First Impressions: “I Walked Away From the Firing Squad” by Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee

Singer-songwriter Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee, aka CBVB, has lived a life that could well have been a movie of the week. As a teen, he served as a lookout for pals who heisted car radios, putting his part of the proceeds towards purchasing his first four-track recorder and microphone. Later, he and friends formed Asha Vida, a “space rock” group that was a staple of Detroit’s 1990s music scene, and—as Casimer Pascal—founded the band PAS/CAL, which Pitchfork readers of a certain vintage may remember from the 2000s.

But life is life, right? Marriage, kids, responsibilities—dreams delayed are not necessarily fantasies forsaken. Pitchfork praise, NPR mentions and the like might boost the ego, but they don’t pad one’s wallet. Badynee and family moved to Chi-town, where he worked a 9-to-5 life and pursued his passion in his spare time. The pandemic forced upon him the space he needed to complete ongoing projects, however—and even start new ones.

“I Walked Away From the Firing Squad” is the first salvo from a forthcoming album; he plays piano, bass, guitar, and drums on it, plus arranged the brass. In short. it’s an off-kilter delight that turns a Sergio Leone western into a metaphor for parenthood. Every child looks to their folks as infallible beings only to discover, by their teen years, that they’re decidedly flawed figures worthy of disdain. And parents, well, what can they do? They either stand their ground or slink away, praying that their kid(s) will eventually forgive them for their faults.

There’s more to it than that, of course, but suffice it to say that the song lingers in the ether once the last note reverberates to an end.