August 08, 2007 Music » Betta Listen

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All in the Family 

Bruce Robison finds his musical niche

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click to enlarge DIXIE DUDE: Bruce Robison
  • DIXIE DUDE: Bruce Robison

The Robisons are a talented bunch. From Charlie and Bruce to their respective wives, Dixie Chick Emily Robison and singer/songwriter Kelly Willis, to sister Robyn Ludwick, who made her debut in '05, it's a family that could do some mean caroling come Christmas.

It's also an environment that's bound to be tough on your sense of self. Bruce Robison grew up in the shadow of his football star older brother Charlie, but being the author of the nation's current number-one country hit, "Wrapped" by George Strait, can go a long way to alleviating any insecurity. It's the third number one he's scored in the last six years, along with the Dixie Chicks' "Travelin' Soldier" and "Angry All the Time," by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

While Charlie's made his name as a hard-drinking, little bit country/little bit rock 'n' roll character, Bruce is becoming one of Nashville's go-to songwriters. "It's been great to have that sort of delineation happen over time because I really like being around my brother and like that we both do this. I just don't want to live my whole life overshadowed by him," Bruce says from the Austin, Texas, home he shares with Willis and their four children. "It's like being in the third grade the rest of your life."

Bruce's songwriting success afforded he and his wife the luxury of spending most of the last five years at home concentrating on raising their young brood, rather than traipsing around the country in search of a buck. Now that the kids are a bit older, Robison's returned to his solo career with a vengeance. Last year, he released his fifth album, Eleven Stories, and he followed that in May with the supple seven-song mini-LP, It Came From San Antonio.

Robison's songs thrive on unassuming directness, whether cracking wise on "23A" ("the problems they don't change/The secrets still remain/We're here then we're gone/I'll sing a song"), or busting a big-hearted ode to love's pursuit like "Lifeline," which paints an almost Springsteen-ish picture: "True love comes in the park ... the girls just push past the boys like me/They like the blokes with the jokes and the smokes in the sleeves/She used to curl up like the steam from a train/I can still see her, but she's gone just the same."

While undoubtedly born of the country tradition, the album touches on folk, pop and rock -- a reflection of his background and ethos. "We don't fit in to any specific pigeonhole really," he says. "I want to make music that's fun to listen to. I'm a songwriter, and I always focus on the lyrics, but ... Stax music or The Beatles or Dylan, they just made the music fun to listen to."

Robison suggests that with the music culture being so pervasive and such a part of youth, it's hard to maintain any kind of genre orthodoxy, making many artists subject to a wider array of sounds.

"Everyone has every influence," he says. "Sixty years ago, if you were in North Carolina, [bluegrass] was the only kind of music you'd have heard. Now you'll hear everything, no matter where you are. Even if you grow up in a completely country place [you can be] affected by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and guys like that, with the blues, jazz and rock influences in them."

Living and running a studio in Austin has brought Robison in contact with a variety of artists. Indie darlings Voxtrot worked at his Premium Recording Service studio, and he's a fan of Bill Callahan (Smog) and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine).

Of course, Robison's tastes mesh well with Willis, whose albums have always been noteworthy for their eclectic mix of rock and country. She's also released a pair of albums in the past two years, and together they're trying to negotiate a schedule that will allow them to tour and spend time with their children, none of whom is older than 6.

"The old way of working, where you get a deal and put out a record and are gone for three months, I'm not into that at all," he says, explaining how he and Willis have been alternating weekend dates. "We're home during the week and on Thursday, mommy or daddy, one of them goes to work. Check back in a year and see if it works. It sounds good on paper."

Bruce Robison will perform on Aug. 11, at The Evening Muse.

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