David
Have Guitar. Will travel.
David Ellul Robinson is a consummate performer... and he dislikes bios. He's simply a man who loves to play and sing. Addicted to the stage, whether in front of three people or three thousand, the proof is in the performance. His versatile voice will breathe out a gentle ballad or effortlessly switch gears to belt out the raunchiest Rock n' Roll. His guitar work reaches with a bit more flare than the typical singer/songwriter. While David's guitar and voice are his most obvious tools, the audience is his third instrument. He is highly interactive and as comfortable on stage as you are in your living room. The stage is his house! When you are in it expect to be made to feel at home and encouraged to join in the fun.
Acoustic impressions and Re-covering.
After years as an old school heavy metal singer in various Toronto bands (no, really), David became smitten by the simplicity of moving real air without modern technology involved; one instrument, one voice. A month after this acoustic revelation, guitar in hand, David performed his first solo show. The train ride is still running. There have been well over a thousand solo shows since. While this has included performances as tame as singing for children's parties or hotel and dinning crowds, the majority of shows involved doing what he's best known for, which is belting out the fun in a pub. With no illusions about what he gets paid to do, David is a proud and unabashed cover song singer. Three CDs of exactly that were released between 2006 and 2008. The 'Recovery' series are a collection of simple acoustic performances of fantastic classic songs. Videos filmed during the recording sessions have resulted in over 1.5 million views on YouTube. David is also a veteran busker and can still be found doing so purely because of his love for keeping it real, as well as the joy of interacting with people in the most direct and unfiltered way possible. His busking journey began more than a decade ago with a 3 year stint as a licensed TTC busker in Toronto. Only the top 75 applicants are chosen each year. Interestingly, this led to having AC/DC and the Rolling Stones open a show for him. Well, ok, not exactly… Buskers were officially requested and hired to play in the crowd after a concert, but it's technically true and fun to say.
Acting funny.
Acting is a newer outlet. Amongst various projects including commercials, stage acting, and small movie roles, this new pursuit even included a bit of time as a Porn star. (Pausing… waiting for the raised eyebrow). Sorry, there was no actual nudity involved. 'Porn the Musical' is an award winning musical comedy play written and produced on the Maltese Islands. David was a principle actor from it's first incarnation and again in three subsequent runs over the years. It proved so popular and promising that sponsorship for the second and third run of the play came from Sir Cameron Mackintosh (yes, that guy, the who owns Les Mis, and Phantom of the Opera, and Cats, and made Andrew Lloyd Webber famous).
Talking a lot.
Voice work, whether for radio commercials, corporate training videos, or video games is a natural extension of acting and recording skills.
Now and Zen.
For the most part, David has been focused the last few years on the art of being a great dad. He's still allotting a bit of time for what he loves, in between the joys of something he loves even more.
Future plan(t)s
David is dreaming of building an Earthship with an aquaponic garden, far off on a forested mountain, preferably near the ocean. There he will then spend a year practicing rusted ninja skills and writing songs. Keeping away from other humans is the only way to keep himself from gigging, or jamming, or busking, or acting long enough to focus on such mystical things.