Although he had been playing guitar since age 8, Rob Eberhard Young was originally inspired at the age of 15 by the first Van Halen record, and has been at it ever since.
Riding on the heavy metal wave of the 80’s, Rob played in top rock and heavy metal bands from Boston to Honolulu, as well as many of his own electric guitar based instrumental projects. As Rob remembers, “I was always about a half-step behind. By the early 90’s, my chops had gotten scary—and I think my writing was pretty happening too—but I was missing the big key…I hadn’t found my own voice.” Within the next year, Rob happened upon a chance meeting that not only led him to find his voice, but would change his life.
In the summer of ’93, Rob met street musician Ned Landin while Ned was performing in Harvard Square, playing acoustic guitar through a PA in strange tunings with a huge sound. As Rob recalls, “I was never more inspired in my life…his sound was just jaw dropping…I went home, put the Strat in the closet, and started writing my first solo acoustic guitar record.”
A year later, he released his first solo recording, Consistent Variation, about which Guitar Magazine’s John Stix wrote, “Consistent Variation is rhythmically propulsive, harmonically rich and melodically compelling. That Rob does this all at the same time on the acoustic guitar makes for one fine ride!” Clearly, Rob’s “heavy” background was reflected in his acoustic playing, but the music was far more intriguing than the simple mixture of acoustic and metal. It was homegrown, gutsy, direct, and fresh.