I recently came across a new series of videos on youtube featuring our very own, the one, the only, Steven J Robinson shredding it up in the studio with his fusion band Mr.DanZ. I love watching Steven play. He always seems to be bursting with excitment. Here is a quick taste of him in action. Below the video, I’ve reposted a feature that we ran on Steven back in June of 2010. A lot has changed since then. Maybe we’re due to revisit our Californian friend for another chat soon.
High hopes and hard work are paying off for Steven J. Robinson
Inspiration, determination and a strong will to succeed are key components for any musician hoping to turn their passion into a career. From the get-go, Los Angeles born musician/actor Steven J. Robinson has maintained a high level of discipline, understanding, and enthusiasm while working hard to crave out his own place in a city known as much for its success stories as its broken dreams.
Opportunity came knocking early for this twenty year old musician when a chance meeting on a music social networking forum presented Robinson with an exciting career prospect.
“In February of this year, I was looking for some additional playing opportunities,” said Robinson. “I’ve figured over time that 85% of the game is just submitting yourself, and making yourself available. I was on an online musician’s resource board, and saw an ad requesting a band for an up and coming r&b singer named Goddess. Her myspace page was posted at the bottom of the ad, so I checked it out. I really dug her sound, and image so I went ahead and sent an email with my resume, along with my myspace and youtube information. A few days later, I got a phone call from Goddess herself saying that she received my inquiry and that she would like to have me come in and audition for the band.”
After meeting with the singer and getting a feel for her approach to playing and performing, Robinson was pleased to discover that Goddess’ approach to creating and performing were more or less a musician’s dream come true. Instead of simply filling a role (pardon the pun) Robinson found that his overall input as a musician was not only welcomed but encouraged.
“Now, in most of my experiences playing for artists,” said Robinson, “there was always a barrier between the artist and the band. The band was always in the dark when it came to production and the growth of the artist. We were just hired guns to help in the live performance. Goddess told me over the phone that she wanted to do the exact opposite, and build a strong relationship with her band members. To me, this was a huge plus.”
After a few weeks of scheduling, the musicians involved gathered at Cascade Rehearsal Studios in Hollywood for their initial session together. Despite a few minor set-backs, their first jam was a serious success for this young drummer.
“Unfortunately, due to last minute cancellations, only Goddess, myself, and our current guitar player showed up for the audition,” said Robinson, “but we rocked it anyway. We were asked to learn a few songs she had sent via email, and showcase our swag. Goddess is big on that, along with stage presence. A few days later she called me and said she loved my hunger for the stage, and complimented my playing for such a young age. There were other drummers who inquired, but she decided to give me the role. Plus, we had talked over the phone a lot so our relationship had already started to grow from day one. I think this is something a lot the other musicians aren’t doing. Building a relationship is key.”
Once Robinson’s enthusiastic involvement with this new group became apparent, his role drummer began to explore new and exciting directions. As any musician will tell you, when their opinion is not only appreciated but encouraged, the whole experience of making music takes on a new dimension.
“Over time, I began to conduct the pace of rehearsals, and recommend players for the project,” he said. “Our musical relationship was continuing to grow, and we would talk about everything regarding her project. Every time an instrumentalist or vocalist would inquire about the gig, she’d call me, and we’d check out their online profiles and websites together. At the time, I was already making arrangements of her material purely for fun. I was thinking how cool it would be to be her musical director, but because of my limited experience as an MD, I kept it to myself.”
“My wife was actually the one who pushed me to really inquire on that position,” said Robinson. “So one day over the phone, I asked her if she had planned on having an appointed MD for the project, and if not, I could do it. She agreed and it’s been great ever since. I’ve even had some mentorship from long time MD, and friend of Goddess, Darrel Ross. He attended a rehearsal and our first gig and gave some great advice and feedback.”
Ross is an accomplished producer and musician best known for his work with Vanessa Williams, Barry White, the Digital Underground and his collaborative work with Michael Jackson for his Dangerous tour.
Writing and arranging is a big job. There is no question about that. Sourcing out a song’s feel and then turning the emotions and theme into a complementary musical expression can be quite an undertaking. A daunting task indeed, especially when there are egos and emotions involved.
“I don’t do a lot of writing on paper for the band,” said Robinson. “This gig is mostly an ear game but there are a few musicians who write their own charts and notes for rehearsals. However, there is a lot of arranging involved. For example, for the intro for our first show, Goddess wanted to do a cover medley of two popular songs by an r&b artist named Drake. She gave me the songs she wanted to do, and asked how we could mesh the two together, going into her original material. I made snippets of the two tracks in Logic 9, and meshed them all together, adding a few hits and stabs for arrangement purposes and then I sent the track to her for her approval. After she gave the ok, I sent it to the rest of the band to learn for rehearsal.”
“We are very fortunate to have some of the most talented players on this project that can not only execute the material, but even contribute to the melodic form of the songs,” he said. “The musicians contribute a great deal to the project. If I have an idea, they make the idea come to life, and even add some of their own swag to make it that much better. Arranging comes into play a lot, and also following up with the musicians, and singers. Sending reminder emails, sending tracks and songs to those who don’t have it, and putting myself out there to be the one to contact. A lot of what Teddy Campbell taught me about being a leader is definitely being executed.”
Campbell is one of Robinson’s musical idols. The two developed a great friendship through a chance meeting when Robinson was just 16 years old.
“I met Teddy just after my 16th birthday,” said Robinson. “Rickey Minor (MD/bass player for American Idol, Don’t Forget The Lyrics, and most recently, the Jay Leno Show) got a hold of my press kit package, and invited me to the Stevie Wonder Grammy Jam rehearsal. Way before then, and to this day, Teddy has been my favourite drummer of all time. When I got the call from Rickey’s assistant and he told me who was going to be in this rehearsal, I freaked. This day was so important, that my mom let me play hooky from school that Friday. To be honest, I was more excited about meeting the Rickey Minor Band, than all of the celebrity musicians who showed up that day,” he said.
Mary Mary, Angie Stone, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, and George Clinton were among the cast of musicians on hand that day and Robinson made a point to take as much as her could from the experience.
“When I got there, Rickey talked with me for a little awhile about the importance of education. Soon afterwards, Teddy walked in. This had been the drummer whose career I had been studying since 1999 and there he was walking through the door.”
“Before the rehearsal started, Teddy sat me down and talked to me for a good 45 minutes. Needless to say, everything he told me, I remember to this day. We keep in touch via phone, and email and hung out for a little bit at NAMM this past January. It’s such a blessing to have someone you look up to be a friend of yours.”
With the Goddess show shaping up nicely, Robinson get some more live performances under their belt this summer.
“We haven’t talked much about recording yet,” he said. “Our primary focus is on her live shows, and creating her following. Her debut album was already completed before I joined the camp. I’m sure in the future; there will be plenty of opportunity to record with her.”
