Brendan Benson's Readymade Studio is tucked away in a non-descript building on Division Street, home to a hodgepodge of odd residents, including a massage parlor and a marriage therapist. It's fitting, really, that there are no flashy signs or tricked-out entrances — the place is hidden in plain sight. Kind of like Benson himself. A solo artist, producer, writer, sometime member of The Raconteurs and label head, he dips his toes into more music industry waters than most — in Nashville or anywhere — but he's remained a bit of an unsung hero. Until now, that is.
"No more Mr. Nice Guy," Benson jokes to the Scene, making himself a cup of tea in the kitchen area of his studio. He sits down on a couch that looks as though it could have been acquired from the set of That '70s Show. Classic framed LPs from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Clash provide a backdrop, and old Oriental rugs cover the floor. "I've never been bothered too much by being popular. I'm really happy with my status, because I can do regular things, go to Home Depot. Some of my friends can't do that, and it would suck."
While he might not get stalked in the lawn care aisle like his buddy and fellow Raconteur Jack White, Benson has been quietly building his own mini-musical empire since 1996, beginning with the release of his solo debut, One Mississippi, to now, with his ever-expanding list of job titles (including producer, engineer, co-writer and more). In the past two years alone, he released two albums (2012's What Kind of World and November's You Were Right), produced records by Cory Chisel and Young Hines, wrote with Jake Bugg, launched his label (Readymade Records) and opened a studio, which he decked out with his personal guitar collection. Oh, he also had a daughter.
"It's a weird time for me, and kind of an identity crisis," Benson says. "I'm going through a metamorphosis. Guys get older, have families, stop touring, get into other things. Will I write another record? I love to produce, I love writing music for film, I'd love to score a movie. And just writing with other people."
At 43, the Detroit native and current Nashvillian seems a little surprised at the varied places his career has taken him — maybe it's a bit different from the life of an on-the-road rock star he imagined, and lived, in his 20s and 30s. But things are good: He has a wife, two children and an ever-increasing reputation as a key collaborator in genres across the board.
"Brendan is not a self-promoter," says Chisel, who released his Benson-produced LP Old Believers via Readymade in 2012. "But if you pay attention, you see how many lines connect to him: from the country world, to Jack White, to the rest of us. And we all love his records. ... So I think this is a good time to celebrate all the stuff that he has going on."
That celebration will be a one-night stand at the Ryman, called Brendan Benson and Friends, which Benson describes as "exciting but also a little daunting." In traditional Benson style, he took what could have been an opportunity to promote his new album alone and turned it into a chance to share the stage with his pals, both household names and baby bands — White, Hines, Chisel, Jessie Baylin, The Animals' Eric Burdon*, Willy Mason, The Howlin' Brothers and more. He's not pocketing the proceeds, either: They're going to the David Lynch Foundation, an organization dedicated to "healing traumatic stress and raising performance in at-risk populations."
"I like the idea of everybody wins," Benson says, resting his tea on a coffee table made to look like a tree stump. "It's cheesy, but you can get a lot accomplished."
Sharing the spotlight might mean you end up unrecognized at Home Depot, but Benson doesn't particularly care. Even his producing style is designed to amplify the recording artist but remain very much in the background. "I don't view myself as having a signature, and I hope I never do," he says.
The jarring thing about Benson — Mr. Nice Guy, maybe — is that on his records, he is clearly anything but. It's this duality that makes his recordings so strong: upbeat, tireless melodies with textured pop construction set to lyrics that examine "macabre, bummer shit." Somehow he can get you happily bopping around and humming the words, "She's trying to poison me," only to pause seconds after to take stock of what exactly just came out of your — and his — mouth.
"I'm a complex guy," Benson says, smiling, before heading back into the depths of Readymade.
* Since the publication of this article, Eric Burdon has canceled his appearance at the Benson and Friends event.
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