By Christopher Hislop
Photo by Elam Blackman

As the side door swings open on the beige VW Vanagon in the wee hours of the new morn, the sound of empty beer bottles hitting the pavement is the rooster’s cry, and the authoritative sound that defines life on the road with Robert Blake: Lots of strummed songs, lots of different places with different crowds, and lots of partying.

To become an independent traveling musician, one must have a lot of courage, a reasonable amount of guts, a willing sense of adventure, and the songs on which confidence is built. Such is the case with Blake, who comes from the “most northwest part of the most northwest town, in the most northwest state,” Bellingham, Washington.

One listen to any of Blake’s albums or songs creates an urgent desire to listen again quickly and make sure that really just happened. He does sound like an Irishman, but he claims he isn’t. He’s got a sound that is unique and inspiring. He writes songs of love, life, nature, and all the experiences therein. He’s got an amazing band behind him: Mike Grigoni (pedal steel, lap steel, dobro), Josh Brahinsky (upright bass), Jordan Rain (drums) and Mark Huber (harmonica). They play and record what Blake describes as music played by real musicians, in the same room, at the same time.

“We set up in a room and we play,” he says. “The setup is key. It’s important for everyone to hear each other well and see each other well. We generally run through a bit of the song to make sure the band knows the changes and we start rolling tape. We generally get down between two and seven takes of a song.”

“Unlike the general modern recording process, I’m not searching for the perfect version of the song,” he continues. “I’m searching for an inspired version of the song. I want to be able to hear the air between the musicians. That’s where the song is. When you record live, every note matters, there’s no going through the motions laying down scratch parts. Same-room style is draining, euphoric, and a lot of fun.”

He’s been playing guitar ever since he received his first one at the tender age of 14. “I had a few ideas sketched out before I got a guitar but I knew it would be my key into the world of music,” says Blake. “Throughout my childhood, my father would end up with the guitar at family parties and entertain the crowd. Since I could stand up next him, I was involved in the show. I always enjoyed singing for the crowd and moreover I enjoyed hearing all the songs my father would play: sea shanties, jug band songs, folk ballads, Irish songs, his originals, and whatever else came to him. I love the way a song can get inside you and take you on an adventure.” Blake spent a year honing his skills via Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songbooks before talking his way into his first gig at a local coffee shop on the “Eastside.”

“Lots of bands came out of the Eastside,” he says, “such as Sunny Day Real Estate, The Murder City Devils, Modest Mouse, Sleater-Kinney, The Blood Brothers, and Pretty Girls Make Graves, to name a few.”

Blake currently has five full-length albums, two split albums, and well over 100 songs under his belt. An anticipated new studio record is due out in January of 2007, which he minimally describes as “another collection of story-songs.”

He regularly tours the country, as well the U.K., Ireland, and Canada, and he is the organizer of the annual Subdued String Band Jamboree which takes place every August in Bellingham.
“Beyond the adventure of the travels, what keeps me in motion is the material,” he proclaims. “The songs I write need to be sung. I need to sing them. There’s a pulse in me. There’s a need to get the songs out. I can let it go for a little while, but if I let it go too long it starts to eat in on me.”

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