Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson gained recognition primarily through his role as guitarist and lead singer in the cherished indie pop outfit Unrest, while also founding Teen Beat Records, whose inaugural release appeared in 1985. During his high school years in the early 1980s he started Unrest alongside Phil Krauth, and the group continued through multiple albums and singles until the middle of the following decade. After the group dissolved he launched Air Miami together with former Unrest colleague Bridget Cross. That project concluded following one album and an EP, prompting Robinson to start the sharper, post-punk-oriented Flin Flon, which issued two albums across 1998 and 1999. Additional endeavors included the indie and lounge supergroup Grenadine as well as The Project, a lone single cut with a pair of Tuscadero members that saluted Christopher Reeve and the Titanic. Amid these band activities and his oversight of Teen Beat, Robinson also put out several solo efforts. The earliest arrived as the 1987 cassette Black Christmas, succeeded notably by the 1989 7-inch Sammy Supreme My Man, a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. The 1990 cassette Mark E. Superstar took a loose approach, mixing acoustic songs with excerpts from The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. In 2000 he delivered the fully realized solo album Tiger Banana, supported by three members of Versus, and the next year brought Canada’s Green Highways. Later that same year he began a run of experimental electronics EPs with Taste. Beyond his own performances, Robinson’s Teen Beat imprint proved equally significant; arriving after Dischord and before Simple Machines, it stood among the respected independent DIY operations serving the Washington, D.C., and Arlington, VA, regions. Like its counterparts, the label focused chiefly on area artists. Its output leaned toward pop and adopted the aesthetic stance and visual style of favored British independents such as Factory, 4AD, and Rough Trade. Robinson mirrored Factory so closely that he gave catalog numbers to every label-related item, from the first salaried staff member and interns to legal documents, the Connecticut warehouse, and even a mouse pad.