I met Rob at a bar in Brooklyn. It was already late, my then-fiancee was behind the bar and things were winding down. Then Rob comes in, loud and all kinds of British. Without knowing me, he grabs me in a great big bear hug and starts into a conversation like he’d known me for years and I literally had just laid eyes on him.
At the time Rob worked at A Salt and Battery, a fish and chips shop in the West Village in Manhattan. Long hours in a chip shop filled with fry grease and greasier tourists and somehow he was still the nicest bloke this side of the puddle.
Rob was and is a drummer. A damn good one too. He’s played with smaller bands and even did a stint with a local mega church, drumming for Jesus. It’s a tough gig being a musician in New York with a day job that sucks, but he’s a passionate guy (just ask him about his Arsenal themed wedding cake) and a true pal. Hell, he even helped plan my bachelor party and threatened to stop off at the local midget stripper joint because I told him I had an irrational fear of Gremlins. You know, like a good friend would.
Why tell you all this? Because, as of last week, Rob’s band is the iTunes Single of the Week. His band – We Are Augustines – just finished a US tour and are heading off to Europe. They’ve sold out the Roxie theater in LA three nights in a row. I’m telling you this for two reasons 1.) Because I want you to go to iTunes RIGHT NOW and download their album and 2.) Because Rob is a shining British example of how if you stay true to your passions, work your ass off and be a nice person, you WILL make it.
Why download WE ARE AUGUSTINES: Rise Ye Sunken Ships? Because my friend Rob is a goddamn rockstar, that’s why.
Real Arsenal fans wear hats.
