Tucson new-wave artist here to stay

By Kyle Wasson

The Old Pueblo has produced a new artist, one with a brave and truly raw outlook on music and the listeners’ experience.

Pima Community College student Rob Easter, a Tucson resident with a passion for rock, is giving the music scene a breath of fresh air.

At the age of 4, Easter and his family moved from their hometown of Diamond Bar, Calif., to Tucson. Easter grew up in north Tucson and attended high school at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. After graduating in 2006, he wanted to break away from the ideals set forth at school and take on the world with an open mind.

“I needed to get some experience, get out on my own,” Easter said. “I kept the values they taught but had to get away from that lifestyle and just live my life.”

Music was the path Easter used to escape. Late in his junior year of high school, he started playing with the idea of a band. Shortly after, Long Live the Smoking Gun was formed. LLSG is a gritty, yet harmonic interpretation of rock‘s heavy riffs and bluesy vocals. As lead singer and guitarist for the band, Easter is at the helm of all lyrics, and his tongue is the baritone rudder steering the ship.

Easter and LLSG have completed three west coast tours with a different lineup every time. As he said, “things got crazy.” The band has gone through 13 members. The alumni are not just musicians but friends. Although there is no constant in the lineup, Easter continues to move forward with his music.

With the help of his family and countless hours working two jobs, Easter founded a local record label called 1912 Records, LLC, ‘How the southwest was won.’  From inception, his foundation has been a strong artist-label friendship and openness.

Easter has tackled the plasticity of the music industry with originality. By offering free music online and vinyl for sale, Easter is dedicated to delivering timelessness and quality to the listener.

“Anyone can burn a CD, vinyl’s special,” Easter said. There are 10 bands with 12 releases on the label, most of which have vinyl as an option on the 1912 MySpace.

As creator of 1912, Easter is taking on the challenge of bringing a new scenery and new talent to Tucson’s rock scene. From promoting to actually playing a show, Easter is hard at work peddling not only himself but other musicians as well.

Several major record companies have recently closed due to the failing music industry, but Easter is not worried. “I’m not in it for the money,” he said. “I just want to break even, someday.”

From Portland to Los Angeles,  San Diego to The Living Room in Tucson, people are hearing Easter’s music. With 10 bands on the label, including LLSG, Easter wants to keep making music and continue in this tradition. Building a reputation is not easy, but Tucson’s new-wave artist is here to stay and grow, not only opening eyes, but ears.

To contact 1912 Records, visit www.myspace.com/1912records. You can also follow LLSG and 1912 on Facebook

Photo courtesy of Rob Easter