'Lost' music by Sandusky native finally released

SANDUSKY — There's a new chapter in the saga of rock music's most unlikely comeback story."The Mysticism of Sound & Cosmic Language" by the band Hy Maya has finally been released, more than four decades after the music is recorded.The band was led by Sandusky native and 1968 Sandusky High graduate Robert Bensick.Bensick, 67, who now lives in Tampa, Fla., has been getting attention for the last couple of years for music that had been almost forgotten.Hy Maya's musicians, back in 1972. From left, drummer Scott Krauss, multi-instrumentalist Robert Bensick, bassist Albert Dennis, piano player Bob Friedhofer. Bensick and Dennis are from Sandusky. Krauss is from Clyde. In one of rock's strangest stories, Bensick's unreleased "French Pictures in London" album, recorded back in 1975, was finally released in 2016 by the Smog Veil record label. The album's art rock pop songs, reminiscent of David Bowie and Roxy Music, garnered good reviews."The Mysticism of Sound & Cosmic Language," just out from Smog Veil, is even older. The collection of live and rehearsal tracks and studio recordings includes one song recorded in 1973, but all of the other songs date back to 1972.The Dangerous Minds website, which closely covers rock music, debuted two of the songs and described the band in a Nov. 24 article. The band performed sets "mostly consisting of long freeform explorations inspired by Sun Ra Arkestra, Miles Davis, Islands era King Crimson, the Velvet Underground, and Krautrock artists like Tangerine Dream and Cluster," the piece read.The new album is a two-CD set, and there's a strong Sandusky element to the music. The musicians include Bensick, who plays multiple instruments, including flute, guitar, percussion and synthesizers, bassist Albert Dennis, another Sanduskian, and Clyde native Scott Krauss on drums.Dennis, who now lives in Cleveland, said he enjoyed listening to his copy of the new album."It brought back a lot of fond memories," he said. "I was surprised how good the quality of some of the recordings was."Bensick said he also was pleased when he reviewed the music he made more than four decades ago."I tend to like the flute stuff the best," he said.Albert Dennis in 2016. The new album has detailed liner notes by two writers with extensive knowledge of Cleveland's 1970s rock scene, Nick Blakey and Andrew Russ.Both note Hy Maya was an important forerunner to Cleveland's Pere Ubu, which many critics regard as the most important band to emerge from the scene. Blakey wrote while it's conventional wisdom that Pere Ubu evolved from the band Rocket From The Tombs, "it also drew equally — both in terms of membership and musical approach — from Hy Maya."Two Hy Maya members, Krauss and synthesizer player Allen Ravenstine, became members of Pere Ubu. Pere Ubu still tours and performs and includes an Erie County resident, Milan's Robert Wheeler. Wheeler replaced Raventine as the band's keyboard player back in 1994 and also plays with Home and Garden, Krauss' current band.Bensick notes proudly the Hy Maya album is getting airplay. According to a memo to Bensick from Smog Veil, the album is in medium rotation at 24 college rock stations across the U.S. A review at the website The Vinyl District, written by Joseph Neff, said: "The sounds collected here are diverse yet cohesive, surprisingly coherent, and the whole rewards repeated listening."The album has been released as a CD and on vinyl. Bensick said he turned down a suggestion he tour to promote his finally released music but said he agreed to play one concert in Cleveland next year and may take the opportunity to visit Sandusky. A date for the 2018 show hasn't been set, he said.But Bensick says he's focused on the present, not the past. He is working on two new Hy Maya albums, one inspired by Miles Davis and the other with reggae music.The new album also preserves a moment in Sandusky's music history. Six of the tracks were recorded live on July 28, 1972, during the band's performances at The Cellar in downtown Sandusky.The Cellar was located in the basement of the E & K Winery Building, 224 E. Water Street, which occupies a large section of a downtown block. It's owned by the Feick family.Elizabeth "Betsy" (Feick) Wilber, a Sandusky attorney whose law office is housed in the building, explained that in 1972, the Cellar was a beer hall in the basement that featured performances by bands. Eventually, her parents, Ed and Anita Feick, got tired of running it, she said. Another club featuring music, the Underground, also was open in the basement for awhile, Wilber said.Smog Veil Records owner Frank Mauceri, left, with Robert Bensick.Related coverage:• Sandusky native's record album, recorded in 1975, finally released. • Sandusky native's album hailed as the best of the year. • Legendary lost music track features Sandusky musician. • Milan resident lives dual life as underground rocker, Thomas Edison heritage promoter. Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.The cover art for the new Hy Maya album, which was created by the album's main musician, Sandusky native Robert Bensick.