The Beginnings of a Songwriter, Part 6

Brian Lee Robinson Music, Music Blog, , , , ,

Great Fans

Brian Lee Robinson 2017

I met a nice fan through my website. She is a Professor of Literature in Romania. She was so nice and her writing was very beautiful, so I sent her the final mix of Beauty or Illusion. She sent me an back the most beautiful review of the song, and it was right on point about what I was trying to say. It was so beautiful that I asked her to review the entire new EP. I did edit it a little. This lady is amazing, but way over my intelligence. I removed some references that I honestly, did not understand.
Her name is Andreea Smedescu, she has written several books in Romania. I can’t wait to read them when translated to English. The Texas Side of Nashville By: Brian Lee Robinson. Music is the embodiment of utter freedom. The soul spreads its wings, allowing the artist to experience life beyond limits and in syncope with the rhythms of the world until the universe becomes the echo of his songs. Listening to his music feels like being in the presence of a storyteller and writer of dreams. The image of true Texas is musically depicted, and his voice functions like a magical portal. I listen to his songs, and I am a heartbeat away from Texas. Brian Lee Robinson defines life as a sum of contrasts,  “beauty” and “illusion”, hope and despair, light and darkness, happiness and sadness. When one listens to his music, one sees Johnny Cash singing ‘The Ballad of Ira Hayes’. ‘Beauty or Illusion’, has a subtle philosophical meaning. The illusion of the Quixotic life quest mingles with the aesthetic beauty of one’s own inner values and beliefs. And his voice is like the echo of Dante’s Virgil, guiding the listener through the valley of the material world, until the soul sees the light of music. He has a truly peaceful voice. In Brian Lee Robinson’s music, the angel of harmony looks deep inside our souls, reminding us of a mythical Texas which rises out of the ashes of folklore to a new dawn.  Brian Lee Robinson is a Texan with a quest. He is in the pursuit of happiness, and for him fulfillment can only be found in the heart of humanity. His love for Texas is strong, but stronger is his determination to triumph over Time, His Demons, and find Redemption for his past. In the comical song “Go Fat and Go Ugly Early”  He shows that although people grow old over time, it is only their bodies that change. Their dreams are kept alive by the rhythms of an eternal song of hope. Brian Lee Robinson’s voice is strong and peaceful. Texas is born with every strum of guitar. Nashville is recreated as a space of memory, as a chaotic interstice of bygone past. Nevertheless, this past is reanimated by music. If Paul Verlaine has confessed his poetical creed: “Music before all else”, now is Brian Lee Robinson’s turn to let his artistic creed bear the witness of the ultimate truth, i.e. “Music is the beginning and the end, and everything else is but a shadow.” Music becomes the symbol of a faithful companion. “That Old Cat” is both real, and a metaphor of consuming love, encompassing the bond of friendship between an artist and humanity. Yes, That Old Cat was real, because music breathes the intelligence of compassion and kindness upon the children of nature. Even the smallest animal can be the messenger of the inner music which resounds in eternity. And eternity is an odyssey of permanence. Nashville will be but a ghost town as long as there is a Brian Lee Robinson in this world. His music will forever remind that Goodbye is just the prelude of a new encounter, and his music will flow like the water of Lethe. People will come to drink from the waters of harmony, forgetting about Time and Space. They will only feel “The Gone Side of Goodbye” bowing before the power of Art. Only a true Texan has the ability to bestow life upon the State of his sacred geography, and Brian Lee Robinson is a new Orpheus descended to the subterranean sides of life to sing his love for Texas culture and lore. Andreea Smedescu, PhD

The Beginnings of a Songwriter, Part 2

Brian Lee Robinson Music, Country Music, Music Blog, Texas Music, , , , ,

I started drinking around the age of 12. I remember my brother buying a bunch of beer, he was only 15 or 16. My grandmother’s were of the mind, let them drink at home so they can learn how to handle themselves. Mom was divorced and gone most weekends with her new boyfriends. So we were left alone to do what we wanted. And that usually meant drinking. My best friend Ronnie, and his brother William. We all grew up like brothers. Their mom and dad, were best friends with my mom and dad. Their dad and mine used to play guitars and write songs together. I think I started trying to learn how to play the guitar around 17 or 18. Ronnie had started playing about the same time. I just wanted to be able to write melodies for my songs, so I had no great drive to be a “Musician”. We started taking lessons together on Saturday mornings. To be honest, we were so hung over on Saturday mornings that it was hard to concentrate. Mostly, I learned to play by ear. I could hear a song a few times, and I could figure out how to play it. Lyrics were easy for me. I seemed to have a good memory for song lyrics. I loved learning new songs. Kris Kristofferson was my favorite, of all time. I tried to write songs like him but I could not even come close. Looking back at my first years of writing I was pretty bad. Ronnie and I continued to play together, and eventually started a band with Ronnies dad, Henry. Since we all played guitar players, I decided to learn Bass guitar. It was pretty easy since the top four strings on the guitar, are the same as the bass. We were pretty bad. We eventually found a drummer and a fiddle player. I had started college at A&M, with the intention of becoming a Veterinarian. We played on the weekends. In spite of my continued escalation in drinking, I was always an excellent student. I made straight A’s, in spite of not studying, till the last moment. In my late teens, I started having a lot of stomach problems. I got to the point where I could not eat without having severe pain in the stomach. I quickly learned that a drink before eating , would prevent the cramps. My mom took me on a round of doctors to find the problem. I was put through some brutal tests. At 16 or 17, I was bent over a table in the ER, and had what felt like, a 2 foot long pipe shoved up my ass. It was called a Rigid Sigmoidoscopy. They don’t do them anymore, I think they are against the Geneva Convention!! They ought to be!!! Back they they didn’t give sedation for such procedures, no dinner or dancing, not even a kiss behind the ear. Just bend over and here we come. I later had a Coloniscopy by Dr Walter Fagan. Again, no sedation back then, but once you’ve had a pipe shoved up your ass, a colonoscopy is no big thing. Dr Fagan discovered that I had Crohn’s disease, a little known inflammatory disease of the intestines. Remember, this was 40 years ago. I was treated with prednisone, the only real treatment they had back then. I would learn many years later the price I would pay, but it saved my life. Dr Fagan, if you are still alive, I think of you often. Thank you. In spite of all that, life and music went on. More to follow. Brian Lee Robinson