Today we’d like to introduce you to David Robinson.
Hi David, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up listening and learning from my dad who would sing and play guitar in church. Eventually we started performing in coffee houses and small parks around the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. When I became interested in learning bluegrass music, my parents would take me to the Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival in Indiana where I attended the instructional camp for several years and had the opportunity see some legends perform such as Ralph Stanley and JD Crowe. As I was graduating high school, I joined up with the bluegrass band “Monroe Crossing” based in Minnesota and started touring full time as a banjo player. I stayed with that group for about eight years playing theaters, cruises and festivals around the US as well as about seven different countries including most of Europe and South Korea. The band even appeared on the Carnegie Hall stage a couple of times playing their own style of Bluegrass music along with a special twelve movement choral piece called the Bluegrass Mass. After stepping away from Monroe Crossing, I dedicated myself to work as a side musician performing with a variety of groups from the region. I wanted to both stretch myself artistically and utilize my skills on the different instruments I’ve learned over the years. Since making this move I’ve been very lucky to stay busy. Of course to make a living in this industry, it often means taking up multiple projects. I can’t say that I’m ever bored. After some time playing fill-in gigs, I became connected with several hard-hitting groups that I now perform with regularly. Most of the time you can find me around town playing with the Roe Family Singers on guitar, The High 48s on mandolin and with Steam Machine on banjo. I’m also a part of a new folk trio called “Said In Stone” formed by myself, fellow session player Rachel Calvert, and the great songwriter Hannah Hendrickson. A big passion of mine is deep cut, early classic country and honky tonk so I front my own band called “The Robinson Roundup” that mostly plays honky tonk dances down at the Eagles Club #34 with some of the best country musicians in the Twin Cities. I appreciate the variety of music that I play and the fact that I get to do it with so many wonderful people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life as a musician is full of change. Changing scenery, changing schedules, changing lifestyles and changing audiences. Everything is always in flux which often can be a good thing. There have been several times when change hasn’t come easy. Going from a life at home to life on the road was a big adjustment, especially when it comes to getting back into the swing of things when you come home. It’s hard to catch up on rest, chores pile up, and spending time with friends becomes difficult since you’re on different schedules. Your friends work during the week and you’re mostly working weekends. If you’re tied to a single band’s schedule, that often means missing out on a lot of things. When the band has a gig, you have to be there for it. You can’t always get a replacement and if you don’t work, there’s a chance the rest of the band won’t as well.
After several years life as a full time musician does get easier. You get into a routine, you learn how to balance your time and how to take care of yourself along the way. You’re able to better predict what the typical year will look like, and so you can plan time with family and friends accordingly. After a while the road life became a comfort. Living out of a bag was simple and convenient. Most days were pretty predictable and somewhat dependable. For a long time that’s how I defined myself and what I do. I was a “Touring Musician.” Your sense of self can get shaken a lot when that suddenly comes to an end.
After leaving Monroe Crossing in 2019 and beginning a career as a side musician, I did some tours with a couple of bands including Julian Davis and the Situation and then March of 2020 hit and it was the beginning of the Pandemic. Within a week, all the work I had on my calendar for the year was canceled or postponed. I had no idea what the future looked like or when things would continue again. Besides worrying about how I was going to pay the rent, I had pretty bad withdrawal from being off the road and a hard time adjusting to literally just “staying home”…. Only leaving to go for a quick walk around the neighborhood when there was barely anyone else around.
In the end, I’ve grown to look back on the lockdown somewhat fondly. Like many others, I was forced to slow down and reset. I took the time to reevaluate my career as it was and where I wanted to go next. My wife and I got engaged the day Minnesota shutdown and as a teacher she soon had to go back to work so I was able to support her and help out as much as I could. During this time I started doing more work from home recording for myself and others as well as giving lessons over Zoom. I also began offering my services setting up banjos and mandolins making sure these instruments sound their best and play as easily as possible. As musicians do, we found ways to make these difficult situations better, putting on concerts in isolation to an online audience during the winter and performing outdoors as much as we could during the summer. I will always appreciate those outdoor hangs around the fire, every pod of people evenly spaced apart, visiting with each other and enjoying the fact we were here together in some way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in a few instruments, mostly guitar, mandolin, banjo and dobro. I also sing quite a bit and enjoy picking out harmonies with others. With my skill set and ability to play in a lot of different types of bands, I’ve been called “the musician’s handyman.”
As a musician for hire, my main job is to make whatever band or artist I play with sound better. So most of my job is listening to the band so I can help them achieve the sound they want. In some cases it’s pretty straightforward, like in a traditional bluegrass band where each instrument has a specific job and most of the time you’re listening for when to start and when to stop. In other cases it can be a lot more involved and complicated. Some of the groups I’ve worked with have very nuanced arrangements with specific dynamic changes and intricate chord structures. This involves a lot of thinking on your feet and reacting quickly as the scenario changes throughout the song. When I book a gig sometimes I’m able to prepare and familiarize myself with the material in advance, but a lot of the time I’m asked to show up and see what happens as the songs are called in the air. These shows are pretty fun for me!
Because I grew up playing bluegrass where you mostly learn by ear and not much is written down, I’m used to picking things up on the fly and improvising as I go. If the job is particularly challenging and requires charts to get through the gig then I will, but I always prefer to not read as I play. I like to stay as present as possible in the moment and take in everything that’s happening around me as best I can. I tend to be more imaginative that way and my overall performance improves greatly. The only exception is when I’m in the studio doing recording sessions. Those will usually have a lot more preparation and involves consulting more with the artist about what they want to hear and how my part will work with the other musicians on the session. I’ll also be more inclined to chart out arrangements so there’s a better chance the band will nail it on the first couple of takes.
I do like the artistic process that comes with adapting my musical style to different recording sessions and performances. It’s very satisfying when an artist comes to you with an idea, a general outline, or feeling and asks you to fill out the scenery. There’s a lot of opportunities to collaborate in these spaces and really that’s one of things I love most about the Minnesota music scene. There’s so many artistic circles and several musical communities that intermingle with one another. There is no ONE dominant genre that defines the scene and so all these different bands and artists share the same venues. This leads to a lot of mutual connections and potential collaborations that may not have taken place in another city.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I would like to say what has made me successful is that I play well with others. Making music as part of a band should be an enjoyable experience, which means not only playing well with the band onstage but also being a good hang offstage. You’ll get the first gig because you’re a good musician; you’ll get asked back for being a good person. It goes without saying that we should all be kind, but going the extra mile, making connections, and making sure others feel appreciated is what builds community. I know others have gone out of their way to do the same for me which is why today I spend a lot of time with the Old Time community who gathers for the Monday Night Square Dances at the Eagles Club #34 and the Americana crowd who logs a lot of time throwing down at the 331 Club. Withdrawing from others, gate keeping and insincere comments doesn’t help anyone. Being accessible and open to people is essential to growing the music.
Personally, I also try to treat my business like it is, a business. That means having good service, being organized with information, and following through on commitments when I make them. Overall my business model is first come, first serve. If I make an appointment with you, I’ll do everything I can to keep it. I’ve had to turn down a lot of opportunities to keep commitments I’ve made over the years, but ultimately it’s led to greater things down the road. It can be hard to skirt the line between running a business that I support myself on while maintaining personal relationships that are a big part of what I do. Thankfully, I’m lucky to work with so many people who understand the complexity of my situation and the fact that we’re all just trying to do our best. We don’t want to let each other down.
Pricing:
- Show/Tour/Sessions – Drop me a line and lets chat!
- Lessons – $30 per half hour
- Instrument Setups – $60 per hour of work
Contact Info:
- Website: https://davidrobinsonmusician.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidrobinsonmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidrobinsonmusician/
