Bio and Liner Notes for
Full Length Stereo Recordings

by Robert Crenshaw

I am of the generation that watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, the generation that can remember exactly where they were when they heard President Kennedy was killed.

I grew up in suburban Detroit with two parents and three brothers. Music was always the topic of conversation and I began to fiddle around on musical instruments at the age of three or four. I received a Slingerland snare drum the Christmas of 1963, and it wasn't long before my brother and I were playing songs like Searchin by Del Shannon and Kansas City, Trini Lopez style.

I was lucky, for the most part that my brothers steered me away from many groups that have not stood the test of time. They once put a 45rpm recording of This Guys In Love With You by Herb Alpert in the broiler trying to sway me away from adult contemporary. Brothers are nice that way.

One year I received a copy of Happy Jack by the The Who as a gift. While reading the liner notes I learned of a seventeen year old named Keith Moon who played in such a way that his sticks would splinter, and on occasion he would smash his drums. This convinced me that this was the line of work I wished to pursue.

In the early 1970's my parents purchased a Sony reel to reel tape recorder with the ability to make mulit-track recordings. They had always been very supportive of their offspring pursuing their musical aspirations. This was a pivotal tool with which to pursue recording and songwriting, and 3 of their 4 sons became very interested in this pursuit.

Throughout my early teen years I played in bands and in the fall of 1975, while I was in high school, I began to play 5 nights a week in an Oldies band. These were the days before the Disco Scene started in Detroit, and there were many venues in which to play the music on Happy Days. The places we played at were frequently violent, with motorcycle gangs and car clubs. In one way this was probably not the best environment for a seventeen year old; however, I did get to take a giant step back and learn about the likes of Gene Vincent, Dion, Lous Jordan, and the Drifters.

I moved to NYC to learn about recording and enrolled in a one year program at a school in the West Village. My friend Stewart Simon and I shared an apartment at 390 Wadsworth, in the upper west side of Manhattan. This was a very different place for me and it was the first year I ever lived without a television. We became very focused on the music and recording.

I wasn't too long before I got a job working for Herb Abrahmson. Music historians will remember Herb as one of the founders of Atlantic records. He had master tapes with client names like Otis Blackwell and Dave Baby Cortez. He also had old Ampex tape recorders with tube preamplifiers. It was like a dream come true junk yard for audiophiles. I used to go in sometimes and try to play Happy Organ on the Hammond B3.

Time passed, and I found myself working for a company called Quack Productions. We performed a wide variety of services including but not limited to building recording studios, renting out a party space, and running three rehearsal studios. I suppose if I had worked at Studio Instrument Rentals I might have seen more bands, but let me tell you, I saw a lot of bands. Included in the hodgepodge were Rupert Holmes, Cameo, Stiv Baters, Ricky Lee Jones and Dr. John.

My brother Marshall moved to NYC with his wife in 1978 to perform in the road company of a Broadway play. Gravity began to pull him in a different direction, however, and he began to send demo tapes of his original songs to producers and record labels. We started a band and he quit the play soon after. In the years from 1978 to 1988 touring and recording with Marshall were my primary musical outlets.

During a hiatus between touring and recording I got a call to do a tour with artist and record producer Don Dixon. Jamie Hoover was a member of the group, we became good friends and began to write songs together. We still are, and we still do. Which brings us to Full Length Stereo Recordings, my maiden voyage.

My first thought for a title for this record was Ars Gratis Artis (Art for Arts sake). This record was made in people's homes, on their own time. These people just happen to have some good home studios. It was made by people who have never recorded before, and by people who have worked on giant records for giant bands. Some of the songs were written for this project and others are 20 year old songs that I felt deserved their day in the sun. It has truly been a labor of love for me. There's a 60's pop song, 2 country songs, a big ballad, and even a song with a backwards guitar. It's a mixed bag, and it's very real. I hope you enjoy it. I truly have.

Sincerely,
Robert Crenshaw