Robert Sarazin Blake, now more commonly known by his middle name and surname, Sarazin Blake, is an American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 hailing from Bellingham, WA. Blake is generally considered a folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

ian, though his music incorporates elements of traditional Celtic

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

 songwriters, modern punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

, and blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 all blended together with a heavy dose of improvisation

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

. This melding of varying genres produces a "speed strumming style" that functions as a backdrop to Blake's narrative style of songwriting. Although Blake also writes songs centered around love and his personal life, his leftist-anarchist politics feature prominently in many of his works. Examples of this can be found in songs such as "Didn't We," "Culture of Resistance," and "Philadelphia;" all of which promote the values of an anti-consumerist and independent spirit. He is known for his extensive touring

Touring

Touring may mean:* touring, the estate/wagon version of BMW cars* Bicycle touring* Ski touring* Touring * Carrozzeria Touring* Touring * Touring car racing* a model of Hymer campers* a song by The Ramones* Touring theatre...

; often traversing the entire United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 for much of the year. Although such an exhaustive touring schedule occupies a lot of Blake's time, he also makes sure to spend a good part of his time in and around his hometown of Bellingham, WA, where he organizes and performs in the Subdued String Band Festival each year in addition to playing and recording at many of the local bars and clubs. In addition to his extensive touring schedule, which takes him to venues

Music venue

A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...

 ranging from the venerable 924 Gilman Street

924 Gilman Street

924 Gilman Street is an all-ages, not for profit, collectively organized music club usually referred to by its fans simply as "The Gilman." It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California about a mile and a half west of the North Berkeley BART station and a quarter-mile west of San...

 in Berkley, CA and the folk club The Tin Angel in Philadelphia, PA, to garages and basements around the world, Blake also runs his own record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

: Same Room Records.

Discography

Humdinger Days and Humdinger Nights. Same Room Records, 2000.

The High, Wide, and Handsome Band. Same Room Records, 2000.

A Crowd of Drunken Lovers. Same Room Records, 2001.

Bellingham and Philadelphia. (split CD with Erik Petersen). Art of the Underground, 2002.

Still Kissing Last Night's Smoke Stained Lips. Art of the Underground, 2004.

The Beautiful and the Afternoon. Same Room Records, 2007.

The Air Your Lungs Forced Out. Same Room Records, 2007.

"Put It All Down In A Letter". Same Room Records, 2011.