From high school jazz musician and self-effacing garage band guitarist to opening for folk rock icons Dar Williams, Melissa Ferrick and Lucy Kaplansky, Courtney Robbins’ muscular rhythms and melodic grace are impossible not to tap along to. Infused with raw nostalgia and emotional urgency, Robbins’ music artfully blends the taut intimacy of an acoustic affair with galloping riffs and a fragile, folk sensibility. Courtney took some time out of her Sunday afternoon to talk with Dramanonymous about her upcoming album, creating poetry out of politics and the repercussions of throwing a pie in Ann Coulter’s face.

So how would you describe your sound?

CR: I’d say its folk rock, with more rock than folk, more energetic. A little bit of country has been creeping in too. It just sometimes happens like that. I listen to a fair amount of blue grass and alt-country stuff like Dolly Parton and Gillian Welch, but I would have a hard time saying I play country music.

Who are some of your influences?

CR: Well, I grew up listening to primarily the oldies station, like The Mamas and the Papas and the Beach Boys.Then I started listening to more classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. Then my sister tried to get me into the Indigo Girls in high school, but I didn’t like them at first. Patty Griffin, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Ray Vaughan are also up there. I know it’s kind of cheesy, but in a way I think we’re influenced by everything we hear - even stuff from high school jazz band, you know?

Oh, I agree. Speaking of high school, I have to ask about your garage band name “Some Idiots Afloat.” How did that come about?

CR: Some Idiots Afloat…how did we decide on that? We practiced in our drummer’s basement and his parents had a bunch of old magazines strewn about. I’m pretty sure it was the title of a Life magazine article from the 60s.

And you went to college in New York?

CR: Yep, Hamilton College. I was a creative writing major.

What kind of themes do you explore in your writing?

CR: Usually I tend to draw from personal experiences. Some of my songs are generated from stories I hear and think are relevant. I think actually my degree in creative writing has given me an ear for stories I might want to turn into songs, but I don’t sit down and think, “I’m gonna write this kind of song” unless it’s something that really caught my attention. I don’t write overtly political songs usually but I do think that the personal and political turn up some in my songwriting.

It’s certainly difficult to make poetry out of politics. That’s why I’m always amazed that songwriters like Ani DiFranco do it time and again.

CR: I know! She manages to do it in original, interesting ways each time too.

I read on your website that you recorded an album, but haven't released it quite yet. What was that process like?

CR: Well, it’s called “Red Sky in Morning” and should be done hopefully within the month. The title references a line from one of the songs. I was working with Dave McGraw, who’s also a singer/songwriter and an awesome drummer, Thomas Lord, who I met a couple times in Tucson. I went up to Vermillion Cliffs in northern Arizona last February and we ended up recording eighteen songs in three days. There are going to be twelve tracks on the CD, plus a hidden track. The whole process was totally laid back. We recorded right outside of the Grand Canyon, in a tiny community of about forty people. It was beautiful and relaxed and just quiet out there.

Speaking of relaxing, what celebrity would you most like to punch in the face?

CR: That’s a funny question because I immediately think, who am I to punch someone in the face? But…that said…I could probably punch Ann Coulter in the face, if I had to.

Do you remember those University of Arizona students who tried to throw a pie at her when she came to lecture in Tucson?

CR: Yeah, someone told me the other day that there’s still a legal battle going on with whoever threw the pie.

They didn’t even hit her. She ducked.

CR: Really? An attempted pie throwing! That shouldn’t count. I don’t see how they can still be in trouble.

Yeah, a waste of a good pie too. So how long have you lived in Tucson? Any notable differences between East/West music scenes?

CR: I’ve been in Tucson for two and a half years. I had mostly college-related music experiences in the Northeast, so it’s kind of hard to say. But there is the Northeast Singer/Songwriter Circuit which fosters more of a music community that the Southwest doesn’t really seem to have as much of, in my experience. But maybe it’s because of location— many of the large cities and colleges are close together in the Northeast which makes it a little easier. Everything’s spread out here and I’m still taking time to see to see how things work, getting my foot in the door. I haven’t played outside of Tucson much because I have a job and not a lot of time to run off to shows. But I did play a show in Seattle recently and some in Tempe too.

 Do you think sites like MySpace have helped make the marketing process easier for independent musicians who are trying to get their stuff out there?

CR: I think it’s great. I didn’t know a whole lot about MySpace until recently. My friends were trying to get me to sign up but I was like, “Nah, I’m on Friendster. I don’t need another internet meeting place.” Once I started looking into it though, it was actually kind of cool. The music sites are very do-it-yourself and this whole world is at your fingertips—you can network, find other musicians, download songs, etc. I’ve gotten a couple shows through MySpace and when I was trying to find a place in Seattle to play I looked up this bar, the Conor Byrne Pub, that does women’s music on Tuesdays, which took me, of course, back to MySpace.

So what new projects are you working on?

CR: Well, let’s see. I’m going to try to cover my costs from the CD and to get more shows around Tucson lined up. Once I have the CD, I can tell people something besides “Well, here’s a crappy demo, but I don’t really sound like that anymore.” I'm going to try to get more shows outside of Tucson as well, once I have the CD in hand.
 
Check out Courtney Robbins’ music on her website www.courtneyrobbins.com or on MySpace www.myspace.com/courtneyrobbins

Anna is a post-Creative Writing major and validation junky. In addition to Dramanonymous, she also writes for dykediva.com, does film reviews for theaspectratio.net and writes profiles for singles on e-cyrano.com. She uses quotation marks unnecessarily and spends entirely too much time justifying the artistic merit of limericks. You can contact her at