The Whiskey Robbers

The Whiskey Robbers perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 15 at the Lincoln County Fair. The band, now in its second year, is composed of Rob Metcalf (guitar/vocals), Kevin Kemper (bass/vocals), Richard Robitaille (drums), and Casey Miller (lead vocals).

Miller recalls, "Rob and I began working at the radio station together at the same time and we soon discovered that we shared the same passion for music. Both of us had been in several bands over the years and wanted to start something fresh and different from what we were hearing and seeing in the local music scene."


An ad in the News-Times for a bassist found Kemper, thus beginning several months of writing and rehearsing in Miller's living room. Still missing a piece of the puzzle, the trio started beating on doors. In the spring of 2005, Richard answered and the Whiskey Robbers were born.

There has been several attempts to classify the Whiskey Robbers and the music they make. So far, all of the usual labels and comparisons haven't quite nailed it. A mix of punk, pop, blues and rock, The Whiskey Robbers continue to blur the lines that try to define what a Northwest rock band should sound like.

The Lincoln County Fair takes place Thursday through Sunday, July 13-16, at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Newport. - Newport News Times

The Whiskey Robbers will perform original rock and roll from 9 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the Sandbar & Grill, located on the Nye Beach turnaround in Newport. For more information, call 265-6032 - Newport News Times

The Whiskey Robbers four-man band will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at Moby Dick's Spirits & Seafood, located in uptown Newport at 448 SW Coast Highway.

The band is comprised of frontman Casey Miller on vocals; Rob Metcalf on guitar, keyboard, and vocals; Kevin Kemper on bass and vocals; and Richard Robitaille on drums. The local rockers perform mostly original tunes including the fan favorite "My Little Barfly," interspersed with the occasional classic rock cover.


Moby Dick's will host a costume contest during the evening, with the first place winner receiving a vacation package, second place receiving $100, and third place winning $50. Participants must be age 21 and over.

The Whiskey Robbers take their name from the infamous Hungarian Attila Ambrus, who fled Romania in 1988 at the age of 21 to escape tyranny and made his way to Hungary - at that time under Soviet control. During his dubious career, Ambrus earned the monikers of "The Gentleman Bandit" for his polite conduct while robbing Budapest's banks and "The Whiskey Robber" for his habit of quaffing shots of Johnnie Walker before heading to "work."

The Hungarian working class embraced Ambrus' antics as heroism against the backdrop of a corrupt government and police force. When Ambrus was finally captured during his 29th robbery, Hungarians celebrated his accomplishments by wearing T-shirts that read "Whiskey Robber 28, Corrupt Cops 1." - Newport News Times