Robin Pecknold

Robin Pecknold
Pecknold performing with Fleet Foxes at Atlantico Live in Rome, Italy in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Robin Noel Pecknold
Also known as	Robin Noel Vaas, White Antelope
Born	(1986-03-31) March 31, 1986 (age 31)
Origin	Kirkland, Washington
Genres	Indie folk, baroque pop, folk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards
Years active	Early 2000s–present
Labels	Sub Pop (US) Bella Union (UK)
Associated acts	Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom, Ed Droste, Dolour

Robin Noel Pecknold (born March 30, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist for the indie folk band Fleet Foxes, with whom he has recorded three studio albums, with the latest, Crack-Up, due to release on June 16, 2017.

Robin Pecknold was born in Seattle in 1986. 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 CD called St. Vincent Street around his hometown as Robin Noel Vaas. Later, the music of Bob Dylan would become Pecknold's primary influence.

In 2005, Pecknold toured as a bassist with Seattle's Dolour. Pecknold formed Fleet Foxes in 2006 with Skyler 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 2014, Robin Pecknold toured as part of the Gene Clark No Other band, performing Gene Clark's album No Other in full with other singers such as Iain Matthews.

In January 2015, Pecknold's latest project was an off-Broadway play, entitled "Wyoming" for which he wrote the score.

Pecknold plays a Martin D-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.

He has an older brother, Sean, and an older sister, Aja. His brother is a director and the founder of grandchildren.tv. Sean has directed five music videos for Fleet Foxes. His grandfather, Bob Valaas, is Norwegian. Pecknold comes from a musical background; his father, Greg Pecknold, played in the Seattle-based soul band The Fathoms in the 1960s and his elder sister, Aja, was a rock critic for magazine Seattle Weekly and is the band's manager.