Best known for his blues-rock albums, Nashville guitar slinger-songwriter Mark Robinson took his new single "Gone South" in *two* new directions: he decided it could be both the electric hard rocker he originally conceived and also a roots-Americana acoustic track. So he recorded both, calling on Music City's deep talent bench to pull off this roots-and-rock double header. So, recalling classic vinyl 45s, "Gone South" has both A and B "sides" — but which version is which side is up to the listener. Mark Robinson's new digital single, Gone South is going to surprise a lot of folks who thought they had him pegged solidly in the blues genre. Gone South is not blues, not blues-rock. It’s hard electric rock, the kind of rock that would fit on a radio playlist alongside Mountain, The James Gang, or My Morning Jacket. And it’s also acoustic roots, in the musical vein of Shovels and Rope, The California Honeydrops, or The SteelDrivers. The idea to record the song two ways came to Robinson while he was writing it — hearing it in his head not only as a hard electric rocker but also as an acoustic roots/Americana tune. His go-to rhythm section of Daniel Seymour on bass and Justin Amaral on drums had no problem digging in to both arrangements, since they themselves play with a wide range of Nashville cats, from Americana heavyweights Tommy Womack and David Olney to alt-country’s Chuck Mead and roots rocker Paul Burch. Then Robinson called upon the considerable talents of Michael Webb (Poco, John Fogarty) on B-3 and Rick Schell (Pinmonkey, Pure Prairie League) on backing vocals for the electric rock side. For the acoustic roots side, he brought in rising country singer Luke Amelang on backup vocals and The SteelDrivers’ Richard Bailey on banjo. Though best known in recent years for his blues-rock albums, Robinson is no stranger to Americana and roots. He has played with stalwarts of the rock-roots scene such as Tommy Womack and has produced albums for Americana/alt-country standouts David Olney, Mark Huff, Ray Cashman, Davis Raines, and Tiffany Huggins Grant. Mark Robinson’s debut album Quit Your Job — Play Guitar ignited like the first kaleidoscopic blast of a fireworks display. It was an attention-grabbing harbinger of even more exciting, incendiary things to come. DJs quickly embraced the disc and About.com Blues, Blues Underground Network and BluesVan branded it one of 2010’s best. Now Robinson’s follow-up Have Axe — Will Groove provides an even more colorful and explosive display of the Nashville-based guitarist and songwriter’s estimable skills. And while the title of Quit Your Job —Play Guitar was autobiographical, the songs on his new release are even more personal… and dirtier and funkier and grittier. And when it comes to Robinson’s sterling guitar work, they’re also more colorful. “Have Axe — Will Groove is about finding my voice as an artist,” he explains. “The songs are stronger and fit together well, and they all say something about my life — whether they’re inspired by things that happened to me or that I was reflecting on, or by the music and the experiences that have guided me along the way playing blues and country and other styles. “What I’m interested in,” Robinson says, “isn’t being flashy or making the latest hit single. I’m making records and playing gigs to try to make music that moves people.”