Madison, TN 37115
ph: 812-327-8134
BIO (please scroll down for Press Release)
Quit Your Job - Play Guitar isn’t just the title of Mark Robinson’s first solo CD—it’s his life.
Mark picked up his first guitar at age 13 in his hometown, Bloomington, Indiana (where a few years later he had his first professional guitar gig with fellow Hoosier Bobby Helms—of “Jingle Bell Rock” fame). Drawing on musical influences ranging from The Allman Brothers to Charlie Christian, Mark practiced every lick until it was perfect. But he also found his own musical path, part rock, part blues, part jazz—but most definitely Mark Robinson. He continued to play guitar in a variety of local bands while he attended Indiana University and got his degree in audio and video production, with a minor in music from IU's renowned School of Music. Mark got a job at the local television station, directing the morning "Farm Show" and stage managing IU basketball coach Bob Knight's post-game shows.
But music called, so Mark moved to Chicago, where he had a chance to play with some legends of American blues, including Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, and Bo Diddley. When Mark returned to Bloomington, he continued to perform and record with nationally acclaimed acts: singer-songwriter Bill Wilson; Americana artists Carrie Newcomer, Tom Roznowski, and Bob Cheevers; soul-bluesman Tad Robinson (no relation); and rock guitarist Larry Crane (formerly of John Mellencamp’s band). And he had a day gig: video producer at IU. It paid the bills. And it allowed him to earn his Master's in Education, specializing in Instructional Systems Technology. (That and a dollar could get him a cup of coffee.)
In 2004, Mark Robinson was offered an opportunity to move to Music City and be a full-time musician. No guarantees of making a living—but a chance to do what he loved, play guitar, rather than what he had to do to earn a paycheck. It was the right move. In Nashville, Mark has performed and/or recorded with Davis Raines, Mike Cullison, Randy Handley, Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros, Tricia Walker, Kent Blazy, Johnny Neel, Cory Batten, Tom Ghent, Brian Langlinais, Mike Kearns, and many others.
In Nashville, Mark has also focused on songwriting, with cuts by other Nashville artists, and on producing, with a number of CDs and demos to his credit. In addition, he now fronts the Mark Robinson Band—performing strong originals and soulful covers. His performances are inspired by the many great talents he’s worked with over the years. Mark Robinson the sideman has morphed into Mark Robinson the artist.
Mark’s new CD, Quit Your Job - Play Guitar, is raw and soulful--blues-infused, guitar-based roots music. The songs and performances are steeped in Chicago blues, Memphis soul, rock and roll and Americana. The players on the CD are some of the finest musicians in Nashville. And Mark’s songs are as at home on Beale Street as they are on Lower Broad, and as comfortable in Southside Chicago lounges as in the studios of Muscle Shoals.
Over the course of his career Mark has shared the stage with some of the best-known names in music, including The Byrds, Johnny Winter, Steppenwolf, John Mellencamp, Dr. John, Leo Kottke, David Ball, Marty Stuart, and Lonnie Mack. But he’s never had more fun or more satisfaction than right now, right here in Nashville.
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PRESS RELEASE
[Nashville, TN] Nashville guitar slinger-songwriter Mark Robinson launches his first solo CD, Quit Your Job – Play Guitar, on Labor Day 2010. Until now, Mark has been known in musician circles for his guitar gigs with Bob Cheevers, Tad Robinson, Carrie Newcomer, Cory Batten, Davis Raines, and many more. But with the new CD, he steps out as an artist in his own right.
In 2004, after being “one of the best guitar players in Bloomington, Indiana” for many years, Mark decided to take the plunge, quit his video producer job at Indiana University, and go swim with the big fish in Music City. It’s been an adventure.
"For me, Nashville’s been a six-year town," says Mark, referring to the “5-Year Town” status Nashville has for many musicians. "After years working a straight job and playing guitar on the side, I just had to give music a full-time shot. I didn't want to wake up one day, looking retirement in the face, regretting what might have been. So I quit my job and moved here. Now that my CD is out, a project I could only have done in Nashville, well, it's a great feeling. This whole experience has been so worth it, worth every gig where the musicians out-numbered the audience, every near-empty tip jar, every call I didn't get. Because when I look at the incredible players I work with now, the amazing songwriters I write with, and the line-up of some of Nashville's best on the CD, I realize that I am doing what so many musicians only dream of: I make music for a living in Music City. It just doesn't get any better than this."
The nine originals and two covers on the CD are roots-based blues, soul, Americana, rock, R&B—all played to the boogie hilt by Mark Robinson and his "erudite guitar" (in the words of one reviewer)—real get-up-and-move music that's good for your soul.
MARK'S MOVE TO MUSIC CITY -- HOW THE CD HAPPENED
The story of Mark Robinson is the story of this CD. After graduating from Indiana University, Mark moved to Chicago and had the chance to play with some American blues legends. When he returned to his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana to take a job, he continued to perform with acclaimed blues and Americana acts including Tad Robinson, Carrie Newcomer, Tom Roznowski, Bob Cheevers, and the legendary Bill Wilson.
In 2004, Mark quit his job to play guitar in Nashville. It was the right move. In Music City, Mark has played and recorded with Davis Raines, Randy Handley, Walt Wilkins & the Mystiqueros, Tricia
Walker, Kent Blazy, Cory Batten, Johnny Neel, Brian Langlinais, Tom Ghent, and Joe Sun—to name a few. He’s also produced and engineered several CDs for others in his studio.
In addition, as part of his teaching gig, Mark has put together several adult band workshops, giving his guitar students the chance to get up on stage and perform for the first time—fulfilling their dreams, too.
But Mark’s goal was always to put out his own CD.
Living music fulltime not only allowed Mark’s playing to reach new heights, it also resulted in a songwriting explosion, singly and with acclaimed co-writers such as Davis Raines, Randy Handley, and Mike Cullison. Mark wrote songs in all genres, especially Americana and blues—and he continued to stretch artistically. The songs on his first solo CD are blues/country-infused, guitar-based roots music. But though he takes his inspiration from many, Mark Robinson is not an imitator. Every song bears his highly personal musical stamp.
There’s no easy slot in which to file Mark Robinson’s music. You’re listening to the work of an artist who draws from the deepest wells of America’s musical heritage—and manages to serve it up fresh.
Originals such as “Runaway Train” and “The Fixer” are steeped in roots and blues, alt-country comes calling with the catchy “This Old Heart,” and New Orleans spices up “Backup Plan.” But Mark’s musical soul is most exposed on the Memphis soul ballad “Try One More Time” — with Johnny Neel’s haunting B-3 and the testifying background vocals of Vickie Carrico and the legendary Tracy Nelson, it’s a knock-out.
Mark’s personal stamp is also heard clearly on the CD’s two cover songs. “Payday Giveaway,” by the late, great Bill Wilson, is a tribute to this incredible musician with whom Mark played for years. And Mark gives us a soul’s-eye-view of Santo and Johnny’s classic slow-dance instrumental “Sleepwalk.”
Being in Music City meant some of the best musicians in the country could be enlisted for the CD, too, including Dave Roe (from Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam’s bands), Tracy Nelson (Mother Earth), Johnny Neel (The Allman Brothers), Paul Griffith (John Prine), Dennis Taylor (Delbert McClinton, Gatemouth Brown), and many more.
With his alarm clock set to Central Soul Time—keeping the beat in New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, and Nashville—Mark Robinson is set to wake up the whole damn joint with Quit Your Job – Play Guitar.
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Photo by Dave Rust
Photo by Steve Lowry
what I quit my job for
Copyright 2009 Mark Robinson Guitar. All rights reserved.
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Madison, TN 37115
ph: 812-327-8134