Rob Benvie is not an easy dude to figure out. Thrush Hermit, his first band, helped propel an early-'˜90s indie revolution, and on that merit alone he is an earl or a duke of the Canadian rock scene. But since then he has become much more mercenary: he plays in six hundred bands, DJs and writes actual novels too. Free School is a mutation of another band (Presse, WL 265), and we're not quite certain how they relate in style to any of his other projects. There is only one way to find out! Demian did an e-mail interview and found Rob Benvie to be a cool nerd, a young fogey, and a nice guy with a very sarcastic and belligerent streak.

AT FAKE PROM 2005, AMONGST GRADE 9 STUFF LIKE GREEN DAY, THE DJ PLAYED THRUSH HERMIT "FRENCH INHALE", AND ALL THE DRUNK AND HAPPY PEOPLE ATE IT UP. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING PART OF PEOPLE'S TEEN EXPERIENCES, AND ABOUT YOUR SONG STILL RESONATING 12 YEARS LATER?
That's a pretty nice thought. There's a pretty sincere adolescent glee to our first record that I think people remain attached to. When we made that music we, too, were mere youngsters. We were juvenile stage-diving fucking brats.

APART FROM THRUSH HERMIT AND THE DEARS, COULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR OTHER PROJECTS?
After Thrush Hermit I made a couple of solo LPs under the name Tigre Benvie. My tenure in The Dears only lasted a little over a year, and the only impact I might have had on the band was generally negative, as, personality-wise, I am pretty much a complete asshole. Camouflage Nights, which had just been recording and sometimes DJing with my friend Ian McGettigan, has now emerged into a full-throttle six-piece. We've been intermittently playing shows around to mixed reactions, which is the way we like it.

WHO ARE FREE SCHOOL? WHAT/ WHERE/ WHEN/ WHY IS FREE SCHOOL?
Free School the band is me (vox/guitar/keys), Wayne MacPherson (vox/guitar/keys), Sofia Silva (bass/vox), and Matias Silva (drums). Free School was an alternative high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where Wayne and his banger friends would go to buy acid. Apparently you could smoke in the hallways. We are attempting to recapture this Scotian spirit with this band.

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS LIKE, UP ON THAT STAGE? ARE YOU GOING TO "SCHOOL" US?
In performance we have been, until now, generally aloof and withdrawn. At Wavelength on Freedom Day (Sept 11) we will be rambunctious and welcoming. If one would like to be schooled I could probably provide private tutorials.

AS CAMOUFLAGE NIGHTS, YOU ALSO DJ AT PARTIES LIKE SANTA CRUZ. WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT?
It is/was a thing developing from a concept by Tyler Clark Burke, who started this dance night that endeavoured to revive slow-dancing at clubs. So McGetz and I would play horny music like 90s hip hop and current R&B, really obvious unpretentious stuff, then try to get people making out to power ballads by Prince and R. Kelly. Together Ian and I have zero skills as DJs. I don't have the time, patience, or disposable income to develop the skills, crates, whatever those DJ asshole guys call that shit.

EVERYWHERE THESE DAYS, PEOPLE ARE DABBLING IN DIFFERENT PROJECTS. IS THIS THE NEW STYLE?
It probably has something to do with technology. Most of the musicians I know do multiple things, ie paint, make films, whatever. Everyone I know is in some fucking band. It's also easy to avoid having to be sincere by glossing art in excessive conceptualism. Putting up multiple walls and such.

I NOTED YOUR NO SHORTS STANCE IN YOUR MAY '05 WAVELENGTH INTERVIEW. ALL SUMMER I HAVE BEEN WEARING MY PANTS FOLDED UP INTO CAPRIS, OR "SHANTS" IF YOU WILL. THEY'RE COMFORTABLE AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT LOOKING LIKE A GIRL. ARE THESE ACCEPTABLE? AM I RISKING DETENTION?
I do that too, sometimes, ever since I had acupuncture on my ankles and realized how important the health of your ankles can be to your overall bodily comfort. Just be careful. Allow the flesh to breathe, but don't make others breathe in your flesh.

By Demian Carynnyk