Big Sister PRODUCTIONS
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Marketing and management for the creative community
Like a real big sister, we're nurturing, yes, but also a little bit bossy
Big Sister Productions
Madison, TN
ph: 812-327-5494
sue
MARK ROBINSON
Mark Robinson Voted
'Best Roots/Americana Guitar Player'
in The Alternate Root's 2nd Annual Readers' Choice Awards! More
NEW CD IS OUT click the cover for more info!
More Than Just the Music Will Be Smokin'!
Mark Robinson Showband & Rhythm Revue
Friday, April 22, 6 pm • Music City Smokehouse
[NASHVILLE, TN] The overflow crowd at his Showband's inaugural gig last winter told guitar-slinger-turned-bandleader Mark Robinson that the next time his old-school, '50s-inspired show took the stage, it needed to be at a bigger venue--and he has found it at one of the coolest new live music venues in Nashville: The Music City Smokehouse, just south of downtown at 327 Hermitage Avenue. The covered patio and outdoor smoker make it the perfect site for a special sunset edition of the Mark Robinson Showband & Rhythm Revue starting at 6:00 pm, Friday, April 22.
The Mark Robinson Showband (roster below) will open the gig, featuring rockin' blues and R&B, and then, in true revue fashion, Robinson will bring to the stage a stellar line-up of Rhythm Revue Special Guests:
- Ted Drozdowski and Scissormen. This internationally touring juke blues act brings on the high-energy slide guitar-powered sound of Mississippi Delta and hill country blues. The Scissormen (whom Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone calls "spellbinding") star in the new Robert Mugge film, Big Shoes: Walking and Talking the Blues, which had its premier on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and helped launch the Clarksdale Film Festival. http://Scissormen.com
- Cee Cee James. "The Vocal Volcano," has been kickin' serious blues butt with her chart-topping albums "Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl" and "Seriously Raw." "The most exciting and original act I saw at this year's International Blues Challenge," writes Don Wilcock, editor-in-chief of BluesWax. You'll hear why when she takes (and shakes) the stage! http://CeeCeeJames.com
- Mike Cullison. "Wish I Didn't Like Whiskey" - "Blue Collar Tired" - "Pour Hank on the Pain" - yeah, this honky-tonk bluesman sure can crank out those country blues. Mike's "hard driving rhythms and country sways" (The Alternate Root) keep the dance floor - and the glasses - full. www.ReverbNation.com/MikeCullison
- Blind Willy with Doug Jones. Their debut album, "Willing to Crawl," which features that notorious keyboardist Johnny Neel (Allman Brothers), is tearing up radio and getting great reviews (The Blues Report called the CD "as good as it gets"). Not only that, but "Crawl" was featured on HBO's True Blue and "Sweat" was used in the film The Dukes of Hazzard. http://BlindWilly.com
Nashville guitarist, songwriter, producer, bandleader Mark Robinson has had a pretty good year, too. His first CD, "Quit Your Job - Play Guitar" (Blues Boulevard Records) was named one of the "Best Blues-Rock Albums of 2010" by About.com Blues, selected as the "Best Debut Artist USA 2010" and named one of the "Top 10 Blues Albums of 2010" by The Blues Underground Network. Blues Revue called it "excellent, Maverick deemed it "top quality blues," DownBeat said it revealed "a strong musical intelligence"—and to top it off, Rocky Mountain Slides has just debuted The Mark Robinson Signature Slide.
An old-style R&B show had been a long-time dream for Robinson. He wore out several vinyl albums of Johnny Otis and his famous revue, and when the Blues Brothers saved the convent school by putting on their inspired "One Night Only!" show, the seed of The Showband and Rhythm Revue was firmly planted. This ain't no showcase, this ain't no disco, this ain't no guys in the round ... This is a fast-paced, good-time-will-be-had-by-all evening out. The band and special guests intend for the audience to have as much fun as they will.
And because he's in Music City USA, Robinson's Showband can draw on the cream of Nashville's musical crop. For this show, the band includes:
- PAUL GRIFFITH on drums (John Prine, Sheryl Crow, Todd Snider, B.B. King)
- DANIEL SEYMOUR on bass (David Olney, Tommy Womack, Otis Gibbs)
- BEN GRAVES, harmonica & sax (Kid Rock, James Otto, Rebecca Lynn Howard)
- RANDY HANDLEY, keyboards & vocals (Lee Roy Parnell) and songwriter (Garth Brooks, John Mellencamp)
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THE MARK ROBINSON SHOWBAND & RHYTHM REVUE
Friday, April 22 -- 6:00 pm sunset show
Music City Smokehouse, 327 Hermitage Avenue, Nashville, 615-770-2670
No cover. Inside Bar & Dining Over-21; Outdoor Covered Patio and Dining, All Ages. Specializing in hickory smoked meats, full bar, free parking
ARTIST WEBSITE: Mark Robinson, http://markrobinsonguitar.com/tour__booking/the_showband
PUBLICITY: Sue Havlish, 812-327-5494, sue@bigsisterproductions.com
# # #
MARK ROBINSON'S CD "QUIT YOUR JOB - PLAY GUITAR" has been honored as one of the . . .
Blues-Rock Albums 2010”
“Top 10 Blues Albums 2010”
“Best Debut Artist USA 2010”
“Best Blues Albums 2010”
NEWS FLASH!
Blues Boulevard Records Signs Mark Robinson and Quit Your Job - Play Guitar
Mark Robinson's Back Story
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 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.
So set your alarm clock to Central Soul Time -- keeping the beat in Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans and Nashville -- and wake up to Mark Robinson and Quit Your Job - Play Guitar.
NOW BOOKING Mark Robinson and The Mark Robinson Band and The Mark Robinson Showband & Rhythm Revue. Click here for info. For reviews, downloads, & more, visit:www.MarkRobinsonGuitar.com CONTACT:
Sue Havlish • sue@bigsisterproductions.com • 812-327-5494
Big Sister Productions
Madison, TN
ph: 812-327-5494
sue
