By Jason hall
Local musician and songwriter Robert Poole teamed up with Hollywoodland Records to release White Door Revisited, which is a collection of songs Poole recorded between 1994 and 1996 in Washington. Poole’s roots are from Washington, however, he’s been a local fixture for years now. He can often be seen performing at Palm Canyon Roadhouse in Pam Springs. He is part of a 60s cover band, and often plays solo.
Poole met with us to discuss his musical past and future at Palm Springs Vinyl Records and Collectibles. Poole exudes rock ‘n’ roll. It was obvious at first sight there was an amazing story in him. We spent some time with him and let him tell us his story while we were surrounded by vinyl and memorabilia. It was the perfect setting…
CV Weekly: What started you down the path of music?
Robert Poole: “My cousin was the influence. He turned me onto Buddy Holly and then of course Elvis. This was in the 60s. Buddy Holly did it for me. I had a band called The Centrix when I was 16. We all dressed alike in checkered jackets like the Dave Clark Five. We did a TV show called Rock A -Go-Go. We were on the coattails of The Sonics. The band eventually broke up. I found myself in San Francisco in 1967 in the folk scene. I was hardly playing. But in that environment, it was hard to not get back into it. I didn’t get back into music too heavy, but I did play coffee houses every once in a while. Then later in the 70s, I was in LA and really started getting back into the scene.”
CVW: When did you start working on The White Door?
Poole: “The song “Fate,” that’s on there I wrote when I was 17. That was the earliest song I wrote which was recorded. A lot of these songs were written in the 70s and 80s. I eventually met this girl who was renting this place from Terry Shelton, the touring drummer for The Youngbloods. He had a studio there. When he came back, I had to beg, borrow, and steal to get The White Door done. I ended up building a studio for Terry’s brother who was a prominent bass player. We got a great session keyboardist, and I laid my acoustic stuff on top.”
CVW: How did White Door Revisited happen?
Poole: “I worked at a resort in Washington called The Robin Hood Resort. There was a pub there called The Robin Hood Pub. Errol Flynn named the place. I had a rock band that would play the pub. I ended up booking shows for the pub, then the resort. I ended up becoming this booking agent and with this band, and we did 3 more songs. One of them was a different version of “Poor Boy.” I finally had a band to tour the songs with.”
CVW: how did you end up in Palm Springs?
Poole: “Everything just kinda died up there. It came to a screeching halt. A friend who lives in Sky Valley has been begging me to come down here, but I couldn’t. I was too busy. When everything died down, I finally agreed to come down. I came down just to visit. I had it in the back of my mind to start a radio show or something, but I wasn’t expecting much. Then my daughter and her fiancé moved down here. Then I got involved with The (Palm Springs) Roadhouse. I had 2 bands and we’d play there. Then I’d do Open Mic there. Greg, the owner, has been a total asset.”
White Door Revisited is available on Amazon and exclusively at Palm Springs Vinyl Records and Collectibles on the strip in Palm Springs.
