Cotton Candy

By JONATHAN DONALDSON

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Mark Robinson doesn't drink coffee, but he's meeting me for one today. "This is strong!" he says. Robinson founded the seminal D.C. indie label Teenbeat in the mid '80s, primarily as a vehicle for Unrest, the legendary band he fronted into the mid '90s. Teenbeat, Robinson and hundreds of boxes of CDs, stickers and master tapes have been officially headquartered in Cambridge since '99, but he's still a D.C. DIY kid at heart. "When I first did [Teenbeat], we were in high school making casettes and we sold them to our fellow students," says Robinson. "I've never really expected anything out of it. I always focus on the finished project, the music and the packaging."

After running with Air Miami, Flin Flon and a solo career in the early aughts, Robinson is back with a new band. Cotton Candy, named after a Ron Howard made-for-TV movie, is a duo with Evelyn Hurley. "We're generally a two-piece," smiles Robinson. But any night they might be joined by their sons on percussion, because Robinson and Hurley, you see, are also married. "I saw her perform with Blast Off Country Style. That's how I met her. But this was the first time we've played music together," says Robinson. "Now our kids can come to the show with us if we can't get a babysitter."

Cotton Candy's first show was in '08 with Calvin Johnson. "He just travels with an acoustic guitar," Robinson says of Johnson. "He doesn't even use a microphone or plug his acoustic guitar in. He pushed us into our first show." Johnson's super-minimal aesthetic resonated with Robinson and Hurley, who also perform with just one guitar each. Cotton Candy has released one track: a slow, dreamy ballad with boy/girl vocals and Robinson's trademark guitar downstrokes called "Invisible Kisses." Robison says a series of 7-inches will hopefully follow. "With Cotton Candy, there are absolutely no rules," explains Robinson. "We're doing a lot of covers, we're doing jingles, spoken word ... We do 20-song sets that last 15 minutes!" Just enough time to get you through that cup of coffee. With extra sugar.

[Cotton Candy with One Happy Island, The Smittens and Cathy Cathodic. Thu 1.1.09. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., Central Sq., Cambridge. 617.864.3278. 8:30pm/18+/$9. mideastclub.com, teenbeat.net]