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Robin James was born in Grants, New Mexico, and started singing when she was two years old. She staged her first concert when she was 16, and held a CD release concert at Adams State College in 2002. She wrote most of the music on her first CD, Green Winter, and the remix, People Say, produced at Howling Dog Records, with the exception of two, Hometown Faces, Shady Lady, written by Dianne Lockhart, and Fields of Gold, written by Sting, and some co-writing with Dominic Shaffer. Robin's main instrument is her voice, followed by piano, violin, and guitar.
She and Dominic are currently working on new material for the third album.Robin was asked to perform on Peter Boag's newest CD, in Byron Gallimore's studio in Nashville. Since Gallimore produces Tim McGraw's (and a host of other household names) music, she was looking forward to meeting McGraw and Faith Hill. It wasn't in the cards, on that trip, though. At the completion of the project, Gallimore invited Robin back, "anytime you're in Nashville, come by, and we'll put you to work."
Fans learned of Robin's accident, in 2001, in which, on her way to breakfast with the family, her right tire hit a sand embankment, and the car was airborne for 30 feet, flipping upside down, landing in an irrigation canal that was frozen over. Robin had not been wearing a seat belt, the roof of the car was level with the body, crushed, and Robin crawled through a space in the broken window, crawled on the ice, until she got her footing, then hiked a quarter of a mile home with cuts and a concussion. She called Dominic, the only number she could think of, and he raced over there to find her walking in circles in the yard- unable to form complete sentences. She certainly gave us a scare. God had a hand in protecting her, judging from the looks of the smashed car, the Lord's angels were with her that day, we're sure. And she recovered fully, with a new respect for dirt roads. She's a pretty tough cookie. Fans didn't know that her 3-hour performance at Adams State College was despite a case of strep throat and a 102 degree fever. What a trooper.
Robin has performed for many artists as back-up vocalist on their CD projects at Howling Dog Records in Alamosa, CO, with writers coming from all over to the small, but extraordinary studio and it's owner/producer, Don Richmond. Richmond told Robin that she had a voice to "go national", and encouraged her to continue to pursue her dream.
Robin's mother and fellow songwriter, Dianne Lockhart was born in Seminole, Texas, to a musical family. Her parents met at a radio station in Seminole. Her dad was a former lead guitar player, and then a steele guitarist, after losing all the fingers on his left hand in an oil drilling accident. There was music on both her mother and father's sides of the family, so it was inevitable that she would pursue music. Her dad built her a stage in the back yard when she was nine, which was a hit with the neighborhood children. The front porch of the old homeplace outside of Seminole was transformed into a stage for huge family musical productions, complete with chairs in the yard and audiences. Her aunt, Dorothy Holbrooks, was a local music teacher, with many gifted children of her own, so the productions were a big deal, and something that Dianne will never forget.
The owner of Rockin' DJ Productions, Robin's mother, Dianne, is a songwriter, performer, internet radio station owner ( Meander Comedy Radio & Solace Radio ), journalist, magazine publisher ( MeanderMagazine.com ), and other things. The one thing she wanted to do most of her life was to sing. She started writing when she was sixteen, after her parents bought her a $30 guitar. She was nominated New Female Vocalist by the New Mexico Country Music Association (which disbanded several years later.) She has performed with bands and solo in Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and California. Her songs, Hometown Faces (written about Seminole) and Shady Lady (which is a song about loving someone who has an addiction) were semi-finalists in the Dallas Songwriter Association International Songwriting Competition, in the fall of 2005. She's been a member of several arts organizations, including the Nashville Songwriter's Association International, which fed her knowledge about the industry, and kept a gentle wind on the flame of her dreams.
"One day, when Robin was two years old, I was trying to get a new song down on tape (yes, tape), and Robin toddled over to me, and asked 'can I sing?', so I handed her the mic, and was just blown away. I had written this song called My Mean Old Man, and was unaware that Robin was paying so much attention, until she took that mic in her little hand and belted it out like a 20-year-old. She vamped and everything. It just absolutely blew me away. I couldn't believe that a voice like that could come out of a two-year-old!" She's been amazing people ever since. Dianne's never wanted to encourage Robin to do something that she didn't want to do. Not wanting to be the "stage mother", she went for several years, wondering if Robin would ever get the desire to pursue music seriously. Then one day Robin walked into the kitchen, and asked her mom to yodel with her. They did harmony yodels, which they are known for in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, where they live. "I guess the only thing you can do is plant the seed, and pray it grows," said Dianne. It grew.Writing is the big thing, for Dianne at Rockin' DJ Industries. All kinds- songwriting, poetry, news, radio spots, television commercials, feature articles in newspapers and online. Her favorite type of ad to write? Comedy, of course.
DO THE DREAM! And never give up. It's something you have to do for yourself, even if it's just part-time, to start. Just don't let anyone talk you out of a destiny that God gave you. Now go forth, and pursue your dreams...
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