........YOU CAN RESEARCH AND ANALYZE ROBYNN RAGLAND HERE..........
..........click on the robynn-head above for
bullet-style
bio.........
........YOU CAN RESEARCH AND ANALYZE ROBYNN RAGLAND HERE..........
..........click on the robynn-head above for
bullet-style
bio.........
| want a story? for prose, see below --> |
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obynn Ragland (voted "Best Pop Artist in St. Louis" & recently named the 2004 DIY "Songwriter of the Year") has become a midwest phenomenon as her infectious performing and songwriting sets her on a wave of widespread national exposure based on the strength of her humble indie roots. Robynn was born in Joliet, Illinois and grew up spending her summers on her grandparent's farm in the midwest, and school months in southern California, where her parents moved when she was 5 years old. Robynn started classical piano lessons at age 5, and continued classical voice and piano throughout college. While in college at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, CA Robynn found musical soulmates in her first rock band, Rhythm Akimbo. Robynn became the lead singer of Rhythm Akimbo ~ an eclectic ska/rock/pop octet ~ who made three albums together, were voted "Best Band in San Luis Obispo" and provoked long lines of fans stringing down SLO sidewalks outside clubs like the SLO Brewery until 1991 when the band broke up. |
| After the break up, Robynn left California and went back to
her midwest
roots, moving back to the home town of both her parents, St. Louis
Missouri.
In St. Louis, Robynn turned to extreme measures for parental
mollification
and started law school but after a few months in St. Louis, Robynn
joined
the local world-beat/pop band Five of These. The band, which was
in the process of recording its first album, added two songs written by
Robynn before the new line-up even played a show together. The
talented
5-piece menagerie soon won the title of "Best Band in St. Louis" along
with critical accolades including a story in Billboard
magazine.
Robynn recorded, rehearsed, lived and breathed Five of These for 3
years
while she continued school on the side. The summer Robynn
graduated,
Paladin/Giant Records out of Nashville, run by one of the industry's
most
notorious entertainment lawyers, signed Robynn as a solo artist to a
small
deal. Paladin Records never released the album she recorded,
however,
and though Robynn was caught by the terms of her contract, she was able
to orchestrate a buy-out of her masters by the BMG-supported, Los
Angeles/New
York based indie label, Red Ant Records. Robynn went back
into
the studio for Red Ant with her producer Adam Schmitt and her
band.
While the new album was being mastered in Los Angeles, Robynn began a
national
radio promo tour. Initial radio response and industry
interest
pointed to a potential breakthrough release, but all preparation was
stopped
in its tracks when Red Ant Records unexpectedly announced the label was
going out of business, fired its employees, and locked its doors.
Robynn was determined to take control of her debut. Turning to
her
home-town roots, with the support of local distributor Blue Sky
Distribution,
local record stores, radio, press & tv media and St. Louis artists,
Robynn took over all production and prepared for the self-release of
her
album. Red Ant threatened to sue. Robynn released
anyway.
Despite her independent-artist status, her single "People You Know"
soon
became a local radio hit parking itself in long-term heavy rotation on
St. Louis' WVRV 101.1 The River. Robynn was voted "Best Pop
Artist in St. Louis" in her home town "Slammy Awards" while her limited
self-release of "Modern
American Female Gut" became the #1 Best Selling Album in Missouri &
St. Louis on Amazon.com and the #5 top selling album of the year at
prominent
independent St. Louis record store, Vintage Vinyl, just under Eminem
and
Nelly. Robynn eventually garnered verbal approval from the
defunct
label heads to continue to distribute locally but finally, in late
2002,
Robynn won the rights to her masters and is now their current owner. Robynn recently moved to Los Angeles, where she was
recently named "Songwriter of the Year 2004" by the 2004 DIY Music
Convention. This summer, Robynn will hit the road for a series of
solo dates along-side the Fleetwood Mac 2004 Tour. Throughout
the U.S., either solo or w/her 5-piece band, Robynn has performed
along-side
Tom Petty/Jackson Browne, Boston, Oasis/Black Crowes, Aerosmith, James
Taylor,
& Stevie Nicks, and has shared the stage with artists such as: The
Jayhawks, Pat Benetar, Dido, Sixpence None The Richer, Juliana
Hatfield,
Bare Naked Ladies, Edwin McCain, & was the coveted local opener for
tours such as Capitol Records' Girls' Room, & the Lilith Fair
w/Sarah
McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant &c at the start of her
solo
career. Robynn's songs have appeared on the WB (Dawson's Creek); CBS (Wolf Lake); Fox Network (Wonder Falls; Fame LA); MTV (The Real World; WWF; Making the Band) & the feature films 'Wish You Were Dead' and Disney's 'Tru Confessions.' Robynn is the sole writer and a co-producer (along-side her favourite guru, producer Adam Schmitt) of all her material. Robynn's debut album, Modern American Female Gut has now been officially released on her own imprint, Ragdoll Records (July 2003).
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