Paws, Pets & Metal is Metal Insider’s ongoing column on bands with pets, discovering who watches them on the road, and more. Get to know more about these metal furbabies. We caught up with Nightwraith’s Benjamin Pitts reveals his pets prefer world musical influences within the works of Steely Dan and Peter Gabriel.
Tell us more about your pet(s) and their names?
I have a black lab named Molly (10) who was the first dog that I properly owned as an adult. I used to take her on weekend backpacking trips with me around CO, she’s probably done about 40 miles of the Colorado Trail with me! I had to stop hiking with her because she tore her ACL playing ball, so we can’t push it too hard anymore. I have another dog named Mara (7) who is a complete mutt. Our vet said we could do a DNA test but it would probably just come back as a little bit of everything! My partner also has a cat named Felipe – who is the overlord of the household. He’s 18 years old but is still in great health! Finally, we have a family of toads that live in our backyard, the Matriarch is named ‘Pickles’. While they are not proper pets, we collect insects for them and provide them with a lush and damp habitat around our back patio.
Have you ever taken your pet on tour?
I have not taken a pet on tour before, it sounds like a lot of extra work. Especially during the live shows since it’s not really cool to keep animals inside of a loud venue. I’ve heard of bands doing this before, but tours are already tricky enough without bringing an animal into the fold.
Who looks after your pet while on the road?
I’m lucky to have an awesome partner who makes sure to not book any trips if I have a tour booked. Without her help, it would probably be a bit more difficult to line up daily dog-sitters because friends and family can only do so much, and kennels get really expensive!
What’s your pet’s favorite song or album?
For albums, probably ‘Gaucho’ by Steely Dan or maybe even ‘Us’ by Peter Gabriel. From what they tell me, Gabriel’s sound on ‘Us’ incorporates a wider array of world music influences and more experimental production techniques – resulting in a more sophisticated and layered album.
How did you introduce your pet to metal?
Whether they like my music or not, they have been exposed to my metal songs constantly. I write and demo all of our material, and they like to hang out with me while I record takes. Unless I’m doing vocals, they don’t enjoy that as much. Sometimes I bring them to our jam space too. They love sniffing all the gear but I don’t bring them around when we are doing any full-volume rehearsals.
What animal charity means most to you?
This is a great question and is something that is very important to me. I’ve been vegan for 20+ years and always do what I can to support animal wellness initiatives. There’s a great organization in Colorado called Broken Shovels which is a sanctuary for homeless, abused, neglected, used, and slaughter-bound animals. Please consider reading more about their efforts and donating if you have the means: https://brokenshovels.com/
