"It's easy now to sit back, catch my breath in Greencastle and sing about what used to be," said rising bluesman Robinson, whose life journey to western Indiana isn't as dramatic or byzantine as one might expect. Robinson, 42 grew up in New York City and came to the Midwest to attend Indiana University's School of Music in the late '70s. He moved to Chicago in the mid-80s, where his reputation grew as the Wednesday night performer at Rosa's Lounge on the West Side. "I went to Chicago to really learn from the masters." Robinson said. "A lot of the Chicago greats would come (to Rosa's) on their off-nights. They would sit at the bar and sit in with the band." Robinson's most esteemed visitor was Junior Wells, the Chicago harmonica player who often collaborated with guitarist Buddy Guy. "He could say more in one note" Robinson said of Wells, who died last January at the age of 63. "Sometimes he wouldn't pull the harp out until the last note of a song, just to leave the audience with one note that said everything." Like Wells, Robinson has an understated approach that proved valuable during a stint as vocalist and harmonica player in Dave Specter's band in the mid-90s. As leader of his own band, Robinson became the first white blues singer to sign with Delmark Records — a Chicago label that has been home to artist such as Wells, Magic Sam and Otis Rush. "I think my career is in a good place being with a label as respected as Delmark," said Robinson, who portrayed a bandmate of terrorist Tommy Lee Jones in the 1992 film Under Siege. "That gets you in a lot of doors" In 1994, Robinson's first solo album, One to Infinity, was a hit among critics. The MusicHound blues album guide, published in 1998, gives One to Infinity "five bones" — its highest rating.

Together with familyAn stablished artist no longer tied to a weekly gig in the city, Robinson relocated to Greencastle in 1995. "When I'm on the road, it doesn't really matter where I call home," Robinson explained. "when I do come home, this is basically where my wife's family is from. We're surrounded by family here. In Chicago, it was just us against the world" Robinson met his wife, Amy, 17 years ago in Indianapolis. A member of the Bloomington-based Hesitation Blues Band, robinson was performing at the now defunct Hummingbird nightclub - where Amy was employed. In Greencastle, Tad and ceramics artist Amy are raising a pair of sons, 9-year old Tyler and 3-year old Avery. "It's real nice and quiet here," Robinson said. "I find my creative juices are glowing pretty well." Robinson's new Delmark album, Last Go Round, is a dynamic, authentic and lyrical document of soul-fueled blues. His Slippery Noodle Inn performance Thursday will serve as a record-release party for the album, which has received airplay on Indianapolis station WFYI-FM 90 and Chicago's WSRT-FM, one of America's most influential multi format stations. In addition to the title track, the songs I've Got to Go and No Exit Blues are highlights of Last Go Round—Robinson's first recording since leaving Chicago. "One major theme in a lot of blues literature is a person who doesn't feel right where they are," Robinson said, "They have to leave and are trying to find an exit. Sometimes it's a state of mind you're trying to get out of more than an actual locale. Sometimes it's a metaphor for trying to get away from the blues itself." A follower of blues harmonica greats such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Big Water Horton and Little Walter Jacobs, Robinson said he understands the way travel can haunt a musician. "The road is a pretty depressing place sometimes," he said, "A lot of my tunes are about that."

AMG BIOGRAPHY.Tad Robinson would have fit in snugly with the blue-eyed soul singers of the 1960s. His vocals virtually reeking of soul, he's capable of delving into a straight-ahead Little Walter shuffle or delivering a vintage O.V. Wright R&B ballad. Add his songwriting skills and exceptional harp technique and you have quite the total package. Robinson grew up in New York City on a nutritious diet of Stax, Motown, and Top 40, digging everyone from Otis Redding and Arthur Alexander to Eric Burdon and Joe Cocker. He matriculated at Indiana University's school of music in 1980, fronting a solid little combo on the side called the Hesitation Blues Band that made it up to Chicago now and then (where he soon relocated). Long respected locally, his reputation outside the city limits soared when he took over as vocalist with Dave Specter & the Bluebirds. Their 1994 Delmark disc, Blueplicity, was an inspiring marriage of Robinson's soaring vocals and Specter's tasty, jazz-laced guitar and featured the striking Robinson-penned originals "What's Your Angle," "Dose of Reality," and "On the Outside Looking In." Delmark granted Tad Robinson his own album later that year. One to Infinity escorted him even further into soul territory (guests on the set included Mighty Flyers guitarist Alex Schultz, the mystical Robert Ward, and Specter). — Bill Dahl