In her rich, soulful voice Robin Adler sings “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow…it’s clouds illusions I recall; I really don’t know clouds at all.” The familiar tune is one that Joni Mitchell wrote back in the sixties. Adler is immersing herself in Mitchell’s songs in preparation for an upcoming concert at the Fallbrook Holistic Center on Saturday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m.
Adler’s husband Dave Blackburn will accompany her on “guitars.” No, that isn’t a typo. He will play a variety of different guitars during the concert. “She [Mitchell] has completely rethought the guitar,” he noted. “She writes with fifty different guitar tunings so I will have a battery of guitars to use.”
Joni Mitchell has inspired many a songwriter and vocalist including Robin Adler. The full-bodied voice and poetic lyrics of Mitchell is not something that Robin will truly emulate in her concert, but she will sing the songs with a bit of her own soul to create a unique vocal style. Adler “makes the songs her own,” and because her background is in jazz she is prone to improvise.
Adler and Blackburn are spending a great deal of time in preparation for this concert. They are studying Joni Mitchell’s life, songwriting career and vocal accomplishments. The couple owns all of Mitchell’s albums, which span from the 1960s to her most recent album, which was released in 2000. This interest in Joni Mitchell’s music is not a new passion for either Adler or Blackburn. Blackburn has been a Mitchell fan for thirty years and Adler since the 1980s.
“I admire her more than any songwriter, I can listen to her over and over,” said Adler. “There is so much depth --- and the way she uses metaphors is amazing.”
Fifty-three year old Adler got a late start on her music career. She graduated from Fallbrook High, then took vocal lessons while a student a Mira Costa College. However, it wasn’t until she was thirty-five that she began to sing professionally. She was singing with one of her Joni Mitchell albums when a friend said, “I love your voice – I would like to hear you sing more.” “That just sparked an interest,” said Adler. “Music is my passion now.”
Adler devoted herself to the craft of singing and had some devoted mentors. Peter Sprague was an early mentor and she credits him for launching her career in San Diego.
Dave Blackburn’s interest in music began at an early age when he was growing up in Oxford, England. “I started playing the guitar when I was seven,” he said. “My dad took me to concerts and we went often. I was so fortunate to hear world famous artists appear in a small theatre for four or five pounds.” Twenty-five years ago Blackburn was invited to join a San Diego band and has been in the area ever since. He not only plays guitar, but also teaches private lessons and records in his own studio.
He is most impressed with Mitchell’s gift for creating metaphors. In her song “Hejira” Blackburn noted, “There is a lifetime encapsulated in one phrase – ‘We all come and go unknown/Each so deep and superficial/Between the forceps and the stone.’
Adler and Blackburn anticipate that the concert on February the 25th will be well received. “There may be plenty of Baby Boomers like me who would be interested in revisiting Joni Mitchell,” said Adler, “and even some younger people too. She is an artist that crosses the lines of different musical genres.”
Advance ticket purchases are recommended since the Fallbrook Holistic Center has limited seating. Please call (760) 728-7888 for further information.
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