Robin Aigner!
Robin is Royal Pine, has toured internationally as vocalist and ukelelist for old-time band The Crooked Jades, serves as vocalist, voice of reason and good-time gal for Pinataland and collaborates with David Wechsler, (check out his Vacations CD!!!). Robin also get jiggy with Kings County old-time outfit Strungout String Band.
Influences
Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, old-time, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Eastern European music, Carter Family, Alan Lomax, Rufus Wainright.
And they’re off! Last night at Bar Matchless, 25 contestants in the 5th Annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition played their hearts out to a completely full house. Claustrophobia aside, the night was filled with talent, enthusiasm, good will, and empty bottles of Magic Hat....Robin Aigner performed one of the evening’s best songs, about traveling with a companion and enjoying the simple pleasures of the wandering road: “We took a wrong turn, then we took another wrong turn… Going much slower than the limit allows, pointing and shouting looking at cows.”
From Lucid Culture, 11/2:
Concert Review: Royal Pine at Spikehill, Brooklyn NY 11/2/08
November 3, 2008 · No Comments
Royal Pine AKA Robin Aigner was next on the bill. Highly sought after as a singer on the oldtimey circuit, Aigner also writes wonderfully smart, often quirky, melodically rich, historically-imbued songs, these days equal parts ragtime, vintage country and Roma melody. To keep the show moving along, she began on guitar, then switched to ukulele and ended with a few songs on banjo. Lots of new material in the set: one song with a clever and complex rhyme scheme about an eccentric expat woman, another about FDR’s secretary (who knew where Roosevelt’s car was parked), another about an imagined romance between Irving Berlin and the first immigrant woman to go through Ellis Island and a song in Romanes that she accelerated at the end to a frenetic dance. And there was That Voice – confident, a little brassy, playful and fun. Aigner’s songs are thoughtful and occasionally pensive but always imbued with a sense of humor, sometimes ironic, sometimes puckish. Whatever the case, Aigner doesn’t kvetch – she’s having too much fun, and the vibe extends to the audience. And she doesn’t overdo it: only on the last number did she get sultry, and the way she did it felt effortless and perfectly natural. The dark, chromatic Roma chord changes are also a nice addition to her arsenal of subtle pinches and pokes. It was enough to keep us from straying a few blocks south where Escarioka – high on our list of “gotta see” bands – were playing.—Alan Young
Playing in front of about four people in the sepia-tinted room of Radio Radio, Royal Pine, also known as Robin Aigner, was the opening performer. With her candy-striped baby-doll dress, wild hair and gypsy music, she brought an ache-y folk sound to the stage. Singing songs of Winnebagos and the 1977 blackout, Royal Pine is what would happen if The Mamas and The Papas merged with Loretta Lynn and picked up the ukulele. —NUVO
Voted by Treble The Top Best Female Artist Overlooked in 2006
Hi Robin, good news for you! I got your lap steel working and have been playing it a bunch, but I've got a show in Brooklyn at Hanks Saloon on Thursday and I can bring it down if you want it back. I'm playing electric guitar with J.P. Harris and the Tough Choices. I wish we could offer everyone an instrument if they came to our show.
It was a genuine pleasure to share a stage and a few harmony notes with you. Here's hoping for a repeat in the near future. Don't be a stranger. Yours Truly, Curtis --- Curtis Eller's American Circus www.curtiseller.com
Hello Robin, Thanks a lot for the invitation; Alas, I'm not near any of these gigs, but don't forget to let me know if one day you come to France! best, Anne
I bought your cd from online right after my second daughter was born over a year ago and we still listen to it all the time, my daughter Abby who is five knows all the words to Stone Cold Mamacita, my husbands friends thinks it is so cute that she can sing it! Just wanted to share! Take care and best wishes always!
Thanks for the good words of praise. You're quite a tuneful Dame. Great Stuff. I just checked in with Curtis too. Wow and I thought MySpace was over. I gotta get out (or on) more.
Hello Brooklyn!...my trio is playing in Brooklyn this Sunday night @ The Jalopy Theater (315 Columbia St, Red Hook, Brooklyn). Show starts at 8, we play at 9:30. Come by if you can.
howdy robin! thanks a lot for the note! we should certainly work on some things for new york in the future. just so you know, we're doing two shows in NYC in the next few weeks with Paleface. We're playing the Living Room on August 22nd, and than Hank's Saloon on August 23rd. Come say hello if you've got the time!
