Dec 14 Arrival !
2018 Release
Neo-Rockabilly Artist Robby Vee teams up with Poet & Writer Andrew Hall for a collection of Songs titled “Vee Hall”.
Robby Vee comes from a big musical family many know for the musical genius of Bobby Vee. He carries on the family tradition as will his children. It was something I witnessed growing up down the block from the Vee’s. In the Vee house, there was always a guitar nearby. Music was in the very blood... And words also flowed in the artistry of The Vee’s through Bobby and Karen and their family.
My dad wrote a column. For Billboard Magazine about radio and television, but music was his first love. He and Bobby shared a love of country music and our families often went camping together. Bobby would break out the acoustic guitar and serenade us into the night around the campfire. He always threw in my favorite: “Lollipop.”
Our fathers have recently passed on to the next realm but not before imbuing us with their love and passion for music and lyrics. Words can't do justice to the legacies our respective dads left us but still we try.... Robby through music and myself through words...
Robby reminds us that this work is in honor of and brought forth by the love of our parents but also our personal heart felt journey of us doing what we do...
We are artists trained by the best…
We pay tribute in our path.
“You can’t know where you are going unless you know where you have been.”
On Vee Hall…
Buzz is a celebration of life in the purest sense. Hallelujah!
Before Majesty brings us back to our childhood imagination. We are all purple dragons... We are warriors and sages and fools... All the archetypes are in us all.
Monsoon Sunset has the beauty of classic country songs ala Jimmy Webb and Glen Cambell... The music changes to meet the lyrical moods and the song delivers warmth and hope about weathering the storms of our lives.
Love Supreme celebrates the jazz that is love and the love that is jazz and all music for that matter.
Perfume is the essence of life.
We need a sense of everything or a scent... Darkness and light....Yin/ Yang... We must lose in order to gain perspective.
Song of Songs (Ballad of Old Souls) is a musical satire in the tone of Shakespeare's sonnet,
"My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun." The Bible is always a good place to go for inspiration, creativity, and diversity.
Robby, a fine lyricist in his own right, had to navigate around these words, into them, and through them to unravel their musical possibility. He crafted poems into songs. For many musicians the words come after the tune has formed. For Vee the challenge was to unpack the mystery and translate the magic into pure sound. From our conversations, I could tell that this process was a joy for the both of us.
For the poet... The job is relatively easy... Just spit the words out and let time do the rest. Sure... There are revisions and edits... But the musician has to sculpt the words to fit his or her voice... To sing well is difficult let alone to invent musical accompaniment.
I hope the songs move you to dance, to reflect, to hold your dear one close... And if you are a solitary traveller, hold yourself even closer....
"Music is eternal
The notes never go quiet
And if you are so inclined
Pick up your instrument
And play with us."
Robby continues to entertain, create and pass the family tradition down to his children. He will bring the twang with his Rock and Roll Caravan to the edge of the universe.
I work as a high school English Teacher turning the kids on to the power of words. Somewhere out there our fathers look down on us with a smile knowing that the music continues.
It is an honor and joy for both of us to collaborate together and bring you the grooves that have moved us.
- Andy Hall
(In loving memory of Bobby Vee & Claude Hall).