Music
Press
“Six-string slinger Mark Robinson’s Quit Your Job - Play Guitar is a soulful tour of American roots music’s hot spots, from the hills of Mississippi to the streets of Memphis to the heart of New Orleans to Chicago’s West and South sides and, of course, the honky-tonks of his Nashville base. And it’s not just his erudite guitar — which speaks a vocabulary of elegant bends, gorgeous tones and stomping riffs — that narrates the journey. Originals like the shadowy blues ‘The Fixer’ and the broken-hearted ‘Try One More Time’ are proof he’s a storyteller who’s found his calling.”
--Ted Drozdowski
Guitarist, Songwriter, "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award-Winning Journalist, Vizz Tone Recording Artist, Scissormen's New CD: Luck in a Hurry
"Adeptly mixing the blues with rock-and-roll and a tint of country, singer-guitarist Mark Robinson shows how American music has evolved in sixty years, drawing upon its real roots. His studio band is tight, his original songs are heartfelt and catchy, and the production is first class. For me, his version ofthe instrumental 'Sleepwalk' alone is worth the price of the CD."
--Randy McNutt
Independent Production and Author of Guitar Towns: A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock and Roll and King Records of Cincinnati
"Mark Robinson ... isn't looking back ... his music spans a much broader spectrum of music than just the Blues or the music that Nashville is traditionally known for. This musician and songwriter is most definitely not a 'one trick pony.' "
--Ken Utterback
Nashville Music Examiner
HOT OFF THE PRESSES! Featured Reviews
"This album was a breath of fresh air in my Blues loving lungs ... Robinson is a master on the guitar ... very Chicago Blues with a modern twist and a little Delta and Southern Soul thrown in for good measure ... This is a great debut release ... the world should be happy that Robinson has not only decided to make music but write some songs and give us a great record to listen to."
--BrokenJukebox.com
To read the full review, click here
"Roots-based blues, Americana, rock ... all Mark Robinson. His musical soul is poured out on the Memphis-inspired ballad 'Try One More Time,' with Johnny Neel on the B-3 and great backup vocals by Vickie Carrico and Tracy Nelson. ... This CD is for blues lovers everywhere."
--Nashville Music Guide
To read the full review, click here
“For years, Mark Robinson has been known in the music biz as a talented and versatile sideman. But on Quit Your Job, he walks out of the shadows and into the spotlight as a leader. Mark comes up with an entertaining collection of heartfelt songs in which the expert backing band cozily fits each tune. With clever songs like the pithy, 'Back Up Plan,' and the yearning of the closing track, 'Try One More Time,' it's evident that Mark belongs in that spotlight; let it shine!”
--Tad Robinson
5-Time Blues Music Award Nominee
Severn Records Recording Artist, New CD: Back in Style
"My old pal from Indiana has completed a musical circle with Quit Your Job-Play Guitar, stepping out of the sideman shadow with a super-kool collection of self-penned, co-written and cover songs that match his musical talents. You can hear the seasoned honesty in his voice and feel the razor's edge of his guitar playing on every track. Nothing overdone or underachieved here -- just plain deep-in-the-groove delivery song after song. Count me in as a fan of this record."
--Bob Cheevers
Austin, Texas, Inbred Records Recording Artist, New CD: Tall Texas Tales
"Quit Your Job - Play Guitar, the aptly titled solo debut release of guitar player/songwriter Mark Robinson, proves that it's never too late to follow your dreams -- a soulful collection of roots/blues."
--Karen Leipziger
KL Productions, "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award-Winning Publicist
ROOTS MUSIC REPORT Top 50 Blues Radio Chart for July 30:
"Quit Your Job - Play Guitar" at #46 - lsited on website--http://quityourjobplayguitar.com/buzz.html
Discography
New CD
"Quit Your Job - Play Guitar" on Blind Chihuahua Records
check it out--go listen:
http://quityourjobplayguitar.com/
For radio stations playing the new CD go to:
http://quityourjobplayguitar.com/Radio.html
CD charted in the top 50 blues CDs at Roots Music Report Aug. 7th 2010
Song "Poor Boy" featured on Blues Deluxe week of August 15th on 105 stations
Featured artist on WEVL 89.9 Memphis Soul Stew show
Featured on The Guitar Show with Andy Ellis
The album has charted recently on:
Full-Time Blues Radio Airplay Top 50
Gil Anthony's Blues Power Top 30
Tennessee Roots Radio Airplay Top 30
Photos
Bio
BIO: "Quit Your Job - Play Guitar" isn't just the title of Mark Robinson's first solo CD -- it's also his life.
Mark Robinson picked up his first guitar at age 13 in his hometown, Bloomington, Indiana. Absorbing everything 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 expand his guitar horizons at Indiana University and its renowned School of Music.
After graduation, 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 began performing and recording with nationally acclaimed acts in the region: 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 allowed him to get his master's degree in education.
In 2004, Mark jumped at the opportunity to move to Music City and be a musician full-time. No guarantees of making a living, but a chance to do what he loves, play guitar. It was the right move. Since moving to Nashville, Mark has performed and/or recorded with Davis Raines, Mike Cullison, Randy Handley, Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros, Tricia Walker, Kent Blazy, Cory Batten, Johnny Neel, Brian Langlinais, Tom Ghent, and Joe Sun, to name a few.
Mark has also focused on songwriting, getting cuts by other Nashville artists, and on producing, with several CDs and demos to his credit. In addition, he now fronts the Mark Robinson Band, performing strong originals and soulful covers. 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 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 Kotke, David Ball, Marty Stuart, and Lonnie Mack. But he's never had more fun or more satisfaction than right now, right here in Nashville.
Quit Your Job - Play Guitar is the work of one guy who did quit his job to play guitar, and who has since been playing, writing, and performing with others in Nashville, sharing the highs and lows of making music for a living.
Everyone whose clock is set to Central Soul Time--keeping the beat in New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, and Nashville--can relate to the music of Mark Robinson.
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