Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Red Robinson: The Last Deejay
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Langley
STATE: BC
COUNTRY: Canada
NATIONALITY: Canadian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-brunet-24538430/ *
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2017015247
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2017015247
HEADING: Brunet, Robin
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100 1_ |a Brunet, Robin
670 __ |a Red Robinson, 2016: |b t.p. (Robin Brunet)
PERSONAL
Married.
EDUCATION:Concordia University, graduated 1982.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, Editor and Journalist. Freelance writing and editing services, 1982–; Robin Brunet Inc., Langley, British Columbia Canada, 1984-
Horses.
WRITINGS
Contributor to Canadian magazines, including crime reporting for BC Report Magazine.
SIDELIGHTS
In his book titled Red Robinson: The Last Deejay, Brunet provides a biography of a Canadian broadcasting legend who helped pioneer rock and roll. In his interview for the Story Board Web site, Brunet noted he was writing another biography about an advertising man named Dean Mailey, when Mailey ended up asking Brunet to write Robinson’s biography to coincide with a Red Robinson app that Mailey was developing. “Red was keen on me writing the book, as he knew of my work and remembered my news stories I had written throughout the 1990s as a crime reporter for BC Report Magazine,” Brunet noted in the Story Board Web site interview, adding: “I viewed Red not so much as ‘Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ but as a consummate broadcaster.”
Robinson was a household name in Canada. “Anyone who is going to write about the development of rock ‘n’ roll in Western Canada is going to encounter Robinson’s enormous influence,” noted Vancouver Sun Online contributor Tom Harrison. Brunet reveals that Robinson was raised by a single mother and worked as a delivery boy to help with the family finances. Robinson first started as a DJ while still a teenager in the 1950s.
Brunet’s portrait of Robinson draws from lengthy interviews Brunet conducted with Robinson’s contemporaries. Brunet descries how a prank helped Robinson get his first job in radio. He also details the numerous encounters Brunet had with various celebrities, from Elvis Presley and Fats Domino to the Beatles and Roy Orbison, including a confrontation with John Lennon in the sixties. Brunet also covers Robinson’s entry into management and his time in advertising.
“The photos are black and white, but this well-written book is full of color,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Vancouver Sun Online contributor Harrison remarked that The Last Deejay presents Robinson “as perceptive and modest, likable and generous, cheerful and upbeat.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, November 14, 2016, review of Red Robinson: The Last Deejay, p. 48.
ONLINE
Story Board, http://www.thestoryboard.ca/ (August 21, 2017), “The Born Freelancer Interviews Writer Robin Brunet.”
Vancouver Sun Online, http://vancouversun.com/ (September 23, 2016), Tom Harrison, “The Last Deejay Explores Red Robinson’s Love of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”*
Robin Brunet has been a writer, editor and journalist for 32 years. He lives in Langley, British Columbia.
The Born Freelancer interviews writer Robin Brunet
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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“I feel extremely fortunate to have lived precisely the way I always wanted. Very few people can genuinely lay claim to that.” – Robin Brunet
B. C. based writer Robin Brunet has certainly achieved a lot in his 34 years in the business (“a good portion of that freelance”) but surely nothing could beat his assertion that he has lived a life “precisely the way I always wanted”.
Robin Brunet is currently a non-fiction best selling author for his compelling biography of the west coast Canadian broadcasting legend, Red Robinson. Perhaps less well known east of the Rockies, eighty year old Robinson has been referred to as the “Dick Clark of Canada.”
Robinson is still on the air as of this date (although scheduled to retire from Canadian airwaves at the end of the summer to coincide with the sale and demise of his current on air home, CISL 650, as Vancouver’s remaining AM music station).
TBF: So how did someone with no particular love of rock ‘n’ roll become involved in such a fascinating project?
ROBIN: I interviewed Red for another biography I was writing, about the ad man Frank Palmer (which will be published by Douglas & McIntyre next spring under the title Let’s Get Frank!), and we hit it off. We had the same world view.
Shortly afterwards, the ad man Dean Mailey asked me to write Red’s biography in the hopes it could be published in time to be cross-merchandised with a Red Robinson app he was developing. Red was keen on me writing the book, as he knew of my work and remembered my news stories I had written throughout the 1990s as a crime reporter for BC Report Magazine.
I viewed Red not so much as “Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll,” but as a consummate broadcaster, a field I think is fascinating and has evolved for the worse, much like journalism.
The only hitch: Dean wanted the book written in a month. This would have been impossible even if I had worked on it full-time (and I’m a fast writer); so Red and I set out a schedule that made sense. As it turns out, the book was finished before the app ever was, and everyone loves the book, but nobody seems to know the app exists.
TBF: How did you actually go about writing it? What were the mechanics of putting it together?
ROBIN: It was written on the fly. I would spend several hours with Red weekly, conduct phone and in-person interviews with others whenever I could, and began writing as I was still researching. Biographies are easy in that the story is all laid out for you, you just have to make it as complete as possible. Plus, I believe in clean, simple, energetic copy, no phoney profundities, no pretence of art. So the actual act of writing was pretty straightforward.
TBF: You are self-described as a “troubleshooter”. What aspects of its creation were most troublesome?
ROBIN: There were two troublesome aspects to the project. First were boxes and boxes of newspaper clippings, etc., about Red, dating back to the ’50s. This may sound like a windfall, and indeed I uncovered a lot of great stuff – but the clippings were grossly inaccurate, with accounts conflicting one another…. so I had to go over each one with Red and get the facts straight.
The second troublesome aspect was Red himself. He is a genuine nice guy. No affairs, no scandals, no brawls. This always threatened to make the book too upbeat and syrupy. One way I kept balance was to include Red’s friend Bruce Allen heavily in the book: he brought much needed ‘grit’ to the telling of Red’s story. Of course, as the writing progressed, I found much humour in Red remaining straight-laced considering the profession he was in, so I played off that.
TBF: It sounds like you really enjoy your work.
ROBIN: The money I make is good, and I work seven days a week to earn it. I don’t like time off: my last vacation was in the mid 1990s, and as long as I spend several hours a day with my horse, the evenings with my wife, and the odd hour in my basement working out or sculpting, I never feel drained.
TBF: How important is it to have interests outside of your work? I know you are passionate about animals and have a horse, how does that help balance the freelancing life (which is typically very unbalanced)?
ROBIN: It is absolutely, profoundly important. It is key, not only to balancing your life but making your life full and making you a more interesting person to be with. I already mentioned I work seven days a week with no holidays, but I refuse to pass through this life knowing only one thing. I am totally, thoroughly, immersed in the world of horses, and have worked just as hard to know this world over the span of 20-plus years as well as I do the writing world.
TBF: Let’s turn to your thoughts on freelancing in general. What is the best thing about freelancing?
ROBIN: The best thing is knowing you are living a unique life, period.
TBF: And the worst thing?
ROBIN: The worst thing is trying to maintain a sense of proportion. After a while, if an editor so much as asks you to re-write a lead, you worry later that night that this might be the beginning of your downfall. If a cheque is late in the mail, you worry that you might soon be out on the street.
TBF: Freelancing isn’t for everyone. What qualities do you feel are necessary to survive as a freelancer?
ROBIN: I’ve written a book on how to survive as a freelancer, it’s a comedy called Dirty Truths and currently under consideration by Harbour Publishing.
What you need is a strong sense of denial, an almost pornographic hunger to succeed, and the ability to lie. I’ve had these abilities for as long as I can remember. Denial will allow you to withstand the hordes of folk who tell you that your work appeals to no one; hunger will give you the drive you need to prevail and make a decent living in a profession that doesn’t pay very much; and lying gets you through innumerable closed doors – just be sure you can back up your lies by delivering good product.
TBF: How has modern technology made any significant impact on your career?
ROBIN: For years, I was a freelancer before the net and even cell phones. And while the internet has been a curse for the trade in many respects, it is a huge boon to me and others who want lots of work, because now my potential market is the entire planet instead of the city I live in. Its potential to keep a guy permanently employed is mind-blowing. I wish more Millennials appreciated this.
TBF: Speaking of younger colleagues, have you ever mentored anyone?
ROBIN: I will say this, to anyone who has achieved the level of success I have. At some stage it’s your duty to give back, and I have been fortunate to know several people over the decades who I was able to champion, in practical ways, most recently a fabulously talented woman who I provided with good contacts and paid writing assignments. She claims she is hungry to boot, to which I say, go out there and may your reach exceed your grasp.
TBF: What is your ideal kind of assignment?
ROBIN: My ideal assignment is one I get routinely, from editors who phone me in a panic, saying, “Robin, we’ve got a story that’s due in two days – we gave it to someone else and they blew it. We need you to come in, put out some fires, and get this done.”
TBF: So what’s next?
ROBIN: Let’s Get Frank in the spring, hopefully after that my book Dirty Truths, then my two novels – oh, and I’m working on the second volume of Red’s memoirs.
Other than that, business as usual: an average of three stories a day, maximum six. Wouldn’t want it any other way.
Sole Proprietor (owner) at Robin Brunet Inc.
1984 to present
Studied at Concordia University
Past: John Rennie High School
Lives in Langley, British Columbia
From Montreal, Quebec · Lived in Vancouver, British Columbia
Robin Brunet Inc.
Sole Proprietor (owner) · 1984 to present · Langley, British Columbia
Writing and editing services since 1982
EDUCATION
Concordia University
Class of 1982 · Montreal, Quebec
Contract writer for Canada's biggest magazine publishing houses and have made a living in this game since 1982. Work pretty much seven days a week, 365 days a year - and love it. Am also involved daily in the horse world. Have my own horse, am totally devoted to him. He keeps me in shape and ensures that my wallet stays thin. In the world of humans, I trust no one except my wife. I have no interest in the twerpish values and ethics of today's sensitized and environmentally-aware populace, nor will I promote them in print. As for my fate, as long as I die while riding and trying to figure out how to meet yet another deadline, I'll be happy. After that, my wish is to be skinned and turned into a saddle, but a saddle ridden exclusively by a good-looking woman - that way I'll always be between the two things I love the most.
Red Robinson: The Last Deejay
Publishers Weekly.
263.46 (Nov. 14, 2016): p48.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Red Robinson: The Last Deejay
Robin Brunet. Harbour (Midpoint, U.S. dist.), $29.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-55017-769-5
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The only thing missing from veteran journalist Brunet's biography of legendary Vancouver, B.C., deejay
Red Robinson is his baritone voice coming through the speakers. The photos are black and white, but this
well-written book is full of color: "Then the doors were opened for the teens. They didn't so much enter the
store as they erupted like toothpaste released through a suddenly unblocked nozzle." It's a great trip back to
a time when the music mattered. Through lengthy interviews with Robinson, his colleagues, and his
contemporaries, readers get a clear picture of the rise of rock 'n' roll, Robinson's role, and the reason he was
one of a select few deejays feted at the opening of Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Robinson started
his career as a teenager in the early 1950s, and he truly has a story about everyone. He was handcuffed by
Elvis Presley, emceed a concert where rabid fans chased the Beatles off the stage, and hosted a series of
concerts by musical legends at Vancouver's Expo '86. His forays into advertising and management don't
rock as much--how could they? Robinson himself is modest to a fault, claiming, "I'm no legend." But as the
book delivers page after page of surprising stories, readers may think otherwise. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Red Robinson: The Last Deejay." Publishers Weekly, 14 Nov. 2016, p. 48. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473459033&it=r&asid=815dba321a5f222a25880e0f5856e55e.
Accessed 15 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A473459033
Red Robinson, The Last Deejay
By Robin Brunet
Harbour, 196 pp.
Tom Harrison
The Last Deejay explores Red Robinson's love of rock 'n' roll
Red Robinson was at the top of the list of people I wanted to interview for my own book, Tom Harrison’s History of Vancouver Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Anyone who is going to write about the development of rock ‘n’ roll in Western Canada is going to encounter Robinson’s enormous influence. Robinson, Bruce Allen, Sam Feldman and Robinson’s partner, Les Vogt — behind the scenes guys rather than musicians, although Vogt started as a singer — were the pioneers here.
Cover image of Red Robinson, The Last Deejay. Necessarily, much of Robinson’s history was skated over in my book, but Robin Brunet’s biography, Red Robinson, The Last Deejay, is more comprehensive.
Still quick, though. At 196 pages, the book reaches Robinson’s storied 1964 confrontation with John Lennon around page 140. The rest covers the 52 years since, suggesting there is a lot more to the story as radio changes and forces Robinson to change with it.
That’s OK as it’s the early years that are most important and which shaped what Robinson became and still is. We want to get close to Elvis and The Beatles and don’t much care about his exploits in advertising as one half of Vrlak Robinson. That’s not where his fame lies.
His love of rock ‘n’ roll and radio are apparent early. Unfortunately, neither the music nor radio were as loyal to him. Rock ‘n’ roll became rock and inevitably changes while radio became a hardbitten business.
Robinson alludes to both in The Last Deejay but, here too, is the suggestion he is a lot more outspoken — there is more to the story. Whatever his thoughts, he keeps them private. Discretion rules and that might have been a lesson learned early and is a key to his survival.
If there is a dark side to Robinson, he doesn’t show it, instead coming off as perceptive and modest, likable and generous, cheerful and upbeat.
Brunet tells Robinson’s story with the help of Robinson friends, contemporaries such as Pat O’Day and Wink Martindale, and close associate Bruce Allen. Robinson’s wife, Carole, rarely enters the picture, which is a shortcoming.
In terms of what radio has become, Robinson may well be the last deejay. In terms of Vancouver rock ‘n’ roll, he was the first deejay.
tharrison@postmedia.com