By Rebekah Frank

EWU alumnus Randy Robbins shares his life with people through a microphone every time he produces a song.

Robbins, who graduated from EWU with a degree in communications, came to Eastern on a partial football scholarship. Robbins was partying, skipping class and wasting time, and after his freshman year he quit football. Robbins said he was going about 100 miles per hour in the wrong direction.

“I remember sitting with a counselor my freshman year and her asking me if I wanted to graduate from college because I was actually close to failing out. I made up my mind that I would major in communications,” said Robbins.

During his time at EWU, one of his friends invited him to come to the recording studio on campus. They went in and signed up to use it even though they had no idea what they were doing.

“We would get everything set up and after a half hour or so we would hit ‘record.’ Nothing would happen, then we would spend another 15 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong, only to find out the microphone wasn’t plugged in,” said Robbins.

During that time of learning in the studio, Robbins found a passion for making music, and used it as a release, and a way to vent. He discovered a desire to open up and share his feelings and beliefs through beats and lyrics. He never guessed that in the not-so-distant future people would be able to relate to his work and enjoy his sound.

Seattle architect and long time friend of Robbins, Skyler Allen said, “[Robbins] is a rare talent. He has a unique ability to string together series of ideas that create complex layers of meaning, resulting in an audible buffet for the audience. Not only does he have this gift with words, but he then delivers these verbal onions with a cool voice and poetic delivery over easy to listen to beats that he’s also cooked up. His music is his muse and he treats her like royalty. We, as listeners, get to reap the benefits.”

After a while of playing in the studio, Robbins began to figure out how to make everything work and was making beats to occupy his free time. Now, Robbins said it is a lot easier to make music when he is working with people who have a little more experience.

“When I was younger, I would just set the mic up and record the song when I was ready. That was always fun, but it does take a lot of stress off yourself when you can be in the studio with engineers that you trust and know what they’re doing,” said Robbins.

Seattle-based engineer, music producer and artist Carl Roe said it is easy to work with Robbins as well.

“[Robbins] is the most down-to-earth person I have ever worked with. He definitely is one of the more particular artists I work with that is very in-tune with the sound he wants. He takes care in the creation of his songs which, for me, exist as refreshing stories rather than just simple pop music. When you’re doing the type of music [Robbins] is doing, you’re putting your soul out there. His talent claims it’s place in a very vulnerable space in this arena,” said Roe.

Robbins said the editing part of producing songs is more like homework or a day job and he has yet to master that. However, the part he likes the most is just being in the studio working on beats and waiting for lyrics to drop out of the sky.

“I usually start by creating a simple melody on the keyboard or finding a sample that I can loop. Then I will start adding other sounds and instruments. Somewhere during this process, I am usually inspired to start writing lyrics.

I enjoy this very much, because I feel like it really causes a connection between the sound and the feel of the song,” said Robbins.

Robbins has done some freestyling at EWU and has performed at coffee shops and pubs. He is currently working on a new project called “The Grass is Always Yellower,” which he hopes to complete by this summer. It will feature some live instrumentation from some Seattle-based musicians and the talent of producer Elan Wright.

Robbins said he enjoys putting his own beliefs and individual feelings into his music. He does not want to persuade someone to listen, but wants them to relate to what he is saying.

Robbins said he wants people to see his feelings through his words. He wants them to know what he is thinking, what he is going through and maybe be able to relate.

“When people hear my music, I want them to just recognize my voice as its own. I want my music to encourage them to be their self. My life has shown me that, like everyone else, we were all made to be our own individual. We each have something to share with the world, so with me continuing to share my voice, it is a way for me to share myself with people. I think doing that will encourage my friends and family to be great and chase after their own individual dreams in life,” said Robbins.

While Robbins writes his songs for his family and other people, he also writes for himself. His songs are like his diary.

“His music is truly an exploration of self, his pen speaks from the heart, it bleeds on his sleeve. His songs are a series of snapshots of his mind. Not only what he thinks but also how he thinks,” said Allen.

To learn more about Robbins and hear some of his music visit www.randyrobbins.bandcamp.com