Robert Lee
Robert Lee
Robert Lee Shearer is a classic. He is the classic American rock and roll musician. Raised in the Appalachian Mountains in South Central PA, the son of a factory mechanic with the ancestry of the classical extremist Wilhelm Richard Wagner running through his veins and beating in his brain, he channeled his 50’s childhood into beating drums. With his dreams of being a high school music teacher smothered by his environment, he turned his heart and brain from the field of the marching band for which he played drums, to the heart and soul of the popular music of the 60’s. After nearly blowing himself away in the hippy subculture, Robert Lee became the ultimate dad, raising his two daughters completely on his own, keeping a day job and keeping the music very much alive on weekends.
Robert Lee has been a singer since he could form words and started playing drums at age two. While in high school he played drums in the marching band and the stage band, as well as the concert band. As he was not permitted any musical instruments at his parents’ house, he took every opportunity he could to cut classes and go to the music room at school to practice. Robert Lee now plays Tama and Ludwig drums; Hamer, Fender, Ovation and Ibanez guitars, and Yamaha Keyboards.
The lack of support from his family drove him to move out on his own and by the time he was seventeen he realized it was very difficult to accompany his vocals with a set of drums. Robert Lee picked up an old Fender acoustic guitar and began learning chords, playing and singing for his friends in the back seat of his own VW bug because it had no sound system. Soon after, he began his performing career at a local coffee house, often sleeping under the stage because of his lack of housing at the time.
It didn’t take Robert Lee long before he realized he could get more interesting sounds from an electric guitar. Keyboards and bass soon followed which opened the door for writing and recording original music. With no time and very little technology, Robert Lee recorded his originals late at night after his daughters were in bed. Today, with the last one graduating college this year, Robert Lee is cutting his first commercial CD, a collection of songs written through the years and a few current numbers reflecting his love for classically written popular rock. His dedicated fans have long waited to own a copy of some of these tunes. When asked why he decided to record a CD after all these years, Robert Lee responded, “Tapes are obsolete and I couldn’t find anyone to press it on vinyl.”
Robert Lee has performed all types of American music, from opening shows for national country acts to big band swing, to rock, as well as small acoustic shows. He has played on the Del Reeves road show, sponsored by Wheeling radio, The Craig Sunday Orchestra, Karstetter and Shearer, the Rave, Rubicon and most recently Free Shotz, one of central PA’s top cover bands. He has recorded with Sped Reed and appeared on television as part of his band.
Robert Lee’s original music is not driven by pretense or an affluent upbringing. His is a range of styles reflecting real life, one that he has led himself. Robert Lee’s words best describe his song writing technique as, “A bunch of tunes rolling around in my head till they come spewing out. So what you hear is digital spew.” To span his years of playing and experience, every instrument on Robert Lee’s recordings is performed by Robert Lee Shearer – all Robert Lee all of the time. Until Robert Lee goes on tour with his newly released CD, Road Trip, look for him in the Greater Harrisburg area playing guitar, bass, keys and vocals with his band Free Shotz or catch his solo acoustic act in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Robert Lee wants all musicians, who gave up their music careers to care for their families, to believe that their music is alive and rocks on at any age and in every generation. His friends hope his backside will never again touch spandex.