Bent Fender, a local band that specializes in covers from the 60s and 70s, will return to the Fridays on Vine series this weekend for an encore of its 2013 performance.
The five-year-old band will play rock, blues and country tunes that should be familiar, but that aren’t necessarily the same covers played by every other band.
“We play stuff that was known, but not that was played to death on the radio,” said Kimball Carter, a guitarist and vocalist with the band.
Most members of the five-man act have nearly 40 years of musical experience, Carter said, so many of them grew up with the music of the of the 60s and 70s. But it’s not just nostalgia that draws them to their genre — Carter said he feels the music of that era had an honest quality to it.
“I think music from that time period was more about stories about real life, and about problems and people,” he said. “And I think it has a little more honest quality to it. People didn’t have to look good to do music; they didn’t have to have a show. And that’s kind of what we’re about. We’re just people who love music.”
The band came together organically over the course of several years. Carter joined a group in Salt Lake after he relocated to Erda about eight years ago. While with that group, he met Vince Vargas, a Tooele resident who now plays bass and does vocals for Bent Fender.
Rick Blake began playing guitar and singing for the group after he moved to Tooele from Maine. Then, when the band’s original drummer quit, Carter, Vargas and Blake became an all-Tooele trio. They later picked up another drummer, Salt Lake resident Dave Neira, and most recently brought in Ruddy Stewart of Lake Point on keyboards.
“I think the thing we really like about our band is that there are no real egos involved,” Carter said. “We all respect each other. We just trade off parts based on what works best for the song.”
Though Bent Fender has traveled around to play several shows in the area, Carter said they don’t put too much effort into advertising or locating venues. And while some of the band’s members do play in other musical groups as well, all work various day jobs. Stewart is a diesel mechanic; Neira works in manufacturing; Blake is a facilities coordinator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints; Vargas is a trucker, and Carter himself is a creative director at an ad agency.
But while the band may not play as many shows as others, Bent Fender works to make each one count. Carter said he’s hoping for a big, enthusiastic crowd this weekend, because the band has prepared nearly three hours’ worth of material.
“We’ve got a lot of material and we love playing, so if people are still there, we’ll keep playing,” he said.
Fridays on Vine concerts begin at 7 p.m. in the Tooele City Park at 200 W. Vine Street. Seating is limited, so patrons are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket. Admission is free to the public.