Episode #55 - Mark Robinson (Unrest)

Jams for Man

Mark Robinson founded the indie band Unrest with Phil Krauth and Tim Moran while still attending Wakefield High in Arlington, VA. He started the label Teen Beat Records as a kind of lending library for the band's rehearsal tapes, as well as those of his friends' bands. Only one copy of each album existed and his classmates could borrow one for a few days.Their first public release was a compilation cassette called Extremism In the Defense of Liberty is No Vice on February 23, 1985. Bridget Cross joined Unrest on bass in 1990 and their sound evolved into a "minimalist but lively kind of pop." They released two full-length albums with this line up, 1992's Imperial f.f.r.r. and 1993's Perfect Teeth. The label uprooted to Cambridge, MA in 1999. Robinson and Cross also played together as Air Miami, and he joined Jenny Toomey, founder of the Simple Machines label, and Rob Christiansen of Eggs in Grenadine. He currently plays with his wife Evelyn Hurley (Blast Off Country Style) in Cotton Candy and also with D. Trevor Kampmann as Fang Wizard. He also directed the new film Amateur on Plastic about the outsider music of DC rock legend Butch Willis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4W7Rac4Qf0&feature=youtu.be. Find more information Mark Robinson and Teen Beat's releases at https://www.teenbeatrecords.com/