An Electric Evolution: Joe Robinson Speaks Exclusively To Guitar Planet

“Smokin” Joe Robinson’s rise to fame has been nothing short of extraordinary. A true child prodigy, Joe ditched his guitar teacher at aged ten, deciding to teach himself via the Internet. Within a year he would find himself touring his native Australia. By age 13 he was winning national songwriting competitions and at aged 15 he already had his first full album under his belt; the expansive and acoustic Birdseed.

Joe exploded onto the world stage in 2008 when he won Australia’s Got Talent with a series of blistering acoustic pieces that left the judges and the live studio audience utterly transfixed. Unlike so many talent show contestants, Joe’s win never became a black spot on his record, and he’s not merely known as “that guy from Australia’s Got Talent.” Instead Joe has set about winning more awards, recording more albums and earning the respect of the guitar community at large.

A feat which he achieved in 2010 when Guitar Player magazine named him the “best new talent” in their reader’s poll. In between tours and competitions, Joe also found time to release his second full LP, Time Jumpin’;  a gloriously lyrical record, full of short but spacious acoustic instrumentals, rich in character and imagination that blend genres and influences effortlessly.

As 2011 draws to a close Joe is working on the much anticipated follow up to Time Jumpin’. The as yet untitled work will be Joe’s first record with a full band, it will be comprised of electric and acoustic elements, and Joe will be singing and writing lyrics for the first time on record. It’s a big step, and it’s where we started today’s discussion:

So you’ve been working on new material with a more traditional band format, how are you finding the transition; do you feel comfortable being the driving force behind a group of musicians?

I’m  loving playing with other musicians!  Playing solo can be very liberating but it can get old pretty quickly.  The whole collaborative aspect of music is something that has always really excited me, so playing with a great rhythm section and writing music for that kind of ensemble is like a breath of fresh air for me, I’m loving it.

Is this something you’ve wanted to do for a long time and does it mark a permanent change in direction?

Well I guess in the scheme of things, I ultimately want to establish a distinct musical DNA that is unique to me, and then apply it to as many different musical situations as I can.  I absolutely want to keep evolving, and I’m so excited by the fact that this album marks introduction of a vocal and lyrical element to my music.  I have a bunch of new colours on my palette.

We were speaking with Paul Gilbert last week about the importance of finding balance, respecting melody and containing the impulse to just let rip when trying to craft what are essentially pop or rock songs.

That’s the whole game. A lot of people see me playing very technically involved songs and assume that I like complicated music.  But I actually cannot stand it.  Haha...My favorite songs have real melodic, harmonic and rhythmic integrity and I try and keep that in mind always.

Now you’re working with vocals, how is this affecting your playing, are you still finding room to express yourself on guitar?

Yeah, it can be a real challenge to maintain technique on both the voice and the guitar, especially since I’m still very green as a vocalist, but I’m loving it.  My approach to writing music hasn’t changed at all, the elements of it are still the same, there are just lyrics added.  And I guess for me actually learning to write lyrics has involved a very steep learning curve, but again it’s a new skill I’ve acquired, and I’m loving the process.