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Bruce Robison Bruce Robison BiographyDescribed as "one of the best of a new breed of singer-songwriters in Texas and beyond" by Billboard magazine, Bruce has built a career as a recording artist whose songs are sought out by country stars, Americana artists and other singer-songwriters alike.
His song "Travelin' Soldier" became a No. 1 hit for the Dixie Chicks. His "Angry All The Time" topped the charts as a duet by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Recently his song "Desperately" hit for George Strait. Others that have recorded his songs include; Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, and Allison Moorer. His wife, singer Kelly Willis, and his brother Charlie also draw on his catalog of material. "I really like the niche I'm in right now," says the six-foot, seven-inch Robison. "I'm getting to do so many of the things I love to do."
Robison recorded his recent album, Country Sunshine, at his home studio and released it on his own Boar's Nest Records. Its intimate, wide-ranging feel exercised the freedom of making an album on one's own, yet it also stayed accessible to both mainstream and alt-country music fans. The album drew widespread acclaim — Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A," while the Austin Chronicle called it Robison's "best album."
Of course, he's yet to cut a bad one. His self-titled debut was released in 1996 as an independent album. His second album, Wrapped, originally also came out on a small label, but was picked up by Sony's Lucky Dog Records. Robison stayed with Lucky Dog for two more albums, Long Way Home From Here, and a live album recorded with his brother Charlie Robison and fellow Texan Jack Ingram.
He then asked to leave Sony Music, deciding to form his own record company back home in Austin. "The music business is being re-invented from the ground up right now, and I thought it was a good time to keep ownership of my recordings," he says. "I can make as much money recording my own records as I can at a major label. And holding onto to your creative work seems like a an idea that will work in my favor in the long run."
By starting his own label and recording studio, Robison has evolved into a renaissance man who, good Texan that he is, loves his independence. "My songs are a little different than what usually comes out of Nashville," he says. "I love Nashville because it's the last bastion of the songwriter, the last Tin Pan Alley. I love the musicians there and the way the town works. But it works best for me to stay in Texas. That has become my calling card."
Robison pulls it off because of the reputation he's established. His albums present personal versions of his distinctive songs, highlighting the wry emotion of his dry expressive Texas tenor, his knack for impactful stories and his reflective take on relationships and the world.
"Robison has a style that tends to be soulfully understated," wrote Nick Cristiano of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's one that well suits the intimate penetrating nature of his songs." Indeed, nearly all of his musical heroes owned an independent streak. Two of them, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, saw their careers take off after they took more control of their music. Similarly, Jerry Jeff Walker, another hero, has long owned his own record company.
And so the future holds more recording for Bruce who believes the best way to expose his songs to other artists is by making albums he's proud of and stocking them with his best new material. "I don't travel all that much," he says. "I love being home with my family and making records. That's how my songs get heard."
And 'getting songs heard' is a privilege he hopes to extend to the musicians of tomorrow, "Artists shouldn't have to sell their souls just to get studio time. That's a broken model. There's a better way out there and I'm interested in providing it." It seems as if Bruce is destined to have an impact on the future of music, whether by his writing, performing or producing. He is a music man. |
