Wicked John and the Devil

Wicked John and the Devil is the music of Alex Robinson. That's me.

The name Wicked John and the Devil comes from an old Appalachian folk tale. When I was little, my family and I would often stay at this old farmhouse on my grandparents’ property in the summertime. It was built before the Civil War and is nestled down in a quiet holler in the mountains of western North Carolina. There wasn’t a tv or much in the way of entertainment, so in the evenings my sister and I would listen to records. One particular record we loved was a woman named Jackie Torrence telling scary stories. The last story on side B was called “Wicked John and the Devil” - a tale of a mysterious and sinister figure John who outsmarted the devil who had come to collect him and take him to hell.

If you’re looking for a tidy allegory to explain the connection between this story and my songwriting, you might be disappointed. But then also if you’re looking for tidy allegories in my songs, or in life in general, you might be equally disappointed. Here you will find moments captured with the hope that they might bring meaning to where we will go next. Moments that connect past and present through quiet meditations. Daydreams and such. 

Practically speaking what you will find here are songs in all states of creation: some songs are basically ideas hastily recorded the day they were conceived, while others were labors of love pieced together and reiterated over months or even years. Albums denoted as “Daily Two” were part of a collective project that tasks participants with creating two minutes of original music every day for a month - it’s hard! It forces you into places creatively you never imagined you would go. Other albums, however, were created more intentionally and in collaboration with friends. In the end I think it really is a journey-is-the-destination type of pursuit, making music. So I hope you enjoy what you hear (and see).

-Alex