SongVault Artist Profile

Alternative rocker's turbulent Mid-East experience inspires music of peace

Listening to the rich harmony, clever lyrics and retro-sounds on Andrew Allan Bentley's upcoming There to Hear album, you'd never guess he'd spent years of his life in a part of the world where terrorist suicide bombs and centuries-old ethnic and religious conflicts are commonplace.

Andrew has traveled just about the most round-about path to being a working musician as a person can possibly take. Born and raised in London, England until 19 years old, Andrew moved to Israel around the time of the first Gulf War.

Music has always been a focal point for Andrew, spending his free time singing, making up songs or writing poetry/lyrics. Andrew performed through his teenage years and during college near Tel Aviv, but abandoned his musical pursuits upon entering rabbinical school. He was ordained an Orthodox Rabbi in 1998 while living in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

Andrew moved to Palm Springs, California to work as a Rabbi, but within a short time started playing at clubs around town. Realizing music as his true calling, Andrew broke from Orthodoxy to pursue music full time.

Since 2000, Andrew has worked on various musical projects both live and in the studio. His self produced current release, There to Hear, runs through an 11-song album of intelligently written modern alternative rock with themes of friendship, family, the futility of war and the ups and downs in all of our lives.

Now, instead of missiles falling from above, the only thing appearing out of thin air for Andrew Allan Bentley is musical creativity and nurturing the characters he creates within four-minute tales set to music.