Drum sticks flicker mid-air momentarily and, in a whirl, thump a pad, every downbeat accentuated with one peremptory pump, and a tonal network spirals around the first heartbeat pulse: musical vibrations quivering like nerves so palpable you can almost feel their ecstatic fabric. And finally, a strummed acoustic guitar thrums through the room, and you might, only might, now realize all of it – drums, guitar and bass – is presently performed before you by one man. All this, before the soar of a searing vocal starts.  And what a vocal. A leonine roar slashed through with all the scars of a blues singer while sweetened with the melodic sensibility of only our best pop crooners. But it doesn’t matter now. No one can hear it. They’ve checked out. They’re all body and soul, dancing there in the arms of whatever partner they’re lucky enough to share this experience with, this moment of such beauty and sensuality you can touch it, smell it, breathe it. And this moment is the music of Rob Webster.

Rob Webster, native to Chicago, Illinois, is, quite simply, one of the most interesting things I’ve heard in modern music. Vividly I remember walking into Derailed Saloon (packed, as is always the case wherever Rob plays) in Durango, Colorado and hearing him for the first time. He was playing “Sex on Fire,” first sung by Kings of Leon, and unlike almost all covers, I could never listen with satisfaction to the original again. After hearing Rob’s vocal, the sound of a man so madly in love with the unattainable, so possessed by the unpossessible, the sound of a man whose prison is himself but can find some freedom in the beauty of his persistent cry, I could never listen to the original without recognizing it lacked the very fire it spoke of.

The relationship between Rob Webster and his audience is symbiotic in nature. Though he performs Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” splendidly, not even in that cover can you detect the least separation between Webster and his crowd. Quite the contrary, in fact. I’ve never seen an artist more passionately devoted to the satisfaction of his fans. In this way, he travels from place to place as a bee travels from flower petal to flower petal, pollinating, inseminating into a listenership whatever sense of beauty he can. Thus does his audience extend. They listen, and then they speak. They bring their friends out the next time he’s in town, the whole show begins again, and, to quote another Pink Floyd song, one I’d love to hear Mr. Webster perform sometime in the near future, “The Show Must Go On.”  And the show does go on, every night Rob Webster is in town. To listen to Rob Webster is to hear originals that, in their timelessness, strike you as strangely familiar, and covers that, in the originality of their arrangement, seemingly caress your ear for the first time. Again.

- Professor Tyler Drew Brown – 10/8/10 – Durango, Colorado -

Well friends, family, and fans of ROB.WEBSTER.MUSIC, it’s official; I have been added to the bill for the “Terrapin 5K” @ Soldier Field in Chicago, IL this Thursday 8/4/11. The ROB.WEBSTER.MUSIC (www.facebook.com/robwebstermusic) experience will begin @ 5pm, Paradise Waits (www.facebook.com/paradisewaits) @ 6pm, and MR. Blotto (www.mrblotto.com) @ 7:30 until 10:30pm. There is no admission for the event unless you want to run for the cause. All of us involved @ all three bands camps look forward to your support of this event.  Check out www.terrapin5k.com for more details.  PEACE THROUGH MUSIC…

WHO:
rob.webster.music
www.facebook.com/robwebstermusic
www.robwebstermusic.com

WHAT:
“Chicagoland’s Best One-Man Band” ROB.WEBSTER.MUSIC takes the stage to help in the Joplin, MO Tornado Relief Effort…

WHERE:
The Gambler
1232 North Green Street
McHenry, IL

WHEN:
This coming Friday, May 27th @ 9pm – NO COVER

WHY:
Well, as I’m sure you all have heard, there has been terrible storms ripping through the Midwest all Spring long now. The latest of which was in Joplin, MO. My dear friend Josh Hart from Bend, OR used to live in Missouri and has put together a local food drive in Bend and is packing up his van, driving to Missouri, to donate his time, the food drive, his music, and his good spirit to the people of Joplin, MO. I have volunteered to donate all of my tip money, T-Shirt, Stickers, and CD sales from this Fridays show @ The Gambler to his cause and to the people of Joplin, MO…

Monetary donations can be made through www.operationelfbox.org. Every bit helps, so please join us in making a positive impact for those affected by the tornado…

Be sure to check the following websites for more information…
www.makeithabit.com
www.operationelfbox.org
www.facebook.com/joshhartmusic
www.smileyoureinamerica.com
www.robwebstermusic.com

Take a few hours out of your Friday night, stop on out for some free music, great food, and an even greater cause this Friday. Peace Through Music everyone, and take care of one another…

HOW MUCH:
There will be NO COVER @ the door. Donations for the Joplin, Missouri Tornado Relief Fund supported by Josh Hart from www.makeithabit.com & Rob Webster from ROB.WEBSTER.MUSIC will be accepted…

SPECIALS:
$2.00 Captain Mixer
$5.50 Hamms & High Life Pitchers
$2.50 Well & Call Shots (including Jack Daniels, Apple Pie & Jager)
$3.50 Daily Burger Special