Having covered a lot of the tribute acts that have come to the central Maine area, this Friday’s performance at the Augusta Civic Center of Gone To Soon: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience may just be one of the biggest productions to hit our fair state in quite some time and I must admit, I was anxious to talk with the individual who would be performing this legendary “King Of Pop” role.

Jackson, who passed away on June 25, 2009, was probably one of the most influential performers of a generation and his songs are still as fresh and popular as ever. I was surprised to learn that the gentleman was willing to call me late last month to chat about the role he’s taken on. So on March 25, when I answered my phone, an eerily familiar voice introduced himself, then Christian Robinson and I began our conversation.

Q: Where are you calling from?
Robinson: Florida.

Q: Well, you can’t really identify with what we’ve been going through up here recently.
Robinson: No, what’s going on up there?

Q: Yesterday, I finished my third round of getting rid of 27 inches of new snow.
Robinson: Oh, my gosh! We don’t know anything about that down here. That sounds like you had a lot of work — a lot of work!

Q: Fortunately, that’s behind us and we’re getting back to fine weather; but it seems to me that you’ve got your work cut out for yourself with this tribute to Michael Jackson — that sounds like a daunting undertaking.
Robinson: Yes, it is a lot of work (chuckle).

Q: I’m sure it’s not only the memorizing of lyrics but also moves and staging.
Robinson: Umm, yes, with me — I don’t know if “lucky” is the right word — I’m a very hard worker. Ever since I was young I studied him, I also studied James Brown and all the greats. Anyone that he studied I tried to study, as well. That’s the evolution of the way he created his work. So it’s just kind of in me to do it so naturally. I’ve performed the songs so many times and just know them like the back of my hand. I perform from a place in my heart and I really love all the music deeply: singing it and dancing it — everything.

Q: Do you have any favorites in his catalogue of hits?
Robinson: Honestly, it’s always hard for me to say my favorite songs, but my favorite songs to perform are “Man in the Mirror” and I really love performing “Human Nature.” I don’t know why, but I love performing those … and probably “P.Y.T.” (chuckle).

Q: Now, as far as Jackson the performer goes — having watched the 2010 Michael Jackson’s —”This Is It” documentary movie, I was impressed by the whole process he put into how his music was to be presented, it was very intriguing. So, what can folks expect from this Gone Too Soon show in Augusta?
Robinson: The energy that’s really missed of seeing fantastic showmanship on stage and feeling those emotions for that straight hour-and-a-half. All the excitement and the high energy coming from the music and coming from me. I want to give that to people and bring smiles to people, I want them to feel that and experience that at least while they’re there. So to answer your question about what they can expect, joy and happiness is what I would say.

Q: And that, I would think, is pretty much what he would have wanted, as well.
Robinson: Yeah, I think that was always his goal — to bring that to people, no matter what.

Q: How many shows do you do over the course of, say, a year?
Robinson: You know, at the moment, just about 40. We’re hoping to expand that a lot more. I’m so eager to always be onstage constantly (laugh), it’s a feeling that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

Q: How far afield do you get with Gone Too Soon?
Robinson: We’ll be in North Carolina, we’ll be in Nebraska, and then we’re hoping to do an Orlando show down here in Florida, as well. And then I’ve also performed on the West Coast,  we’d like to get back up there, too.

Q: How long have you been doing this?
Robinson: I have been performing my whole life, specifically Michael, ever since I was very little. We’ve been doing this amazing show, I’m so excited to be doing a show of this caliber and we’re hoping to continue having it grow and grow and grow.

Q: This is a dumb observation because you’ve alluded to it several times, but it sounds like you enjoy what you do.
Robinson: Yeah, very much, I’m so happy to be able to do something like this and I definitely feel called to it. When I was growing up I never wanted to be “an improviser” because I do write my own music and am a creator myself, but it comes so naturally that it was really hard not to do it. It comes from a really deep, natural place within me and I’m very grateful and really excited to be able to perform such fun, loving music like that all the time.

Q: How have audiences been responding to Gone Too Soon?
Robinson: Oh, it’s fantastic! And a lot of people say after the show that they feel that energy. It’s that feeling that you can’t explain when you see something that makes you just feel that good. People have really loved it and I’m really excited to get that type of feedback from people.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Robinson: I would definitely love for everyone to come to the show and experience something that they’ve never gotten to experience before or haven’t experienced for a long time, so come and have a fantastic, fantastic time — I would love for that to be passed on!!

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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