Mark Robinson

By Nolan Gawron

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As the founder of five bands, a solo project and the label that they all call home, Mark Robinson played an integral role in the rise and sustained greatness of the DIY music revolution. After forming the band Unrest and the TeenBeat label in D.C. in the mid-'80s (while still attending high school), Robinson not only received critical acclaim as a part of Unrest, but also as the head of one indie rock's most revered record labels.

Eventually relocating TeenBeat HQ to Cambridge, Mark Robinson's rock & roll résumé now includes his participation in Air Miami, Grenadine, Flin Flon and his self-titled solo project, which has filled in all the gaps in between.

"I think it's hard to decipher [the difference in each project] when you're so close to something,"' says Robinson. "Flin Flon was certainly a bit different. That resulted from writing the songs on the bass guitar. My solo stuff is certainly more stripped down and minimal than Unrest, most likely just because there's just one of me."

Though Unrest has long since disbanded, TeenBeat's upcoming release Maybe It's Reno reunites Mark Robinson with former bandmates Bridget Cross and Phil Krauth. But don't call this an Unrest reunion. "The album started because Bridget had a bunch of songs she wanted to record," says Robinson. "She was visiting her mom in D.C. and asked me if I knew of anyone she could record with there. I suggested that she come up to Boston and she could record in my apartment. Even though I don't consider the Maybe it's Reno album to be an Unrest reunion at all, I think there is some sort of similarity to Unrest at least in feel or atmosphere, but it's certainly all Bridget's album."

While Robinson recorded and played on the Maybe it's Reno record, he is now focused on a new band of his own. Cotton Candy, a collaboration between he and his wife, Evelyn Hurley, are currently recording their debut album, also soon to be released on TeenBeat.

"We're trying to do all sorts of genres," says Robinson. "Kind of like the Unrest stuff."

"I pretty much do what I've always done, which is making stuff I want to make, the way I want to do it. And doing all (or most) of it myself—I guess that's the essence of do-it-yourself."

[Cotton Candy w/ Mahogany, Public Record and the Carlisle Sound. Sat. 4.19. P.A.'s Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave., Somerville. 617.776.1557. 8:30pm/18+/$8 for 21+,$11 for 18-21. paslounge.com]