Background
Robin Pecknold was born in Seattle in 1986.
Robin Pecknold was born in Seattle in 1986.
He is best known as the principal songwriter for the indie folk band Fleet Foxes, with whom has recorded two studio albums. He is said to have written his first song at the age of 14. The song is called "Sarah Jane" and tells the story of a runaway who turns to prostitution.
Pecknold released the song along with six others as a demo Civil Defense called Saint Vincent Street around his hometown as Robin Noel Vaas.
Later, the music of Bob Dylan would become Pecknold"s primary influence. Pecknold formed Fleet Foxes in 2006 with Skye Skjelset.
He knew Skjelset from school, where they already played original music together. He reportedly ran up considerable debt setting up the band.
Besides his work with Fleet Foxes, Pecknold goes under the moniker White Antelope for solo output.
He also started a band with sister Aja, called Rainbow Fang, and has worked with Past Lives" Morgan Henderson on "film score-type music". In January 2015, Pecknold"s latest project was an off-Broadway play, entitled "Wyoming" for which he wrote the score. Pecknold plays a Martin Doctorate-18 six-string guitar for most Fleet Foxes work.
He also uses a Martin D12-35 12 string and a Gibson CF-100 6 String.
Both of these guitars date back to the 1960s. He has also been known to use a recent Epiphone Casino electric guitar, and a Fylde Oberon acoustic guitar.
In November 2013 Fleet Foxes-member Morgan Henderson mentioned that Pecknold had relocated to New York City where he is enrolled as a student at Columbia University.