Belly Up to Arvie Bennett Jr. at Stomping Grounds in Greer

Music has always been a part of Arvie Bennett Jr.'s life, but it hasn't always been his primary focus. As many musicians do, Bennett started singing in his church choir, but he was so preoccupied with sports that music was put on the backburner as Bennett went to Lander to play baseball.

However, Bennett said upon graduation he had nowhere to go with baseball, so after getting a job as a teacher, he started messing around on a guitar and writing his own music. He played solo acoustic shows for around four years before taking to Craigslist to form a band. Bennett and his band will play the one-year anniversary of the opening of Stomping Grounds this weekend and he feels the band works because each member has a mutual goal in mind.

"This band's focus isn't on money or fame or popularity," Bennett said. "We are just in it to be heard."

Bennett knew he needed a full band to open up the possibilities for venues. Finding band mates online might have a negative connotation in some circles, but Bennett said that by luck he found just the right people to back him up. The lineup that will appear at this Stomping Grounds show is the original, Craigslist-assembled group with guitarist Daniel Petty and drummers David Smith and Marvel Carraway who rotate dates based on availability.

According to Bennett, assembling a full band has had the desired effect and more for the band. The band has played festival shows in Fountain Inn and Easley and various shows in North Carolina and Georgia while becoming a regular act at the Mason Jar and Rhythm and Brews in Greer. While Bennett certainly credits the band's work ethic, he feels its flexibility and originality at live shows are what have cemented the band at numerous venues.

"We can play everything and do it well," Bennett said, "but we try our best to allow people to enjoy the mixture of music without offending anyone in the crowd."

Along with covers of tunes by Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, 3 Doors Down, Sublime and Shinedown, Bennett always makes time for his own original music. Bennett completed three albums of original material before forming the band; those originals range from modern rock to country, so he has a great deal of material to pull from at shows.

Bennett wrote "Smile Again" about his wife and "That's Just Me" is an autobiographical exploration of his life. He said audiences are surprised when they hear the wide ranging feel of Bennett's material. He takes this initial confusion as a compliment and as a sign that he is going in the right direction with his art.

"You can't pigeonhole our originals and that's mainly because I write what I feel," Bennett said. "Some songs are intense and some are laid back and I think that's why people are surprised that the same person wrote them."