Hi everyone:
It saddens me to bring you the news that Howie Beno, the producer and mixer who was an integral part of Ministry’s “Psalm 69,” passed away on Friday, August 7 in New York City after a brief illness. He was 53.
Howie joined Ministry in 1990 as a programmer at the recommendation of his college friend Jeff “Critter” Newell, whom he met while attending Wheaton Conservatory outside of Chicago. Some of his earliest sessions included “Supernaut”/“Hey Asshole” and the remixes of “Beers, Steers And Queers.” This culminated in his work on “Psalm 69” and the extended remixes for “N.W.O.” and “Just One Fix.” This was at the time when computer-based digital music editing was in its infancy, and Howie’s mastery of a new software called “Sound Tools” (later to become Pro Tools) was instrumental in Ministry’s collage-like production process.
(Editor’s note: Sometime soon I will post the hilarious/terrifying stories he told about these sessions.)
His band Drag, and subsequently 13 mg., were staples of the Chicago machine rock world from 1994-1997. They released three recordings: the “Pilfer” EP, “Trust And Obey” and “Eternacate.”
He subsequently formed a production partnership with Critter, helming albums and remixes for Skatenigs, Monster Voodoo Machine, Skrew, Chemlab, Sister Soleil and others. He relocated to London and subsequently New York, where he produced a range of pop and rock artists ranging from Tom Jones (yes, the Welshman) to Taylor Dane to Blink.
His recent work included scintillating mixes for MOTOR and Black Asteroid (both helmed by Bryan Black of Haloblack and Hellbent). He was also a member of Jared Louche’s Prude project and The Joy Thieves collective.
On a personal note, Howie and I became fast friends over a decade ago and we worked as co-producers in my New York studio for the last four years.
With regards,
Brandt Gassman