Uncle Bengine and the Restraining Orders - Write Home (2021)

Uncle Bengine and the Restraining Orders began in the winter of 2009 as the solo project of Ben Schlabach. Jason Summer started adding pedal steel to the early live shows and became a fixture in the project for nearly 10 years. The stripped down lo-fi folk songs quickly shifted into an amalgamation of country, punk, garage rock and folk. Walking the line of music that should be played on a porch or in a dimly lit basement. The lineup has changed throughout the years which has allowed the songs to morph and grow along with the band.

In 2010 “They Grow Up So Fast” (cassette) and “Massanetta” (7” lathe) were both released under the name Ben Schlabach. It was in late 2010 that live drums (Nicklaus Combs) were added to the mix and the name Uncle Bengine and the Restraining Orders started to be used on flyers and releases.

The band set out to record their first full length in 2011. “Comes in Nine” (CD) was recorded in the spring and released in November 2011. In December of 2011 they went to their friends basement in Northern Virginia to record their half of the Prison Book Club split (cassette), which was released in April of 2012.

2012 brought another line up change to the Restraining Orders (Todd Yoder on drums) and the addition of Megan Tiller on upright bass. In 2013 the new line up recorded an EP that was later released on “Demos Vol. 1” (cassette). The line up shifted again, and the band spent a few years playing locally once again stripped down and more acoustic.

In 2015, in between drummers, the band begin to record their next full length record. John Hostetter, who played drums on “They Grow Up So Fast” and “Massanetta” sat in on most of the songs, with Schlabach filling in on one and Jess Bergh rounding out the last couple tracks. Bergh also joined the live band on drums when she is able.

Shows continued to happen locally while the record was slowly recorded in various basements, bedrooms, warehouses, and DIY studio spaces. Lineup changes also continued to happen, Jason Summer left the area and Ben Bailey was added on lead guitar. Somewhere during this stretch of time, the world caught on fire, shows stopped happening for a bit and no one left their house.

In 2020 the weird headspace of the pandemic led to the digital release of “Isolation Vacation” later released as a limited edition 8” screen printed lathe in the Fall of 2021. Billed as “Punkle Bengine” this 5 songs EP clock in at just under 8 minutes. There is no country or folk here, just garage punk weirdness.
Most of this recording is Schlabach with Ben Bailey supplying some social distant lead guitar riffs.

Don’t forget the second full length that started being recorded in 2015, it is mixed, mastered, and ready to live amongst your record collection! Locally pressed at Blue Sprocket Pressing in Harrisonburg VA, and out on Funny / Not Funny Records in December 2021.