Robb Benson has been a staple in the Seattle music community for 20 years – he has recorded and released 17 albums, played hundreds of shows, worked with world-famous artists – from Death Cab for Cutie to John Roderick to Alice in Chains – and now he is embarking on his first tour, hitting venues in L.A., Oakland, Portland and Eugene with friend and guitarist Rock Tim DiJulio. The Monarch Review had a chance to chitchat with Robb, here’s what we came up with: 

Jake Uitti: A lot has been going on for you lately – KEXP song of the day, new solo album, playing in other bands, record release show, successful Kickstarter campaign, being played in spots all over the country – what’s the most exciting aspect about music for you, at this moment?

Robb Benson: It’s the combination of all of it. Every day something seems to happen. Be it a new gig offer, a great review, airplay, press, it really seems like something new pops up every day. I don’t remember a time when I was getting good ‘music news’ so often.

JU: And you’re about to go on tour, what do you expect to come from that?

RB: I expect a fun musical adventure and hope to open doors. I loved playing in L.A. and in the Bay years ago. It’s just time to get back, and hopefully make west coast touring a habit. Portland and Eugene are also an important piece of that. I hope it’s the start of something.

JU: The start of what, do you think?

RB: I will let life decide exactly what that means. I just want to be out there as much as possible. I want to play as many cities as I can. It’s a next step for me. For years I was too busy raising my kid and working a stable day job. All that has changed (my kid is an adult now, she just turned 18!) and I am trying to expand the music as much as I can. Whatever it turns into, I am ready.

JU: In a way, you’re the bridge to so many aspects of the Seattle music scene: from N.A.F. studios with Lane Staley to playing with bands like Death Cab and John Roderick in the early 2000’s, and now you’re part of a great music community with the likes of Julia Massey, Ryan Devlin, The Jesus Rehab. How do you process all this?

RB: True, there is a fantastic new scene in Seattle, also true I was active with the first two generations you mentioned (Lane, Roderick)… but I have stayed tied to the underground. It’s where the young fresh energy is. I have good friends that mostly tour for a living now and while I am slightly envious of their tours, the thing is if you asked them about The Smoky Brights, or The Hoot Hoots they would say, Who? So in that way I am lucky to know there is a really incredible crop of exciting new groups and they are all very community-based bands, all working together to create great local shows. I think my friend Dominic Cortese (Seattle’s best young drummer, in my opinion) has opened my eyes to most of my favorite local bands today. Knowing him has been a total reintroduction into the new scene.

JU: Can you talk a little bit about your relationship with Rock Tim? He’s one of the best guitarists in the city, by many people’s standards. How do you think you two match together as musicians?

RB: I was hoping you were going to ask about Tim! Tim DiJulio is an icon in the Seattle scene, and a guitarist with all the tools of the best players in the world. It is an honor to have him playing and touring with me. He and I both started in the grunge generation, yet both if us were playing stuff closer to the Stones, or Zeppelin back then. We come from the same kind of place musically, but our journey took years to meet up – better late then never! I would say if my songwriting and vocals are peanut butter, his guitar playing is chocolate. We just add to each other musically in a really cool way. We have both taken twenty-plus years to master our crafts, and when we play together, I think that shows.

JU: Keith to your Mick, Page to your Plant. And yet, you two aren’t known for your orgies or drug use! Congrats! If you had to make an EP of Robb Benson songs, what five tracks would you put on it?

RB: You mean rerelease a “best of” with five songs? Does that include co-written songs? I often turn people’s poetry into songs. If it’s all included, I have been playing some of them as of late: North, Personal Demons, Carnival’e, Detectives, Let Them Eat Cake. I tend to favor the slow, soulful, alt-country ballads. Yet, there are some really cool upbeat indie Rock songs and electronic cuts that could make for a great five-song EP. I have hundreds, probably thousands of songs. Maybe I will do a 15-song best-of album someday!

JU: Can you tell me a bit about your process of writing other people’s poetry into music, what you call “unlocking the poem”?

RB: That’s just it. I sit with a poem I like and find the melody in it. The whole process just flows through me. Not to sound too hippie-dippie, but it’s like channeling the song out of the poem. I may cut a line here and there if I have to, but sometimes it’s exactly as the poem is. I think the writers of the poetry are often shocked as to where I find the chorus and hooks. It changes the emphasis at times. I have done this with about a dozen poets now (including you, Jake!). It’s a total blast for me, and often my favorite way to write songs.

JU: What do you think the first thing you’ll do when you get back from tour will be?

RB: I don’t know, man. It’s going to be a long drive back. Tim is flying back from L.A., so it’s all me driving home! I bet the first to greet me at the door will be my Boston French Bulldogs. They will need some attention for sure! Then I have to get ready for another trip! I’m playing Germany in September for a private event.

JU: The world must know: what are Boston French Bulldogs and how did you get them?

RB: Yes! They’re a combination of a French bulldog and a Boston terrier. Great little dogs. I never had dogs until I saw this cross breed in a pet store. I knew instantly that I wanted one. I didn’t get mine in a pet store, though. My wife and I found a breeder in Oregon and bought them that way. They are five years old now. And sometimes their jangly collars make it onto my demos!

Robb Benson and Tim DiJulio will be playing:

Aug 7th @ The Ash Street Saloon (Portland)
Aug 7th on KZME FM, interview at 11 AM (Portland)
Aug 8th @ Sam Bonds Garage (Eugene)
Aug 9th @ The Awaken Cafe (Oakland)
Aug 10th @ Hotel Cafe (L.A.)
For more information, check here.