{{short description|American singer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Darren Robbins | image = Drsyg.JPG | birth_place = Dowagiac, Michigan, United States | birth_date = | genre = Rock, new wave, alternative rock | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 1988–present | label = Like Records <small>(1988–1989)</small><br>A&M Records <small>(1989–1993)</small><br>Chequered Requerds <small>(1997–2000)</small><br>Home Taping Is Killing Music Records <small>(2006–2008)</small> | associated_acts = Time Bomb Symphony, Destroy The Heart, The Elvis Brothers, Adam Schmitt }}
'''Darren Robbins''' (born April 14, 1966) is a singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Robbins released the seminal power pop CD "Darren Robbins Steals Your Girlfriend" in 1988 with production and musical backing by CBS/Portrait act The Elvis Brothers.<ref name="Y2K">{{cite news|author = Michael Roberts|title = Playlist|publisher = Denver Westword |date = November 9, 2000}}</ref>
Trouser Press publisher Ira Robbins (no relation) called Robbins' debut effort "as much a showcase for the star’s solid skills as an indication of the Elvis Brothers’ talent, 'Steals Your Girlfriend' is a delight."<ref>{{cite news|author = Ira Robbins|title = Darren Robbins discography|publisher = trouserpress.com |date = 2020}}</ref>
Robbins released two CDs under the name Time Bomb Symphony.<ref>{{cite news|author=Thomas Conner |author-link=:de:Thomas Conner |title = Behind the Eyes|publisher = Tulsa World |date = April 24, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Ticket |newspaper=The Miami Herald|date = April 25, 1998 }}</ref> Most recently, he has released his first CD of new material in seven years under yet another pseudonym, Destroy The Heart. The self-titled CD was produced by Adam Schmitt.
Of the album, Bullz-Eye writer Jeff Giles writes:
"The album’s biggest (and most pleasant) surprise is that it sounds like it could have been recorded a year or two after 'Steals Your Girlfriend' – or a decade before. Trying to pretend the last 30 years never happened isn’t anything new for power pop records, of course; the difference here is that Robbins and producer Adam Schmitt actually manage to pull it off. The drums are dry and punchy, the guitars sharp and wiry, the vocals soaked in vinegar and honey – you can close your eyes and pretend Rockpile never broke up, and Cheap Trick never recorded 'The Flame.'<ref>{{cite news|author = Jeff Giles|title = Destroy The Heart CD Review|publisher = Bullz-Eye.com |date = 2007}}</ref>
In 2008, Robbins reformed Time Bomb Symphony with former Material Issue members Mike Zelenko and Ted Ansani.<ref>{{cite news|author = Andy Downing|title = Darren Robbins Puts Together New Time Bomb Symphony|newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date = 2008}}</ref>
According to a feature in ''The New York Times'', Robbins formed the company Big D Custom Tour Merch in 2011, providing full-service tour merchandising to many major rock acts as well as custom screen printing services.
In 2014, Robbins, now a prolific street artist working under the pseudonym "Lemmy Cornhole", made headlines after his arrest for malicious destruction to a building in his hometown of Dowagiac, Michigan. Charges were later dropped. His hand-made street art-style cornhole boards are now in high demand and sell for upwards of $2,500 on the secondary market.
==Discography== *''Darren Robbins Steals Your Girlfriend'', 1988 (Like Records). *''Time Bomb Symphony/If You See Kay'', 1997 (Chequered). *''Time Bomb Symphony/Rules Get Broken'', 2000 (Chequered).<ref name="Y2K"/> *''Destroy The Heart/Destroy The Heart'', 2007 (Home Taping Is Killing Music Records).
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20141019084641/http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis/2014-08/try-do-something-nice%E2%80%94and-face-year-jail-110667 WBEZ news article by Jim DeRogatis (August 2014)] *[http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=darren_robbins Entry on Trouser Press website] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/business/smallbusiness/28sbiz.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3 New York Times article (April, 2011)] *[http://www.bullz-eye.com/cdreviews/giles/destroy_the_heart-destroy_the_heart.htm Destroy The Heart CD Review (2007)] *[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-11-14-0811120110-story.html Chicago Tribune article (2008)] *[https://trouserpress.com/reviews/darren-robbins/ Trouser Press review (2020)] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Darren}} Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:Singers from Chicago Category:People from Dowagiac, Michigan Category:1966 births
{{US-rock-singer-stub}}