Rob comes from a musical family. His mom played piano, flute, trumpet and sang all the time. Rob’s dad was also a professional musician, playing “every Friday, Saturday nights and New year’s eve for as long as I could remember” They always had music in the house. Rob would play air conductor to the symphony music his mom would listen to and air guitar to his dad’s guitar records in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Many Sundays were spent at his grandparents’ house where his grandfather, dad and uncles grandfather would get together and jam and play “hillbilly” music.
Rob got his first guitar for Christmas when in the third grade. He made up songs and learned some basics. He was always a small kid and freaked his parents out when he came home in the beginning of 6th grade with a double bass that was bigger than him announcing he was in the orchestra. Rob took lessons from many local teachers but his primary teacher “the guy that really taught me how to play the bass” was Ron Simon, assistant principal bassist of the Seattle Symphony.
Through High School Rob would jam with friends. By the end of his senior year he was in a rock cover band. “...even though I was steeped in the orchestral and classical music, I still liked playing electric a lot more because it was closer to the music I really wanted to play” Rock and roll baby!” Rob played in every group he could, Seattle Youth Symphony from 1972- 1978, Eastside Youth symphony, and othersAt the time I really felt I was headed to a “position with a major orchestra somewhere in the world.”
After two years at BCC, Rob got a scholarship to the University of Puget Sound and played with all the groups there: Chamber orchestra, Concert band, Jazz band, Adelphian Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, and the Tacoma Symphony. Rob Received his BA in Music in 1979. In 2007 Rob started playing with the alternative rock band 19-5 and later with BRAZZ, a Brazilian jazz quartet.
Rob is now a member of the RJ Knapp & Honey Robin band. “I am finally playing the music that I love with the most amazing talent.”
