Dobro? Yes, please!
Last night, I picked up dobro picker extraordinaire Rob Ickes from his hotel in San Francisco, CA after his set earlier in the day at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and drove down to meet producer/engineer Cookie Marenco at OTR Studios for a recording session. In case you haven’t heard of Rob, he is one of (if not the most) sought after dobro session players around. Based in Nashville, TN for the last several years, Rob and his band Blue Highway have toured extensively while Rob has also traveled on his own and played solo sets worldwide. Personally, I had listened to some of his material and was aware of Rob, but I really had no idea what was in store for me during the session.
Rob Ickes doing his thing (and well) at Cookie Marenco's OTR Studios.
Rob is a likable and unassuming guy. We spent about 45 minutes or so cruising down highway 280 shootin’ the breeze, but as soon as we got to the studio, the guy was all business. Cookie cued up one of the tracks we had decided to work on and Rob immediately started taking notes and working out some parts. After just a listen or two, he was out in the main room laying it down. As soon as he picked his first few notes, I knew that this was going to be a pretty special session.
We tracked Rob on “I Know”, “Hole In My Heart”, “It’s Alright”, “A Thing Or Three”, and “I Save You”. Every take was amazing. More baffling still, every take was better than the one before. This guy truly has a unique gift that he has honed over the years to perfection.
Rob and me in the main room at OTR Studios after the session.
In any case, after Rob wrapped things up and Cookie did some rough edits and mixes, we packed it up and headed back to SF. I dropped Rob off at his hotel and I cruised back home smiling all the way, getting even more psyched at the possibilities for this new record. Each and every day down at OTR Studios has been amazing – I never know what to expect, but I’m starting to see that every day holds a new surprise. Cookie and her team really have it going on and I’m psyched to see what happens next, so stay tuned!