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Biography

Robert E. Poole was born in Tacoma, WA on May 11, 1948. As a teenager, his older cousin turned him onto Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and Elvis. He was then hooked, and he learned those three chords on his electric guitar and his rock days were born. At 16 years old, he began writing his own songs and performed with the band, The Centrix. Their manager, Randy Viers, got them featured on a local TV show called Rocka Go Go. At one particular gig they did at a teenage night club called the Gas Lite in Tacoma, they  caught the eye of producer Bonnie Guitar with DOT records. She gave them sound advice that served them down the road.

With a love for the The Kinks, Robert had the pleasure of meeting them before a concert in  Tacoma, WA while in his band, The Centrix. He, a bandmate, and their roadie became their guests and watched the show front stage. Later on, the Kinks’ manager had invited them to the big summer spectacular show at the Seattle Coliseum in 1964. When they arrived they had been mistaken for The Kinks and were mobbed. Total chaos ensued when the roof of their car started caving in, jackets were pulled off, and hair was being pulled. They made it inside alive, but everybody still thought they were The Kinks and ended up just signing autographs to keep the crowd happy. As the years passed, his wife and he were guests at many of The Kinks shows.

Also being a big fan of The Byrds, he was able to meet Roger McGuinn of The Byrds and  shared some of his recordings with him. Roger said to him, “If I can do it, so can you”. He then became friends with Sky Saxon of The Seeds who he met at a Kinks’ party in Los Angeles, CA. Over the years they did many shows as a duo, with their biggest show being the opening act for The Starship.

In the 1990s, he met Terry Shelton, the producer and touring drummer for Jesse Collin Young of The Youngbloods. Being a carpenter by trade, Robert helped Terry finish his recording studio and was able to trade this work for the use of the studio where he recorded the original album, “The White Door.” Using eight other original songs and three new songs that he recorded with his band, this led to the making of “The White Door Revisited”.

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