Biography

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"Love Somebody sounds like XTC doing Bob Dylan" - Nick Deriso, Something Else

"Cycle finds veteran Florida folk-popsters (pop-folksters?) Steve Robinson and Ed Woltil teaming up for a collection of songs that’s a high water mark in each of their careers. In a music world full of self-conscious irony and angst (lots of angst), these slices of optimistic, classic 1960s influenced jangle are a refreshing alternative."
- Rob Caldwell, No Depression

"Brilliant melodies, beautiful harmonies and songwriting that captures the best of Anglo and American pop" --Curtis Ross, Tampa Tribune

Steve Robinson is a British ex-pat lost in America…Ed Woltil is a Florida boy who has always felt that England was his real musical homeland.

Steve's old band, The Headlights, were once a mainstay on stages throughout Florida and the southeast, often sharing the bill with Woltil's heralded power-pop trio, Mad For Electra. After catching the eye of legendary Byrds founder Roger McGuinn, The Headlights joined him for a Tonight Show appearance and subsequent US tours as his backing band.

After leaving the Headlights, Robinson continued to write and record music at his St. Petersburg home, releasing a brace of acclaimed folky pop CDs on his own label, Sunshine Drenchy Records.

"Every cut is a crystalline gem" --Luke Torn, Uncut Magazine

"His sound here straddles the divide between folk and pop without ever losing sight of melody" --Stephen Ferra, Absolute Powerpop.

After the break-up of Mad For Electra, Ed Woltil teamed with ex-Barely Pink frontman Brian Merrill to form The Ditchflowers. A stunning debut album of sophisticated pop, "Carried Away" made a bit of a splash in 2006 and had critics lining up to sing its praises -

“The Ditchflowers’ brand of melody-driven folk-pop will seduce your ears with tight harmonies—they’re a Ditch you’ll want to dig.” —Mare Wakefield, Performing Songwriter

“A masterful collection of songs that blend grabby power-pop, singer/songwriter fare and just enough quirky touches to dodge genre constrictions.” —Eric Snider, Creative Loafing, Ranked No. 1 CD of 2007

Robinson and Woltil's musical partnering was borne of a Robinson guest vocal session on Carried Away and further blossomed when Woltil and Merrill co-produced Robinson's Undercurrent album the following year. Both Carried Away and the magnificent Ditchflowers 2011 follow-up, Bird's Eye, saw release on the Sunshine Drenchy label, furthering their musical kinship.

Guest contributors on Cycle include heroic XTC guitargonaut, Dave Gregory, ex-Headlight and renowned bay area producer Steve Connelly, ace session bassist Andy Irvine, and the incomparable Dave Mattacks, the legendary Fairport Conventioneer whose drumming skills have graced recordings by Richard Thompson, XTC, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Elton John, to name drop just a few.

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CONTACT: sunshinedrenchy@hotmail.com

Cycle by Steve Robinson & Ed Woltil. Release date: July 2015 on Sunshine Drenchy Records. (SD0012)
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