“I’m in a comic book store and I have a squadron of super
geeks staring at me,” says Robin Wilson, lead vocalist of the Gin Blossoms. I’m
doing a podcast interview with the frontman of one of my favorite bands
ever. The last time I heard Robin’s
voice in person, he was signing “Hey Jealousy,” and “Follow You Down,” when the
Gin Blossoms performed for University
of Evansville students in
1996.
After going their separate ways in
1997, the Gin Blossoms reformed in 2001. Their latest release, Major Lodge Victory captures the spirit
that made them one of the hottest acts of the 90s while also showing some
growth. They are proud to mark 2008 as
their 20th Anniversary as a band. Tripodder.com is also proud to be
one of the first media outlets to talk with Robin in the New Year.
“After twenty years, now we really
feel like a team of professional veterans that understand each other, our job
and the privilege of performing music that people have heard on the radio for a
living,” explains Robin. “I’m 42 years old and I support my family by singing
rock and roll. This is what I wanted to do my whole life. We’ve learned how to
not piss each other off too much. That is the secret to keeping the band
together.”
“Keeping the band together” is
something Robin likes to talk about with several up and coming bands he has
befriended over the years. Robin now works with some of them directly as he
owns Uranus Recording of Tempe, Arizona… a.k.a. “Arizona’s coolest and most historic studio.”
Gin Blossoms recorded and rehearsed at Uranus and Robin took it over as a
studio in the late 90s to record his own projects and local bands. Robin has
transformed Uranus into a professional studio where bands can make a great
sounding record for the minimum cost.
One of those bands is One Lone Car
from St. Louis,
who I also caught up with for a podcast interview. Drummer Andy Herrin tells
me, “Robin is by far the only guy we've met in the industry who hasn't tried to
use us, and we truly see him as a friend,” One Lone Car has just recorded their
forthcoming release North, South, East
and the Rest at Uranus. Robin joins them on harmonies on several tracks and
he also plays tambourine.
“Totally heard part of your song “Murder on My
Hands” on MTV the other day. Way to go guys,” reads a comment on One Lone Car’s
myspace page.
“On our last album, MTV found us on
myspace and also iChannel Music. They started using our songs on several
reality shows and we kept friends with them. Now MTV is working on putting our
music on some bigger shows like The Hills.”
says Andy.
As their popularity grows, tour
dates now take One Lone Car across the country and with some opening dates for
the Gin Blossoms. However, you can still see them perform in nearby St. Louis on occasion.
And for young bands and artists reading this article,
Robin Wilson offers some good
advice on our podcast interview.
To hear both the Gin Blossoms and the One Lone Car podcast interviews,
log on to www.Tripodder.com and select the podcast channel. Be watching for new
content celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Gin Blossoms on
www.GinBlossoms.net. To learn more about One Lone Car, visit www.OneLoneCar.com. And for information on
Uranus Recording, www.uranusrecording.com.
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