Bennett brings his touch to Showcase

Long shots, near misses, and constant rejection make a cocktail that can leave you with a tough hangover. And Jason Bennett makes no bones about it: The music game has beaten him down.

“You’ve got to learn how to take rejection with a smile,” Bennett said. “You expect that, and when something good happens, it’s a pleasant surprise.”

But the surprises have been few and far between. The usual is playing for tips, while being drowned out by the annoying whine of the espresso machine.

The local singer-songwriter has put out five albums in recent years. He’s realistic about his own voice and his stage presence. His dream wasn’t to be a big star but to get his music out there in the hopes that a big star would like one of his songs and turn it into a hit. That hasn’t happened.

“I’ve written somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 songs that are sitting around,” Bennett said.

So, he’s collected his favorite tunes into the forthcoming compilation “17 Souvenirs,” and he says after that he’ll try to turn down the volume on his musical ambitions.

He’ll write less but keep shopping his songs around to bigger names and for use in TV and film. If something good happens, maybe he’ll change his mind.

“I can turn it off if I want to,” Bennett said.

So he says. But it’s hard, this quitting business. A creative addiction has a way of pulling you back in, providing tantalizing bits of hope.

Bennett is excited about Thursday’s gig at the Showcase at Studio Bee, which amounts to a big hug from the local arts community. He thinks the small, quiet venue will suit him. “My style is rough around the edges, very folky,” he said. “The big show, polished and perfect, that definitely ain’t me.”

And then he mentions that if he does another CD, it will be a collection of Bob Dylan covers by local artists. But that’ll be the last one. Right.

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showcase at
studio bee

Headliners: Jason Bennett and jazz guitarist Tom Taylor & The Needlewood Orchestra

When: 6 p.m. Thursday

Where: Studio Bee, on the north end of the Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

Cost: Free, cash bar