Em poucas palavras Rob foi um dos criadores do hard core em 1976 quando formou a banda The Chumps de Washington. Depois formou os Workdogs já nos anos 80 em NY que contou em suas gravações com Jon Spencer, Popa Chubby, Ivan Julian, Kid Congo Powers ( The Cramps e Bad Seeds), Marce Hall, Lydia Lunch, Moe Tucker (Velvet Underground).
Hoje, aos 56 anos de idade, casado há 34 anos com Caki sua namorada desde a adolescência em Washington D.C., Rob mora no Hawaii trabalhando na construção civil para sua sobrevivência e mantendo o duo The Jam Messengers com Marco Butcher compondo pela internet e realizando tours pelo mundo, sua verdadeira alma.
Rob é de longe um dos caras mais agradáveis que eu já conheci, extremamente educado, inteligente, bem humorado, corpo perfeito esculpido pela prática da yoga por mais de vinte anos, dando inveja a muitos meninos, um cara que depois de 30 anos de estrada não tem medo de pegar um ônibus mais uma vez e ir levar a sua música para qualquer lugar onde o chamarem!
Rob é o rei das palavras, suas letras são a expressão de tudo o que vê e sente, desde a pizza que recebeu como pagamento na noite anterior, até a indignação com o mundo em que vivemos.
Da nossa longa conversa, um trecho foi excepcionalmente engraçado e elucidativo sobre o início da sua carreira como músico com a formação dos The Chumps!
Confira aqui, o que uma noite fria em São Paulo e uma tarde chuvosa em Volcano no Hawaii pode trazer de informação sobre a história da cultura punk.
Com vocês Mr. Rob K:
[07/11/09 01:48:01 ] robk : hey did I tell you Rolling Stone interviewed me about Woodstock?
[07/11/09 01:48:10 ] ale maestro : no!!!
[07/11/09 01:48:12 ] ale maestro : when?
[07/11/09 01:48:14 ] robk : not sure when the article comes out
[07/11/09 01:48:18 ] robk : soon I guess
[07/11/09 01:48:21 ] ale maestro : great!!!!
[07/11/09 01:48:37 ] ale maestro : please! bring one for me!!!!
[07/11/09 01:48:43 ] robk : the guy seemed to like my stories
[07/11/09 01:49:01 ] ale maestro : and how was Woodstock for you?
[07/11/09 01:49:04 ] robk : but he did have an angle he was working on in the story
[07/11/09 01:49:22 ] robk : people whose lives were REALLY changed by Woodstock
[07/11/09 01:49:33 ] robk : mine wasn't really that changed
[07/11/09 01:49:50 ] robk : more changed by punk rock if any fuckin thing
[07/11/09 01:50:04 ] ale maestro : because you were already changed when got there
[07/11/09 01:50:14 ] robk : so don't know if he'll use what I said
[07/11/09 01:50:26 ] robk : yea sure
[07/11/09 01:50:40 ] robk : I was already into drugs and rock
[07/11/09 01:51:00 ] robk : what changed was when I realized I could do it myself
[07/11/09 01:51:05 ] robk : that took punk
[07/11/09 01:51:26 ] robk : I used to think musicians were GODS
[07/11/09 01:51:28 ] robk : hahahahah
[07/11/09 01:51:32 ] ale maestro : heheehhehe
[07/11/09 01:51:35 ] robk : what a chump I was
[07/11/09 01:51:40 ] ale maestro : rararaarrara
[07/11/09 01:52:09 ] ale maestro : that's why you became the chump?
[07/11/09 01:52:19 ] robk : one of the reasons
[07/11/09 01:52:35 ] robk : hate to say it but the name fit us like a GLOVE
[07/11/09 01:52:46 ] ale maestro : RAARARARARARRARARA
[07/11/09 01:52:54 ] robk : not kidding
[07/11/09 01:53:00 ] ale maestro : RARARAARRAARRA
[07/11/09 01:53:11 ] robk : jeez one of the most DIFFICULT bands ever
[07/11/09 01:53:16 ] robk : and my FIRST
[07/11/09 01:53:17 ] ale maestro : how old were you?
[07/11/09 01:53:21 ] robk : so I had no idea
[07/11/09 01:53:28 ] ale maestro : why difficult?
[07/11/09 01:53:42 ] robk : well kinda old by band standards
[07/11/09 01:53:45 ] robk : lets see
[07/11/09 01:53:50 ] robk : I was married
[07/11/09 01:53:58 ] robk : guess it was 76
[07/11/09 01:54:02 ] robk : so 23
[07/11/09 01:54:30 ] robk : difficult because they guys were STRANGE
[07/11/09 01:54:40 ] robk : NOT musician types AT ALL
[07/11/09 01:54:46 ] robk : I was the closest
[07/11/09 01:54:59 ] robk : they were kinda more like sculptors
[07/11/09 01:55:10 ] robk : wayyyy introverted
[07/11/09 01:55:16 ] ale maestro : rararara
[07/11/09 01:55:19 ] ale maestro : I see
[07/11/09 01:55:39 ] ale maestro : and didn't know how to play?
[07/11/09 01:55:43 ] robk : I don't have a CLUE why we even did the shit
[07/11/09 01:56:01 ] robk : I GUESS because there was one guy with rock ambitions
[07/11/09 01:56:07 ] ale maestro : rarararararararraar
[07/11/09 01:56:13 ] robk : and he and I started the chumps
[07/11/09 01:56:34 ] robk : but he had VERY WEIRD theories about music
[07/11/09 01:56:51 ] ale maestro : weird theories?
[07/11/09 01:56:56 ] robk : completely WRONG as far as traditional theory goes
[07/11/09 01:57:04 ] robk : but I didn't know that
[07/11/09 01:57:30 ] ale maestro : what kind of music did he listened to that time?
[07/11/09 01:57:36 ] robk : eventually another guy who knew a LITLLE about how music works joined the band
[07/11/09 01:57:48 ] robk : he LOVED Jimi Hendrix
[07/11/09 01:58:00 ] robk : but there only 1 Jimi
[07/11/09 01:58:02 ] robk : sorry
[07/11/09 01:58:11 ] ale maestro : rarararara
[07/11/09 01:58:33 ] robk : anyway the Jimi guy got TOTALLY threatened by the guy who knew how to tune
[07/11/09 01:58:46 ] robk : that was almost ALL he knew
[07/11/09 01:59:10 ] robk : but Jimi guy calls this BIG SERIOUS BAND MEETING
[07/11/09 01:59:34 ] robk : and the purpose was to GET RID of the guy who knew how to tune
[07/11/09 01:59:39 ] ale maestro : arararra
[07/11/09 01:59:42 ] robk : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[07/11/09 01:59:43 ] robk : hahahah
[07/11/09 01:59:45 ] ale maestro : great!
[07/11/09 01:59:49 ] robk : SOOOOOOOOO
[07/11/09 01:59:55 ] ale maestro : arararrarararra
[07/11/09 02:00:12 ] robk : even CHUMPS could see that it was a self destructive idea!
[07/11/09 02:00:19 ] ale maestro : RARARRARARAARRA
[07/11/09 02:00:38 ] robk : so in the end the Jimi guy walked
[07/11/09 02:00:44 ] robk : BUT
[07/11/09 02:01:31 ] robk : now I had a band of TOTAL introverts that truly could not give a fuck about any of the usual things like gigging or recording
[07/11/09 02:01:49 ] robk : they liked to watch TV while we practiced
[07/11/09 02:01:58 ] ale maestro : raarararrarararara
[07/11/09 02:02:04 ] robk : seriously watch TV
[07/11/09 02:02:16 ] robk : we used to play with TVs on stage
[07/11/09 02:02:31 ] ale maestro : to play???
[07/11/09 02:02:46 ] ale maestro : the shows were wit the tv on the stage?
[07/11/09 02:02:51 ] robk : so I was the head guy without having a single clue about any of it
[07/11/09 02:03:01 ] robk : didn't know how to play
[07/11/09 02:03:05 ] robk : how to sing
[07/11/09 02:03:11 ] robk : how to manage
[07/11/09 02:03:24 ] robk : only thing I knew was about heroin
[07/11/09 02:03:45 ] robk : which was a thing I shared with a couple of the other guys
[07/11/09 02:03:56 ] robk : and down the tubes we went!!!
[07/11/09 02:03:57 ] robk : hahahha
[07/11/09 02:04:11 ] ale maestro : ararrarararara
[07/11/09 02:04:26 ] robk : more TV watching than playing after a while
[07/11/09 02:04:31 ] ale maestro : i'm listening to it now on myspace!
[07/11/09 02:04:36 ] robk : hahaha
[07/11/09 02:04:49 ] robk : there’s some cool stuff about Chumps
[07/11/09 02:04:49 ] ale maestro : the sax is greattt!!!! rararararar
[07/11/09 02:04:59 ] robk : I didn't give you the CD?
[07/11/09 02:05:04 ] robk : I will in Aug
[07/11/09 02:05:05 ] ale maestro : no!!!
[07/11/09 02:05:13 ] ale maestro : cooolll!!!!
[07/11/09 02:05:36 ] robk : guy in australia finally put out the CD 2 years ago
[07/11/09 02:05:46 ] robk : it was recorded mostly in 79
[07/11/09 02:06:02 ] robk : never came out then
[07/11/09 02:06:25 ] ale maestro : so it took 3 years to put out the album!
[07/11/09 02:06:34 ] robk : 30
[07/11/09 02:06:42 ] robk : hahaha
[07/11/09 02:06:43 ] ale maestro : rararra
[07/11/09 02:06:44 ] robk : yes
[07/11/09 02:07:25 ] ale maestro : but how did you recorded the songs, wasn't there a vinyl?
[07/11/09 02:07:49 ] robk : we did a 7" in 77-78 I guess
[07/11/09 02:08:12 ] robk : and we THOUGHT it would be an album - vinyl
[07/11/09 02:08:32 ] robk : but I would have had to be the one to sell it
[07/11/09 02:08:37 ] robk : and I DID try
[07/11/09 02:08:52 ] robk : but I really didn't know what I was doing then
[07/11/09 02:08:58 ] robk : we HAD a manager
[07/11/09 02:09:00 ] robk : hahahah
[07/11/09 02:09:10 ] robk : he worked in THE WHITE HOUSE
[07/11/09 02:09:12 ] ale maestro : raarar don't laugh on that!!!
[07/11/09 02:09:16 ] robk : for NIXON!!!
[07/11/09 02:09:17 ] robk : hahaah
[07/11/09 02:09:21 ] ale maestro : raraarrarararararaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
[07/11/09 02:09:33 ] robk : he didn't know too much about the business sadly
[07/11/09 02:09:35 ] robk : hahaah
[07/11/09 02:09:45 ] ale maestro : and whyyyy was him your manager?!?!
[07/11/09 02:10:09 ] robk :because he put up the money for the record!!!
[07/11/09 02:10:10 ] robk : hahahah
[07/11/09 02:10:17 ] ale maestro : raararararraarararararaaaaaaaaa
[07/11/09 02:10:22 ] robk : also was my employer at the time
[07/11/09 02:10:27 ] robk : great guy
[07/11/09 02:10:36 ] robk : but NOT a manager
[07/11/09 02:11:07 ] ale maestro : but he did a great job giving you the money for the record!
[07/11/09 02:11:18 ] robk : no fucking doubt
[07/11/09 02:11:36 ] robk : it was really cheap to record as a matter of fact
[07/11/09 02:11:48 ] robk : might have been less than 700US
[07/11/09 02:11:53 ] robk : peanuts
[07/11/09 02:11:56 ] ale maestro : raarrarara
[07/11/09 02:12:07 ] robk : but our priorities were DRUGS first
[07/11/09 02:12:08 ] robk : hahah
[07/11/09 02:13:03 ] robk : so 700 was BIG to us
[07/11/09 02:13:04 ] ale maestro : I see, if he hadn't had the idea to record you would spend it with candies!
[07/11/09 02:13:16 ] robk : sure
[07/11/09 02:13:29 ] robk : it was GREAT he put up the $$
[07/11/09 02:13:37 ] robk : I was leaving town
[07/11/09 02:13:53 ] robk : he thought there should be a record of this band
[07/11/09 02:14:01 ] robk : bless him he was right
[07/11/09 02:14:47 ] ale maestro : yes! but by that time did you realize that the band was great stuff?
[07/11/09 02:15:34 ] robk : C
[07/11/09 02:15:36 ] robk : T
[07/11/09 02:15:58 ] robk : s
[07/11/09 02:16:04 ] ale maestro : ?
[07/11/09 02:16:09 ] robk : t
[07/11/09 02:16:28 ] robk : !
[07/11/09 02:16:29 ] robk : h
[07/11/09 02:16:40 ] robk : N
[07/11/09 02:16:48 ] ale maestro : [02:15:34] robk diz:
C
[02:15:36] robk : diz:
T
[02:15:58] robk : diz:
s
[02:16:04] ale maestro diz:
?
[02:16:09] robk : diz:
t
[02:16:28] robk : diz:
!
[02:16:29] robk : diz:
h
[02:16:40] robk : diz:
N
[07/11/09 02:17:18 ] robk : fucking MSN
[07/11/09 02:17:26 ] robk : I HATE BILL GATES
[07/11/09 02:17:32 ] ale maestro : raraarrarara
[07/11/09 02:17:56 ] ale maestro : [02:14:47] ale maestro diz:
yes! but by that time did you realize that the band was great stuff?
[07/11/09 02:18:08 ] robk : anyway I THINK what I was saying was I was ALWAYS happy to fuck up minds in Washington DC
[07/11/09 02:18:09 ] ale maestro : that's was the last thing...
[07/11/09 02:18:40 ] robk : so even tho I was sick of the chumps, sick of DC and sick of myself
[07/11/09 02:18:51 ] robk : I DID know we were doing good shit
[07/11/09 02:19:16 ] robk : because we FUCKED up minds in DC!!!!
[07/11/09 02:19:16 ] ale maestro : ow, that's right!!! that's why the guy was working for Nixon! Washington D.C.!
[07/11/09 02:19:18 ] robk : hahhaha
[07/11/09 02:19:27 ] ale maestro : rarararaarraa
[07/11/09 02:19:38 ] robk : its a VERY square place
[07/11/09 02:19:50 ] ale maestro : I can imagine
[07/11/09 02:19:58 ] robk : probably like Brasilia from what Marco's said
[07/11/09 02:20:38 ] ale maestro : maybe, but in squared places you always have those crazy kids
[07/11/09 02:20:56 ] robk : I think our flyers used to toast even MORE minds than our shows
[07/11/09 02:21:04 ] robk : we had great flyers
[07/11/09 02:21:18 ] ale maestro : do you still have them?
07/11/09 02:22:12 robk quer enviar-lhe o arquivo "'contortions .jpg020.jpg'" (2,05M bytes). Ele será gravado na pasta /Users/alemaestro/Desktop. Quer receber este arquivo?
07/11/09 02:22:24 Transferência de arquivo aceita
[07/11/09 02:22:37 ] robk : caki did this one when the Pope was coming thru town
[07/11/09 02:22:43 ] robk : we plastered the parade route
[07/11/09 02:23:22 ] robk : this is me back then
07/11/09 02:23:23 robk quer enviar-lhe o arquivo "'chumps rk closejpg059.jpg'" (141K bytes). Ele será gravado na pasta /Users/alemaestro/Desktop. Quer receber este arquivo?
[07/11/09 02:23:23 ] ale maestro : plastered?
07/11/09 02:23:29 Transferência de arquivo aceita
[07/11/09 02:23:42 ] robk : literally
[07/11/09 02:23:48 ] robk : we used gesso
[07/11/09 02:24:01 ] robk : some of those fuckers were around YEARS later
[07/11/09 02:24:11 ] ale maestro : raarrarar
[07/11/09 02:24:20 ] ale maestro : but why?
[07/11/09 02:24:53 ] robk : because we didn't use flour paste
[07/11/09 02:25:13 ] robk : we used like SERIOUS chemicals to put the shit up
[07/11/09 02:25:26 ] robk : it was to promote the show
[07/11/09 02:25:32 ] robk : just hanging flyers
[07/11/09 02:25:52 ] robk : but we looked at it as a chance to screw with minds
[07/11/09 02:25:54 ] ale maestro : it's almost done here
[07/11/09 02:27:04 ] ale maestro : it's really slow here!
[07/11/09 02:27:16 ] robk : yes
[07/11/09 02:27:27 ] ale maestro : so it wasn't just about music!
[07/11/09 02:27:36 ] robk : the first one is the flyer Caki did
[07/11/09 02:27:53 ] ale maestro : your pic is here!
[07/11/09 02:27:55 ] robk : well we were NOT anything like bands usually are
[07/11/09 02:28:08 ] robk : thats me in I think 78
[07/11/09 02:28:21 ] robk : maybe 79
A melhor parte é:
ResponderExcluirrobk: I HATE BILL GATES
meu, conheci Chumps esses dias, por acaso.
ResponderExcluirpreciso saber muito mais sobre essas praias loucas do Rob K
muito foda