Music with friends: Collaborative effort at Grayson Gallery
Apr. 22—GRAYSON — It's all about collaboration for Louisa resident Chuck Robertson, who will perform with Tim Preston and Mia Catelin at the Grayson Gallery and Art Center on Friday.
The event will be the opening reception for the Celebrate the Earth exhibit from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.
Robertson, who said he mostly performs acoustic rock with folk, blues, bluegrass and soul influences, got his start in music singing in his grandfather's Baptist church in Genoa West Virginia.
"Our whole family would gather around and sing gospel hymns. After church, we would often gather on the porch for some old-time bluegrass songs," he said. "Everyone would grab their respective instrument of choice, from guitar to mandolin to harmonica to fiddle. We would often play deep into the night or until the mosquitos ran us in."
His informal musical education spans decades.
"My dad introduced me to music from his generation. We had one of those 'Hits from the 50s and 60s' CDs and my dad and my sister and I would belt those old songs out at the top of our lungs as we danced around the living room holding a hairbrush, wooden spoon or anything else as a microphone," Robertson said. "My dad also loved blues. BB King, Robert Johnson and Ry Cooder were always playing in our house."
When he hit his teen years, Robertson said he was into 1980s rock, especially ballads.
"Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Poison were iconic influences on me," he said. "I learned very quickly that with an acoustic guitar and a good love song a fella could get a lot of attention from pretty girls — all the motivation a young teenage boy needs to continue playing music."
When the 1990s arrived, Robertson said Seattle grunge caught his attention, from Soundgarden to Pearl Jam to Nirvana. He sites the band Temple of the Dog, made up of members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, as a major influence.
"The album was recorded to honor their friend Andrew Wood — the lead singer of Mother Love Bone. He died of a heroin overdose and his death impacted the Seattle scene in a devastating way," Robertson said. "The idea of collaborating with other artists and the beautiful music that could come out of it left an unforgettable impression on me."
One unusual facet of his music: he uses the cajon, a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces with the hands, fingers or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks.
"I just love the tribal feel of the cajon," he said. "I added a bass pedal to one side, another pedal to make a specialized snare sound and a foot tambourine. Before I knew it I had a whole percussion section under my feet."
(606) 326-2661 — lward@dailyindependent.com
