|
|
David Robinson was born April 2, 1953 in Woburn, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) and as such was the only Boston native in The Cars (ironic since they are usually viewed as a Boston Band). David has been in some of the most influential bands of the 70's and 80's with The Modern Lovers and The Cars being highly regarded for the ground they broke and the influence they continue to have on modern music. "I've always sought out situations that were challenging or experimental" David says. "The Cars' music is certainly different from any group I've played with, and the most satisfying."
I have created this page since there is so little information on the Internet regarding David and his contributions to The Cars and music in general. This is little more than cursory coverage of David's career and the projects/groups he has been involved with. It is far from complete and I am always looking for more information. If you have any info, pictures or just comments, feel free to .
Much of the information about the Modern Lovers comes the wonderful site put together by Daniel Howard. The Dirty Water Rock and Roll Encyclopedia site provided info on The Odds and Ends, DMZ, Modern Lovers and Pop!.
The Odds and Ends
David Robinson - Drummer
Unfortunately, I don't have much information about this band yet. Please if you have any pictures, reviews, histories or other info about this band David spent some time with.
David Robinson - Drummer
1971
Jonathan Richman, Ernie Brooks, David Robinson, John Felice and
Jerry Harrison April '71.
Photo Thomas Consilvio.
When The Modern Lovers formed, three of the main precursors of punk, the Velvet Underground, the Stooges and the MC5, were either floundering or on the verge of splitting. The Modern Lovers were one of the groups that provided the musical link between these bands, 60's garage/pop and new wave/punk. Though at one time the hottest unsigned band in the USA, they ended up splitting before releasing anything.
Undoubtedly, the Velvet Underground, coupled with the Warhol underground, set the tone of what was to become of rock n' roll in the mid 70's. In the midst of the Aquarian Age, Woodstock, flower power, et al, the MC5 and Iggy Pop reared their ugly heads. In 1970, lggy and the Stooges came to the Tea Party as the opening act for Ten Years After. One witness was Woburn, MA. teen drummer, David Robinson. "The public was so far behind. It was Iggy's first years and the Stooges were totally misunderstood. Four people clapped (one was David Robinson)... It was the heaviest concert I'd ever seen 'til then. The music had the power to effect things. It was terrifying to see its potential. It was young and it was hip."
Come the fall of 1970, David Robinson was becoming dismayed with the musical round robin of North Shore musicians and decided it was time to search out a situation that was "singularly unique." He had caught Jonathan's performances and considered tracking the man down. Fate brought the two of them to New England Record City in Kenmore Square, where Jonathan was hanging an announcement that he was looking to start a full band.
They could have been just a footnote in Rock and Roll history books, but their gigs and session tapes reached the ears of the right people, making their influence drastically out of proportion to the size of their total audience. It wasn't just their influence on other bands music that secured their place in history; John Felice was the first to leave, forming the Real Kids. David Robinson left when the Lovers decided to go acoustic - "I could have stayed with the group if I'd wanted to play with towels over my set." Ernie Brooks joined The Necessaries and played with David Johansen; Jerry Harrison joined the Talking Heads and Jonathan Richman, well... he kept the Modern Lovers name and recruited several more line ups before becoming just Jonathan Richman (even recording with Ric Ocasek producing), and has continued to cut his own groove, occasionally crossing paths with success but never courting it.
POP!
David Robinson - Drummer
Unfortunately, I don't have much information about this band yet. Please if you have any pictures, reviews, histories or other info about this band David spent some time with.
DMZ
David Robinson - Drummer
Unfortunately, I don't have much information about this band yet. Please if you have any pictures, reviews, histories or other info about this band David spent some time with.
David Robinson - Drummer
1977-1988
As most anyone who would come to this site should know, David Robinson was the drummer for the now infamous group The Cars. He was key to developing their early visual style and giving a unified appearance on stage. He has been heard saying that they all wore black because it was the only color clothes all the band members already had.
He designed their debut album cover, but it was nixed by Elektra/Asylum in favor of the girl behind the steering wheel. A modified version of the cover was used as the album sleeve, so all was not lost (discussion of this can be found on the Cars: Live DVD interview from Rhino. He brought famed Playboy pinup artist Vargas out of retirement to do the famous cover their follow-up release Candy-O. In later tours, he would design the stage layouts.
David's influence was not just felt in the drums and visual style of The Cars according to Ric Ocasek. "'I'm In Touch With Your World'...It's a song people either love or hate depending on how close to home it is. Some of the strange sounds you hear are David Robinson breaking bottles on the studio floor."
David has been quoted many times as saying that The Cars were going to be his last band, regardless whether they succeeded or failed. Succeed they did and David has not performed for another group to the best of my knowledge since the breakup in 1988.
Boys Life
David Robinson - Producer
1980-1982
With a name taken from a monthly magazine for youngsters, these kids (averaging 16 years of age) literally crashed a few bars, bringing their music to the club scene in 1980. Early Boys Life justified the moniker by appearing in Boy Scout uniforms for the first three months of their existence. The Malden-based act considered them a "punk" band and was compared to the classic 1976-77 British punkers. Their first EP was produced by Cars drummer, David Robinson, and mentioned in Billboard magazine.
The act was so strong in its day, that as late as 1998, a tribute band surfaced from their hometown titled after the 1981 single, "Two Doors Down." David Robinson also helped out on the single, which was recorded at, then Intermedia, which became The Cars' own Synchro Sound. Surrette's father started the SECO label.
Vinny Band
David Robinson - Producer
Time Period Unknown
Per Ralph Fatello, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist with the Boston Based bands Vinny and Semper Fi: "David Robinson produced two singles and one LP with the Vinny Band. The LP entitled 'Olas De Sexo' in 1983 was produced by David for Eat Records (later to be known as Ryko Disc). He also produced several demos for Vinny and other demos for the band Semper Fi which received heavy airplay on Boston Stations. David also played live with members of Semper Fi at some of the big clubs on Lansdowne Street in Boston." Please if you have any pictures, reviews, histories or other info about this David's involvement with this group.
Ooh Ah Ah
David Robinson - Producer
Time Period Unknown
The only info I have is that David produced this Boston Based band featuring Eric Schermerhorn (Iggy Pop, The The), Akio Akashi and Cinde Lager on vocals and was reported to have recorded at The Cars own Synchro Sound studios. Please if you have any pictures, reviews, histories or other info about this David's involvement with this group.
Housesitter
David Robinson - Extra
1991
This is information from Eddie C. on the Frozen Fire E-Mail List: "Back in 1991, early in my film career, I was working as an extra (a background person) on the movie "Housesitter" starring Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. The film was shot mostly in Concord Mass. The part we were filming was the big party scene, and it involved probably 100 extras. About 10 of us were chosen to act like waiters and wander around the party. Since the scene took weeks to film, we all kind of got to know each other. It turns out, one of the guys playing a waiter was, David Robinson. Apparently a good friend of his owned and ran the extras casting company, and needed someone reliable who could show up for a couple of weeks, so Dave agreed to do it, as he had nothing else going on. If you want to look for him, watch the big party scene - Dave is the waiter standing behind a large table serving food.
I hate to admit it, but I really didn't recognize him at first, and he was kind of quiet, always reading books about art and such, as he's a big art collector. Anyway, he and I started talking about the band, the breakup, etc. He said he wouldn't mind doing a reunion, but he figured that the odds of that happening was pretty slim, as apparently the various members had decided to go their own ways. Dave said he'd love to work with any and all of them again. He said that he never really had plans to do a solo album. At that time, his passion was collecting and viewing art.
We ended up talking for quite awhile. The next day, he gave me an autographed cassette of Heartbeat City. The guy was a real class act and a hell of a nice guy. Later on, someone told me that Dave had laughed and commented that I knew more about the band than he did, and that in our conversation he learned about stuff that he never knew. Apparently he never bothered to follow his and the band's press.
I have worked in the film industry for over 10 years and live in
LA now. I've worked with huge movie stars, but when someone asks me who was
the person I've met that was most exciting to me, I have to admit, it was Dave
Robinson."
