Al Robinson is a British guitar tech and tour manager rather than a performing guitarist. He came up through backline work and spent around ten years with Oysterband, then built a career touring with a long list of acts, and in recent years has worked closely with Reeves Gabrels, guitarist with The Cure1.
His effects by era and band
Robinson's own pedal story begins as a teenager in the 1980s. He used the OD-1 OverDrive and BF-2 Flanger while trying to sound like Randy Rhoads, and then discovered the DD-3 Digital Delay and Hawkwind1.
His working life in music started with a summer of backline work that led to Oysterband, who, in his words, "were very patient with me, and I ended up being with them for around ten years"1. After that he picked up other gigs, including 65daysofstatic, New York Dolls, The Go! Team and Palma Violets1. He moved from Newcastle to Brighton in 2003 and worked with The Go! Team for quite a long time1.
In recent years his credits range widely:
- Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
- Danko Jones
- Sea Power
- The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Andy Taylor
- Haircut 100
- Sheryl Crow
- Texas
- Cast
- Agnes Obel1
Work with Reeves Gabrels
Robinson first met Reeves Gabrels when Gabrels was bringing his own band to the UK and needed a tour manager. They were introduced by Dan Baird of The Georgia Satellites, and, as Robinson tells it, "after about a week of knowing each other, we became great friends"1. He later lived in Gabrels' house for most of the summer of 2016 while Gabrels was away with The Cure1.
Questions
What pedals does Al Robinson use?
As a teenager in the 1980s he used the Boss OD-1 OverDrive and BF-2 Flanger while trying to sound like Randy Rhoads, and he later picked up the Boss DD-3 Digital Delay after discovering Hawkwind.
Sources (1)
- Behind the Board: Al Robinson with The Cure Guitarist Reeves Gabrels, BOSS (articles.boss.info), 2025-04-07