Friday with Rob Drabkin with a lovely song and a mesmerizing vid.
Indie rocker Rob Drabkin has premiered the music video for his song "Stay (The Morning Light Fades)," featuring professional contemporary ballet choreographed and performed by Amanda Copple from Colorado's Michelle Latimer Dance Company. Copple is joined by fellow dancer Luke Kamppila in the video, directed by frequent Drabkin collaborator Dillon Novak.
The new video was shot at Shove Chapel at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, which was built in 1931 and inspired by England's Winchester Cathedral.
It uses the chapel's rows of pews and stained glass as physical manifestations of the boundaries of a relationship, with the dancers' performance serving as the counterpart to that relationship's existence and transition as the song's lyrics discuss the ultimate demise of love.
The video is honest, beautiful and painful and is truly synonymous with not only what Drabkin experienced in his own life, but also the way many of our own relationships have begun and ended, providing a truly universal understanding of his pain. Combining a unique setting with an art form that you don't see every day, the video for "Stay" is something different in a sea of choices, not unlike Drabkin's album itself. It's definitely worth taking a look at.
The music of Rob Drabkin is spirited in nature, light from the heart and rocking on the six-string acoustic. The 70’s style afro is as unavoidable as his ubiquitous grin, but it’s his music that's put him on national tours and landed him sets at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. Rob and his band have become a force in the live scene, touring nationally as headliners and supporting acts such as John Butler Trio, Trevor Hall and Big Head Todd & The Monsters. Rob's full band performances are high-energy blending improvisation and rock while retaining an earnest singer/songwriter background.
Rob has made impressive creative strides in the past few years, and his most recent 2015 album shows just how far his live performances have come. With earnestness and originality, Drabkin and his band thrive within stylistic excursions that range from driving folk rock to understated experiments with classical musicians. His powerful vocals and syncopated guitar drive the soaring opener, "For You I Would Die" and his strumming complements top-notch keyboard and percussion work. “Little Steps,” the title track, takes the listener from zero to 60 on the first downbeat as a lively horn section heralds a sophisticated, feel good rock song.
In 2013 Rob released one of the most unique live albums to come out of Colorado, “Live At The Bluebird Theater 1.19.12” On this particular night, the band released a brand new set of originals as well as a cover of the legendary Paul Simon album, “Graceland” in it’s entirety. The sold-out show generated so much buzz world-renowned Boulder Theater and similar clubs around the country started soliciting Rob to headline. Since then theaters, festivals and Triple A radio stations around the country have caught onto Rob making him a staple in the national scene. He has received multiple invitations to perform live in KBCO along with serious airplay on Sirius XM, Music Choice, KINK, Triple M Radio and charting on Relix Magazine and FMQB.
Rob’s life was not always that of a full time touring and recording musician. He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas where he studied Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Spanish in hopes of achieving an MD/PhD. Music had officially been sidelined as a hobby until he took a life-changing trip to New York with his family. "My Dad played Jazz full time 30 years before he got into medicine. We re-connected with his old musician friends and it was inspiring to see them playing night after night for so many years. That night I dropped science, dedicating myself to music, and finding a voice of my own. I never sang a note till that night. After school I moved in with my parents, spent every working hour practicing and honed all songwriting skills I could.” After writing enough songs for an open mic set, Rob stormed onto Denver’s music scene, setting his career in motion. He assembled a dream powerhouse band; featuring Brian McRae on drums, Bijoux Barbosa on bass, Eric Moon on keys and Dave Preston on electric guitar. Rob's career is in full motion as his latest effort "Live Vol. II" prepares him for his next national tour.
http://www.robdrabkin.com/bio