By Alexandra Zawada--I Regional Head, Midwest
He is definitely more than just a "dude sitting in a room, singing to the walls, hoping somebody hears" - Jimmy Robbins is getting himself out there - especially now that he is touring with Mitchel Musso and KSM. We were able to sit down and chat with him at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL and let me tell you, he's a very down to earth guy and appreciates everything he has. He has an album coming out (digitally) in just a month and more great things after that. Jimmy is someone that you won't want to skip out on.
Alex: Are you excited to be playing in Chicago today?
Jimmy: Yeah, I love playing here in Chicago. I'm very excited.
A: Yeah, I heard a lot of people are excited to see you today.
J: I like the color coordination there (talking about my note cards).
A: I didn't want to get mixed up, so I wrote them all in different colors.
J: I love that my name is in pink, too.
A: Explain your sound and the style of your music.
J: I write pop songs. I feel like I have kind of a unique sound. It's very happy; even when I'm writing about sad things I try to put into a happy way. That's why I write songs - to make me feel better. So, if I can make them sound that way, that's what I go for. I feel like I can hear some of my influences. I love Third Eye Blind, sometimes I feel that that shows through.
A: So there are no like sad songs..
J: I mean, sometimes when you listen to the words it's about something that is sad; but I try to make it to at least sound happier than it actually is. When I'm writing about something sad, I want to make myself feel better about that situation. That's what I try to do.
A: How has touring with Mitchel been?
J: It's been really good. He's awesome. It's really fun. We get to play these awesome House of Blues. It's cool. His fans are being really nice to me too.
A: Have you seen your fan base increasing or changing because of playing with him?
J: Yeah, definitely. It's always changing, especially when you're out with somebody as popular as Mitchel. I'm lucky that a couple people each night grab onto me too. They can share us.
A: Why did you want to get into singing?
J: I don't know if I ever really wanted to. I kind of feel like, it chooses you. I remember there was just a lot of stuff going on in my life, a lot of crazy stuff, and I ended up just writing songs. Like I've never written songs, it was just like I wasn't talking about things bothering me and they kind of just came out in songs. Then eventually it just got to the point where it was like I didn't have a choice, I couldn't NOT do this now.
A: Did you ever want to do anything else besides singing?
J: When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to teach English, but maybe someday. But I'm having a ton of fun doing this.
A: What do you expect to happen this year?
J: Well, I've got a record coming out. It comes out digitally, September 3rd. And then it'll be in stores everywhere else in November. I don't know what I expect, but I hope for some people to pick it up and enjoy it. I'm going to be on tour for forever, so come see me on tour.
A: Do you have anything planned after this tour with Mitchel?
J: Yeah, we can't announce it yet; but I'll be doing a lot of stuff. They want to keep me working forever. I like it.
A: What is your motivation to keep on moving forward with your music?
J: You know, even the worse shows - like even if there is one person there, it's hard to give up. I don't know any other feeling that I get from playing somebody and making them happy doing it. You get to talk to peopleafter the shows and it puts me in a cool position, like I have some songs about my mom, who passed away when I was younger, and I've gotten the opportunity to talk to people who are going through similar stuff and try to help as best as I can. It's a really special thing. I don't know I just can't ever see myself quiting, even if it's really hard because good just outweighs bad.
A: Even if everything went downhill for a while?
J: I don't know, I don't think I'd quit. I think I'd keep on trying.
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