Robin Stone - Press

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NATIONAL CAMPAIGN RELEASE Fly on the Wall Media, October 2009 Cleveland’s “Best Vocalist 2009” almost wasn’t. Last year, that city’s acclaimed “white chocolate” neo-soul singer Robin Stone canceled eight weeks of national tour dates due to hoarseness, exhaustion and mental confusion. After months of analyzing her lengthy, bizarre set of symptoms, doctors told her she had damage to her vocal chords caused by a very rare autoimmune disease. They said Stone, who has charted in the CMJ Top 30 and shared bills with Bonnie Raitt, America, Jewel and Lyle Lovett, might never sing again. Stone’s response: “I said, I don’t think so!” Sure as sugar, here it is: Stone’s fifth album, “Bad Girl,” offers 15 new songs that take her voice from low, sexy growl to soaring rhapsody with nary a hint that the singer had “one foot in the grave” as recently as January. That’s thanks in part to the encouragement of Stone’s drummer Darrell Williams, who offered to produce the album at his house so she could put her money toward an alternative therapy that has worked wonders on the singer’s health. Within a few months, the therapy eased Stone’s most severe symptoms eased and her voice began to return. “I was ecstatic, because when we started the record I was barely fit to stand up, let alone do any kind of work. We started it three times. I count it as a total miracle that we finished,” Stone says. Recording in Williams’ living room brought its own challenges: That’s his little daughters singing backup on the first single, “Get Up,” their reward for sitting silently through hours of vocal takes. In fact, “Get Up,” became something of a mantra for Stone. “That’s a personal song for me. No matter what life throws at you, it’s going to give you good and bad, but you’ve got to get up and keep going.” Putting her words into action, Stone is back on the road this summer and the new CD “Bad Girl” is in stores now. In the end, Stone’s illness served as inspiration for the energetic “Bad Girl.” The CD is full of positive, joyful and racy tunes that echo Jill Scott and Anita Baker. It also taps the audience interaction that’s a key part of the live shows with Stone and her world-class band of veteran funk and soul players. “I decided to go ahead with the CD in spite of my illness because music is the only thing that inspires me, and hopefully it can inspire other people. A lot of the fans actually made the record possible – they came to my aid with donations and held benefits. The record is a dedication to them.” And what does Stone think about being awarded as her hometown’s best vocalist in a year when the future of her powerful voice was in grave doubt? “That’s a reader’s poll, so it means a lot to me. Winning that award this year was almost prophetic.” The bad girl has spoken. Listen up!
Speak Up Magazine, Brazil, November 2010 Get Up is a featured song with printed lyrics and a track on the CD give away with each magazine! Skope Magazine Review, May 2010: http://skopemag.com/2010/04/28/robin-stone-bad-girl Skope Magazine Feature, May 2010: The indomitable Spirit of Robin Stone Interview with James Lowe on KJAG Radio: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=23251&pageNumber=2&pageSize=15 Interview on Around Noon, NPR National Radio about Bad Girl http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/an/26573 Cover of North Coast Voice, February, 2010: North Coast Voice CD Review, October 2009: Scene Magazine Article on the new release Bad Girl, July 2009: Bad Girl is Robin Stone's Strongest Effort. ... When Robin Stone found herself a little hoarse in January of 2008, she didn't think too much about it. ... A Symptom of Success by Anastasia Pantsios Cleveland Scene Music Awards 2009: Feb 25, 2009 ... Singer-songwriter Robin Stone is like Cleveland's answer to Ani DiFranco: Best Vocalist Cleveland Scene Article, May 2009: May 28, 2009 ... Robin Stone, one of Cleveland's most dynamic performers and winner of this year's Scene Music Award for Best Vocalist... Stone Preps for New CD Despite Crappy Year by Anastasia Pantsios North Coast Voice Review of Bad Girl, October 2009: www.NorthCoastVoice.com, page 14 Akron Beacon Journal, Malcom X Abram Stone celebrates 'Bad Girl' Chronic disease doesn't slow down CD release of singer's latest tunes Sunday in Lakewood Published on Thursday, Jun 18, 2009 Local singer/songwriter Robin Stone will celebrate the release of her latest collection of tunes, Bad Girl, with a CD release party at the Brothers Lounge in Lakewood on Sunday. The show, which will feature her full band, is a celebration of a new album and Stone's strength and perseverance. In the last several months, Stone, who was named best vocalist of 2009 in Scene Magazine, has been facing a serious career- and life-threatening illness. She has Sjorgen's syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes white blood cells to attack moisture-producing glands and can cause problems with the kidneys, lungs, liver, central nervous system and other important organs and functions. It can leave the sufferer open to other complications. In Stone's case, the disease has left her frequently exhausted, weak and susceptible to Epstein-Barr syndrome and other bacteria and viruses including a lesion that appeared near her vocal chords, which she has since had removed. She mixes traditional medicine with holistic techniques to treat her illness and — when her body has allowed and even sometimes when it hasn't — she has gathered her physical and inner strength to keep recording and finishing the album. I would imagine her struggle has given the entire process and project a personal gravitas that her previous albums may not have inspired within her. Stone has blogged about her situation on her Web site athttp://www.shelovesyourecords.com. It's all pretty harrowing and inspiring stuff as Stone tries to stay positive and focused. As usual, fighting for one's life is not an inexpensive endeavor and as Stone's medical bills continue to pile up, a page for donations has been set up athttp://www.shelovesyourecords.com/donate.html. If you go to the show I don't think she'd be mad if you bought 10 copies of the album and gave them to friends to show your support for her continued existence. I have only heard a few snippets from Bad Girl, her fifth release, but it appears to follow in the same chilled-out, velvety smooth acoustic soul vein she mined on her previous full-length studio album, Rushmore. Stone, who often performs solo, will have her full band with her. Her band includes drummer Darrell Williams, (co-producer of the album with Stone) who has worked with Kirk Franklin and Akron's Howard Hewitt, guitarist Erique Troi, who toured with Milli Vanilli (don't hold that against him, he released a pretty good neo-soul record a few years ago that was better than anything Milli Vanilli or their vocal stand-ins ever did), bassist Derrick Davis (son of the late Parliament-Funkadelic basso profundo and rock hall inductee Ray Davis) and Akron-based keyboardist Brandon Scarborough. Co-headlining will be singer/songwriter David Wells, who also is releasing a CD — his third — called Skyline. Our best wishes go out to Stone in her continuing fight to get her heart, mind and body all on the same physical and metaphysical page again. Stay strong, girl.
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