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Stephen Robillard

Biography

Bassist Steve Robillard is originally from Oakland, CA, where he first played alto and baritone sax in public schools there. He switched to double-bass in high school, while playing Fender bass in various bands in the sixties, including Earthquake, Blue Sky, The Gents, and a brief tour with John Lee Hooker. Steve went on to study music theory and jazz composition at steveLaney College in Oakland under West Coast pianist/bassist Ed Kelley. Moving to Western Massachusetts in the mid-seventies, he continued to play in numerous rock, blues and fusion bands such as JazzOTree and Smokehouse, as well as singer/songwriters such as Mark Herschler and Susan Torrey. Local bluesman Ed Vadas took him under his wing and is owed a debt of gratitude.

Steve was co-founder of Blues In A Bottle with noted fingerstyle guitarist/songwriter Larz Young and enjoyed a collaboration that lasted five years. He eventually met and studied under Archie Shepp at UMass/Amherst, where he finally completed his undergraduate work. Steve happened in to a session with Eva Cappelli and Joe Carvalho in the fall of 2008, and was eventually asked to join The Watershops Band they had formed as a showcase for Eva's prolific catalog of original songs. The chemistry was right and the band seemed to take on a life of it's own. steveWith Eva's songs, Joe's arrangements, and the addition of Keyboardist Larry Dulong and phenom fiddler Sam Barnes, things happened quickly.

The icing was on the cake with the addition of drummer extraordinaire Jim Cote, and the rest has been a compelling combination of fun and hard work. Steve's bass influences range from Larry Graham, Rocco Prestia, Ray Brown, Jaco, Bootsie, Stanley Clarke, as well as journeymen James Jamerson, Jerry Jemmott, and Donald "Duck" Dunn. Re-exploring the fretless four-string electric has been Steve's latest fixation, as well as translating Kerouac's body of work back into the original Quebecois. .