Robbie Hancock playing live at TAXI’s Road Rally.
Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?
I grew up in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. I recently moved to the West Coast, and now live in Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
Did you come from a musical family?
I am adopted so I don’t have much information about my birth history, but I do know that my birth mother played piano. My adoptive parents were always supportive of music at an early age and put me in organ lessons when I was 7. Although they were never musical, my dad gave me a love for the Beatles, and my mom gave me a strong grasp of the English language. My sister tried lessons but it never took for her. She has instead been my biggest supporter along with my two awesome nephews who I miss like crazy!
Did you do the garage band thing, or were you a “My parents are making me take piano lessons,” kind of guy?
I got most of my theory from and basic performance skills from taking those organ lessons. Then I hit high school and bought my first drum kit. That’s when I joined a band and played hundreds of shows as a drummer for many years. My biggest influences at the time were Led Zeppelin and The Who. I only dabbled on guitar at the time and was too shy to sing. I didn’t really start singing and playing guitar seriously until I was in my late 20s.
How did you progress from that to wanting to make a career out of music?
It wasn’t until I quit the last band as a drummer and took off out West, travelling and working at different resorts as a server, bartender, and manager that I met one of my early songwriting mentors. That’s who taught me how to put lyrics, melody and guitar together and start performing in front of an audience as a singer and guitarist. After that, I realized I could make good money from selling CDs or playing in cover bands, duos or on my own as well. I was hooked. So I moved back to Ontario to pursue music full time. It has been a tough road, but I am happier than I have ever been doing what I love.
I feel like I know you pretty well from your posts on the TAXI Forum, but I have no idea if you have a job other than music – do you, and if so, what is it?
I have been full-time music now for about 10 years, and prior to that I worked in the service industry for 20 years. I’ve had a few part-time gigs over the past couple of years (I drove for Uber for a while), but for the majority of that time I’ve learned how to earn my living from multiple streams of income in music, including live performances, teaching, owning/operating a music school and more recently a recording studio, producing clients’ projects as well as doing work-for-hire jobs in multiple instruments: drums/percussion, guitar, bass, piano, and voice. And now, I’m also earning income from film/TV music licensing.
When did you join TAXI, and why did you join?
I joined in May of 2013 for a few reasons. First and foremost I had ventured to Nashville in 2012 and attended a conference there prior to joining TAXI. After pitching my music and getting it evaluated down there, I found that it just wasn’t what they were looking for and also that I was just not cut out for writing Country music. I was pretty frustrated until I had a meeting with hit songwriter and VP of ASCAP at the time Ralph Murphy. He also told me that my music wasn’t working for Country but thought that it would work for film and television placements. After that trip, I started researching film and TV music and came across TAXI online, and took a chance on a membership. Best thing I ever did.
"I wasn’t reading the listings all the way through. I wasn’t listening to the reference tracks, and most importantly, I was trying to fit my music in by submitting to listings without really paying attention to what they were really asking for."
Have you had any career-altering realizations since joining TAXI, and if so, how have you changed your career strategy as a result?
Yes, I think the biggest for me is realizing that I can produce instrumental cues as well as songs, and I can do the instrumentals much faster. I love writing songs and performing and recording as an artist, but I realized that I could do a few genres of instrumentals really well too. I have also learned how to become a recording engineer and a producer since joining TAXI, which has not only helped my own music dramatically, but also I’m able to help others through client work and some great collaborations. I also try to pay it forward to new TAXI members whenever I can.
I remember reading on the TAXI Forum that you had a moment when you realized that submitting the same songs over and over to TAXI wasn’t a good strategy. Why?
I tell this story quite often to new members, or to those considering joining TAXI. I really remember the amount of frustration I had in the first year of membership. I had a well produced, already existing album full of songs that I spent a lot of money on, and they just wasn’t getting any forwards. Whenever I saw a listing come through the pipeline that looked like it might have elements that my song had, I would submit it. I did this often getting many returns. I finally realized the mistake that I was making. I wasn’t reading the listings all the way through. I wasn’t listening to the reference tracks, and most importantly, I was trying to fit my music in by submitting to listings without really paying attention to what they were really asking for. It was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
Thankfully, there was help at the time on the forum and on TAXI TV that helped me realize my mistakes. I learned to write to the listings and record quickly at broadcast quality to meet tight deadlines for the requests. I started paying much closer attention to what they were really asking for. Listening carefully to the reference tracks was a huge part of developing my contemporary ears at the time. In fact, it still is, and I try to stay current by listening to tracks in several genres as each new set of TAXI’s listings comes out.
I know that you perform live quite a bit. What are the biggest challenges in building a fanbase and getting them out to your shows?
For me, I think the biggest challenge is time. I take care of all my own marketing, promotions, booking, etc., so I need to be conscious about my time management. I need to stay on top of things like all my social media, and at the same time, making sure that I’m collecting names and email addresses from new fans at my shows, to help ensure strong attendance at future shows. I really go out of my way to try and have a personal connection with everyone who comes to see me play. Appreciation goes a long way —in my opinion—to help retain your fan base. That usually translates into them coming to future shows with more people and more potential fans.
Can you tell us about the range of types of gigs that you do, and how often you perform live?
On average, I’m performing about five or six times per week. This week for example, I performed my originals as a feature at a local coffee house, I performed at three different long-term care facilities, I’m the opening act for two CD releases, and one of five acts at a showcase. I also tour and travel for gigs, including usually once or twice a year by train across Canada as the artist-on-board entertainment for VIA Rail. I perform on the train for the passengers across the country and get to meet people and new fans each year from all over the world. It’s an amazing way to travel and I’ve used the program to get to house concerts and ticketed events across the country. I also occasionally perform at private parties, corporate events, and weddings.