What I Know 'Bout What I Know
The Musical Life of An Itinerant Banjo Player
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
INTRODUCTION
Butch
Robins is a musician. Specifically, he is a 5-string banjoist. He is
exceptional at his craft. He is an innovator, a stylist, a virtuoso
instrumentalist, a songwriter, and a producer. He has toured nationally and
internationally. He was a Blue Grass Boy from 1977 - 1981. He had an unusual,
challenging, and caustic relationship with Bill Monroe, The Father of Blue
Grass Music, but at various times called him employer, mentor, friend, and
antagonist. Yet, with all that had occurred between them, one of the last
projects Monroe recorded was in 1995 with Butch on his
Grounded-Centered-Focused CD. Not many people in the course of a lifetime are
privileged to be the musical confidant of a genius.
There
is a legend that says if a butterfly ever lands on your shoulder you
are--"kissed by the Gods". With a butterfly on his shoulder, Butch
stands beside Monroe.
Butch's
command of the banjo allows him to play music in several different styles with
total ease. He can coax from the instrument its plaintive, haunting strength,
and in the same breath it's melodic, lilting, ethereal wistfulness. He is a master who has performed and
recorded with, at one time or another, most of the musicians who have defined
the genera. Butch's sound is as
recognizable as it is individualistic.
One has only to listen to his numerous recordings as proof.
Butch
has always lived his life by his own self-imposed rules; admitting his
weaknesses as well as his strengths. He
has at times been misunderstood, taken for granted, and labeled as arrogant and
"difficult". So it sometimes is with extraordinarily gifted
people. They just don't fit anyone
else's mold. How grateful I am for that
fact. Otherwise, we would never have
heard the wonderful music that comes from his mind through his hands on to the
fret board of the instrument. This is
his story. It is unlike any other. Butch Robins was a born banjoist.
Pat J. Ahrens
Columbia, South Carolina
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
“What I know ‘Bout What I Know” is the autobiography
of Butch Robins. Robins is an
extraordinary banjo player who reviewers called a musical revolutionary as he
expanded the musical boundaries of his chosen instrument. “What I Know” chronicles Butch’s account of
the inception, development and his contribution to the musical genre known as
Blue Grass. Hailing from the mountains
of Western North Carolina and Southwest Virginia, Robins’ talent was nurtured
by old tyme music icons including Snuffy Jenkins, Pappy Sherrill, Tommy Jarrell
and Clark Kessinger. After a brief
stint with “The Father of Blue Grass Music”, Bill Monroe and time served in the
military during the turbulent 60’s, Robins takes his reader on a captivating
musical journey. Relocating to Nashville
and establishing himself as a studio musician, his wanderlust took him on the
road to work for a diverse spectrum of musical giants including Leon Russell
and Harry James. Following inclusion in
the genre changing Newgrass Revival as bassist, Robins rejoined Bill Monroe’s
group where he established himself as one of the premier masters of the
5-string banjo. Robins’ story is a
fascinating account of the life of a most unique student of music and of life
itself.
About the Author
Butch Robins is a critically acclaimed musician,
recording artist, instructor and lecturer.
Described as a musical renegade nonconformist, his career has covered
many diverse bases, each attacked with a remarkable intensity that has yielded
not only great music but many acute observations about music. He is an intense, serious person with
philosopher’s sensibilities about many subjects. His commitment to his work involves the outlook of a probing
analyst, and exacting craftsman and, above all a passion for reaching for the
highest values in life.
In this work Robins was encouraged., coached, and
assisted by author Pat J. Ahrens. Ms.
Ahrens works as an advocate, historian and patron of folk arts and has been
recognized by the South Carolina State Legislature.