Hailing from Santa Rosa, CA, the emo quartet Benton Falls consists of Michael Richardson (vocals, guitar), Gerb (guitar), Vance Gore (bass), and Eli Deering (drums). Influences abound by such '90s emocore trailblazers as Sunny Day Real Estate, Braid, and Jawbox, as Benton Falls fits in perfectly with such second generation emo bands as Get Up Kids and Moneen. The band's first appearance on record was on the compilation The Silence in My Heart: The Emo Diaries Chapter Six on the independent Deep Elm label in July 2001 (with the track "Tell Him"), which was followed up less than a month later by their full-length debut Fighting Starlight (also on Deep Elm). Gerb left the band soon after, so they continued as a trio and toured into 2002. That winter they stepped back into the studio to work on their sophomore effort, Guilt Beats Hate, which arrived in the spring of 2003. ~ Greg Prato