DUSTIN BENTALL & THE SMOKES

The Vancouver-born son of Canadian roots rocker Barney Bentall, Dustin Bentall was raised on the music of Neil Young, The Band, Bob Dylan, Tom T. Hall, The Beatles and Steve Earle. On his third release, Orion, Dustin kept what he loved from that music, scratched a new itch to expand and evolved his sound by assembling Ryan Dahle (Limblifter, Age Of Electric) as producer and three soon-to-be-stumbled-upon bi-coastal players that were also in search of a gang. This became a sound that can only be attributed to Dustin Bentall & The Smøkes.

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In the dog days of high summer in 2008, Dustin Bentall set off for the desert town of Ashcroft, British Columbia to record the follow up to his 2007 debut, Streets With No Lights. A year or so before the trip to Ashcroft, Dustin met and started playing with Del Cowsill. Up until then, Dustin’s longtime guitar player Adam Dobres and he had been piecing together different bands for various gigs - always searching for a Heartbreakers or a Crazy Horse. Del’s knack for harmony singing, bass playing and being a complete encyclopedia of music from the 60’s made for the perfect fit. They played for the next year and the sound of The Dustin Bentall Outfit emerged. The accolades that followed both of these two albums took the band across the Trans-Canada Highway down to Nashville, overseas to Denmark, Germany and Ireland, opening shows for Kathleen Edwards, Blue Rodeo, Sam Roberts and Matt Mays along the way. During this time, Dustin also co-wrote songs with Mother Mother’s Ryan Guldemond, Vancouver troubadour Cameron Latimer and Canadian Country Music up and comer Ridley Bent. One of his songs with Ridley “Nine Inch Nails” holds the honors of 2008’s Country Song of the Year with the Independent Music Awards of North America.

Since 2009's Six Shooter, The Dustin Bentall Outfit saw a flow of musicians stepping in and out as The Outfit rolled on. The yearn for a dedicated gang became firmly entrenched in Dustin and Del. Kendel Carson, a rock & roll fiddle player, first played with Dustin in the Grand Cariboo Opry - an ensemble-style live concert organized by Barney Bentall. Having been a part of Victoria’s notorious Outlaw Social with Adam, performed for years with Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing”), played with Elvis Costello, Feist & Ron Sexsmith at the Gemini Awards and now has her own band Belle Starr, the addition of Kendel was natural and her inimitable style mapped out a new sonic landscape for the band. Rich Knox - who plays in Toronto supergroup Dwayne Gretzky and alongside Joshua Cockerill, Molly Rankin and others - came into the fold through a chance gig with Adam who, in turn, introduced Rich to The Dustin Bentall Outfit.

Orion was written by Dustin, Kendel, Ryan Dahle (Limblifter) and Jay Smith - a Cape Breton guitar player with Matt Mays and established solo artist in his own right. Orion signifies the first real “band” recording for Dustin as all The Smøkes members performed on the EP. Stepping out with a new name and fiercly loyal band members - Del Cowsill, Kendel Carson and Rich Knox - Dustin Bentall & The Smøkes have already toured extensively alongside John Prine, JJ Cale, The Arkells and Spirit Of The West, to name a few. They continued to hit the road and the air throughout 2012 while simultaneously working on a new full-length, coming out on Aporia in early 2013.