Walter Robinson

about

ABOUT WALTER ROBINSON "SIR" WALTER Robinson plays his right-handed guitar upside down -- just like his idol, Jimi Hendrix. A Native American dream catcher hangs from his Stratocaster's neck. He sings in the same husky tenor and wears a black bolero hat pulled low over his eyes. It's no surprise that every time I've visited Pharaoh's Rock N' Blues Bar & Grill (1817 Columbia Rd. NW; 202-232-6009), where Robinson is an owner and leader of the house band, I've heard the Walter Robinson Band roar through a few Hendrix tunes, vamping on "Changes" or stretching out the epic "All Along the Watchtower." Not that I'm complaining: Robinson is an excellent guitar player, who moves seamlessly from wailing psychedelic jams to nimble, soulful blues riffs and plays with passion, whether he's doing justice to Cream's "Crossroads," a funky version of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" or B.B. King-style standards such as "Goin' to Chicago." Robinson has brought his blues-drenched classic rock and R&B to a number of local venues over the years: a regular gig at Chick Hall's Surf Club in Bladensburg, the D.C. Blues Festival, a spot hosting the open mike at the 94th Aerosquadron in College Park. Robinson and his band even recorded an album called "Haze of Purple" (no points for subtlety there), but he wasn't playing out as often as he liked. "We were trying to get him gigs, and it was really difficult," says his partner, Pam Kinser. "So we just said, 'Let's open our own place.' " Pharaoh'

top songs

albums

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Cause I Wanna

Haze of Purple

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San Francisco - Post-War California Down Home Blues

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The Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 5

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Saga Blues: San Francisco "Post-War California Down Home Blues"

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San Francisco "Post-War California Down Home Blues"

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My Private Slow Blues 25

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Special Gift - Island Black Music Christmas Album

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Slow Blues 25

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The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions - Vol.5

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99.9%

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The Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 5: Back in the Alley 1949-1954

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