Last year, musician, record producer, and label director Mark Robinson was inducted into the Wakefield Alumni Hall of fame. I briefly met him at the reception before the ceremony, and I have since reached out to ask a few questions:

What years did you attend Wakefield HS, and what was your favorite case of mischief?

I was there all four years. Entering as a freshman in the fall of ’82 until graduation in the spring of 1985. As for mischief, I can’t remember a lot of specific examples but there was quite a bit. It may have been the golden age. Food fights in the cafeteria were a regular occurrence. One minute you were eating your lunch and the next you were covered in ketchup from flying french fries.

Building off the previous question, did you ever run into trouble with administration for selling tapes or zines?

I’m not sure anyone really paid attention to us kids selling our tapes or fanzines, but we did get in trouble once. We had put up flyers for our fanzine, The Straight Line, on the walls of the second floor hallways…Business and Typing teacher Mrs. Levine complained to the principal, Dennis Hill. He was a 1960s graduate and former Warrior Basketball player that had ascended the ranks. We showed up to his office and he told us that he didn’t think it was a big deal, but wanted us to take the flyers down so feathers could be unruffled. Of course, in hindsight, putting that on a flyer in a high school wasn’t cool, so thanks to Mrs. Levine for policing us kids.

For those who don’t know, what was the impetus for the creation of TeenBeat? We all know Dischord arose from the ashes of the Teen Idles, but for Teen Beat did it just naturally arise from a group of friends?

I had been recording tapes by myself and with friends for a few years before we started TeenBeat. I would make covers for them, even though there was only one copy. I’d illustrate the cover and make up a fake band name and even an imaginary label name. When Unrest became a regular group of people getting together to make music, TeenBeat just naturally came to life and became a “real” label. And I was ready with my cassette decoration skills.

The Chieftain (News site) or Starstone (Yearbook)? Which one wins in a fight? In my opinion, The Chieftain is currently winning in terms of quality…

While I loved working on newspapers I’ll have to go with the Starstone. Most of my news reporter time was done at Kenmore and Abingdon. I was the co-editor and editor different years at Starstone. Back then (and maybe still?), it was a class that you took. Every day of the week. One of the great parts of being on staff at the yearbook was peeking into the archive and seeing what some of our teachers looked like 10 or 20 years earlier.

Amanda Mackaye made an observation when I interviewed her (I’m paraphrasing): With the rise of more organized extracurriculars (sports, but possibly even ones including music) the available time and energy for teens to actively create and participate in their own independent art scenes diminish. How true does this ring for you, and what advice do you have for us young creatives struggling to form a scene?

This is a great point. I’m sure this must be true to some extent. I participated in quite a few activities but still found time to do music when I got home. And of course back then we didn’t have iPhones. Those can be really great productivity enhancers, but can also be the opposite.

Having finally been in the new building, in purely aesthetic terms (as opposed to functional terms), which Wakefield building appeals more to you??

Of course, the original building holds more of a spot in my heart since that’s where I spent most of my days for four years. I’ve only been in the new school once. It’s pretty nice, but I don’t really have a personal connection to it.

Finally, a fun question! Best Arlington food?

I’ll have to go with some old school places that were around back when I was at Wakefield.

The Broiler on Columbia Pike (a regular advertiser in Starstone back in the day), Weenie Beenie in Shirlington, and Mario’s in Clarendon. RIP: Atilla’s on Columbia Pike and Marino’s also on Columbia Pike.