THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406150027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: Medium
But hold the phone. This one - BlackHawk - is different.
{REST} ``Distinct'' is a word one BlackHawk, Dave Robbins, used often during an interview from his Nashville home, where he lives with his wife and two children.
The trio is country, rock, bluegrass, soaring harmonies, gentle acoustics, electric guitar and even a non-bluegrass mandolin.
``There's so much competition with groups. We watched a lot of them come and go,'' Robbins said. ``Radio people tell us we have a distinct sound. That's carried us a long way.''
That distinct BlackHawk sound can be heard at the Peppermint Beach Club on Thursday.
``I have a problem flipping my radio dial, wondering - who is that?'' he said. ``Too many are copycats. They come from the same cookie-cutter mold.''
Initially, BlackHawk went that route.
``It's the typical Nashville approach - lead harmony, double that, triple that,'' Robbins said. ``It didn't work for us.''
Here is what works: Paul takes the lead. Robbins and Stephenson pop in and you have three distinct voices.
``Henry has a powerful voice,'' Robbins said. ``Van and I have to rise up and be heard.''
BlackHawk also has a unique approach in the recording studio.
``Van and I work with one mike and no headphones. It's like a live performance to Henry's lead,'' Robbins said. ``On record the three of us go as hard as we can. We do that in our shows and it carries over in the studio.''
Robbins describes the BlackHawk sound as ``powerful and pleasant.
``We're all from the South. I listened to Southern rock, Van was influenced by the Eagles, Henry was with the Outlaws.''
While he was performing with that Southern rock band a few years ago, Robbins and Stephenson were busy writing hit songs.
Several were cut by Restless Heart, and there were some for such folks as Kenny Rogers, Juice Newton and Conway Twitty.
Robbins, Paul and Stephenson got together in 1990, signed with Arista two years later, finished their first release in '93.
``Goodbye Says It All,'' from their self-titled debut album, was an immediate hit. The current single is ``Every Once in a While.''
The success of their first release is due in part to a ``meet-your-deejay'' approach - a visit to more than 120 radio stations to promote BlackHawk.
``A lot of people visit stations - go by and say hi - give 'em a record,'' Robbins said. ``Maybe they walk in with a guitar. We had most of our instruments.
``We played conference rooms, played on the air,'' he said. ``We were laying groundwork for the first single - had a good time.''
Robbins, a Georgian, always has a good time with his music.
``I don't know how to do anything else,'' he said.
by CNB