grunge artists of the Father and Mother Land. And oh what a band I have found ladies and gentlemen.

Wolfgang Schöbitz (Electric Bass and Producer): Not only will he be laying down the tastiest bass lines of the 20’s, Wolfgang will also be co-piloting this musical ship with me as Producer.

Oskar Kozeluh (Electric Guitar): A fellow international man of mystery, Oskar sings melodies with his guitar as well as any soprano I’ve ever heard. Wait until you hear all the great solos we have planned for the album.

Benjamin Brokke (Piano and Keys): Ben was the only member of the band I didn’t know before we met to rehearse the first time and now I’m starting to feel like he’s our secret weapon. Always in time with great musical ideas, I say «If it’s not Brokke, don’t fix it».

Thomas Toppler (Drums): You’ve never heard the drummer of The Erlkings like this before! With the Stay Hydrated Band, Thomas finally gets a chance to pull out the heavy sticks and lay down some funk.

Florian Spiess (Recording and Mixing): The man behind the desk, Florian will be in charge of making sure we all sound as awesome as possible. We couldn’t be in better hands (or ears!).

More about the Stay Hydrated production

In addition to this killer band, we also have Christoph Zimper working on some string arrangements and Florian Spiess will be putting together the brass section. As you can imagine, this is going to be the biggest production I’ve ever worked on! We already have over 10,000 Euros of funding from the Österreichische Musik Fond, BUT! We only get that money if we can raise the same amount ourselves. So, with your help we’ll make this happen and knock your socks off with the biggest, baddest Bryan Benner album of all time!