from: the Al Stewart Chronicles (newsletter), Autumn 97, Issue 20
On August 30, 1997, just before the concert in Fairhope, Alabama, I had the chance to
speak briefly with Paul Robinson. This was only the 4th show he and Al have done together and they
are already building a good working rapport. Not content to merely reproduce what Peter White,
Laurence Juber or others have done before him, Paul adds his own definite flair to Al's work. He
will be appearing with Al in Spain and England ... I think you will enjoy his take on Al's
compositions. - Kim
Chronicles: So, how did you and Al get together?
Paul Robinson: Well, I think Al mentioned we had a mutual friend in a music store in San Rafael
called "Bananas at Large"... the guitar player from Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Rik Elswit. Al
had just arrived a short time before in San Rafael and Laurence was beginning to get his hands full,
so Al was beginning to get nervous and decided he needed back up guitar players. He asked Rik who
would be an appropriate choice in the Bay Area and my name came up, so he gave me a shot. I'd been
playing extensively with Dan Hicks for the last
six years. It's acoustic swing oriented so it related to BETWEEN THE WARS. Since that was kind of a
new sound for Al, he needed someone who could play that style. I'd also been playing with the Hot
Club out of San Francisco for the last couple of years (primarily as a rhythm player.)...straight
ahead Django Reinhart music with two rhythm guitars , lead guitar and a violinist in the band.
That was one of the styles he was looking for. Since I covered all those corners, as well as doing
a lot of electric and studio stuff, he gave me a call. I was kind of surprised to hear from him out
of the blue. He asked if I'd be interested in doing a little playing and I didn't take it too
seriously, I thought he was just looking around. The next thing I know he offered me that first gig
- Seattle (thousands of people.) That was my maiden voyage and it was completely nerve wracking but
a lot of fun too. Trial by fire is a good way to test your mettle. That was great. Our next gig
was in San Diego. This is only my fourth gig, so there is still some trepidation ... just a little
nervousness. But that's fine too, because it can translate to excitement and energy.
Chronicles: Had you been very familiar with Al's music before you started working with
him?
Paul Robinson: Of course. I started playing guitar in 1962, so in a way we were influenced
by a lot of the same people. I started playing before the Beatles came out, so I was really just as
much influenced by the folk scene ... Kingston Trio, New Christy Minstrels, Limelighters, Peter Paul
and Mary ... all the pre-Beatles things. Before there was the rock thing there was folk music, and
that was when a lot of guys in the United States started picking up guitars. That certainly set the
stage for when the Beatles came around. Nobody really cops to it too much, but when young men saw
the effect that the Beatles had on the girls watching them, that's when everybody picked up guitars.
It wasn't so much that everyone went "Oh, I love the music so much:, it was "Look at how popular
these guys are". So, admittedly, most of the guys were in it just to be popular. But if you love
it you stick with it, and thirty five years later I'm still hacking away.
Al's music- I wasn't familiar with it until his hits came out in the 1970s, but it was very
likable. I didn't follow it as closely as I do now, but that's good in a way too. I'm coming into
it fresh, without a lot of images already formed or presuppositions. Also, his style has changed a
lot over the years. What you do with two guitars is very different from what is on the albums. I
don't want to bring what Laurence or Peter brought into it. It's good to be fresh to a certain
extent.
Chronicles: Tell us about your work with Dan Hicks.
Paul Robinson: Well, a lot of it's funny and people think of Dan's work as comedic, but
it's got a serious edge to it and when it comes to musical integrity, Dan always hires top notch
players - which is a compliment to me. Just being around those players says a lot , and I'm very
flattered by that. He makes you play from your heart. He is very strict about wanting to hear lines
that are melodic. He doesn't want to hear you just blow over things. He doesn't want to hear fancy
chops as much as strong intent and melodic direction. He's been very good for me in that sense. He
may sound light in a lyrical sense, but it's pretty intense in a musical sense.
Chronicles: Al's had a long series of excellent guitar players working with him. Do you
ever think about the folks that have come before you in the role?
Paul Robinson: I've been on the road with Dan for 6 years now, and Dan's last album was live so
there's been some pretty intense gigs. I'd played in San Francisco for years before that, so you
learn to turn your nervousness into excitement. When it comes time to play you shut your
self-conscious mind off and concentrate on the feat at hand - the music. If you're worrying about
whether your tie is on straight your mind is someplace else. There 's no time for that. You have to
have your heart in the right place to do your best.
Chronicles: I understand you're doing some producing as well right now.
Paul Robinson: Yeah. My wife, Jill Carole, just finished a project. Steve Savage (who records
Robert Cray's stuff) and I have co-produced the album along with Kevin Hayes
(Robert Cray's drummer). I'm playing the guitars and most of the bass. Jill plays keyboards and a
little guitar and she sings. She wrote the songs ... she's a great songwriter. I did most of the
arranging on it. It's an outlet for my rock sensibilities. I grew up playing a lot of rock. After
my folk period I went into a lot of Beatles and Stones and that sort of thing. As soon as Hendrix
came out I copped to it immediately. I heard "Purple Haze" on the radio once, and taught it to my
band that night. My 17th birthday present from my dad, who knew the promoters in Cleveland, was
second row seats in front of Jimi Hendrix. That was the first rock concert I ever went to.
Completely ruined my life. Turned my head around 20 times.
Chronicles: Where did the jazz influences come in?
Paul Robinson: I was a roadie for Weather Report in the 1970s, and they could just sit down
and write straight out of their minds onto the paper without having to pick up their instruments.
That sent me scurrying back to the books. I've run into a lot of good composers, I've studied with
some heavy Eastern music minds, classical Indian type stuff. Also some western African ... Afro
pop/JuJu. So I've been blessed with a really multi-faceted guitar career.
Chronicles: Have you done any writing with Al yet?
Paul Robinson: Yeah, You'll hear one tonight ... a song called "Curtain" which we started
playing . I love pop music. I grew up listening to the radio, so I really like tunes that are
catchy and easy to groove to, but still have nice changes. Al basically hates studio work, you have
to drag him in. But he has tons of ideas and when you start the wheels going he dumps out tons of
material, so we have lots more to do. But we did lay "Curtain" down and have started to pass it
around. I don't think anyone has really chewed on it very hard yet, but we'll see.
