Robert Morey has been performing with his guitar for over 25 years.

In high school he played with a number of gratefully short-lived cover bands until he wrecked his father's car and had to sell his SG in order to pay for the damages. College found him lugging around an acoustic guitar, tinkering with songwriting, playing coffee houses and weddings here and there.

It wasn't until 1996 that Morey began performing regularly. That spring, Morey's brother, David, joined him in Iowa City to form the duo Brother's Keeper. The following year, Brother's Keeper released From the Ground Up, their only CD. In four years of performing together, the Morey brothers played some 300 shows, from Minneapolis to St. Louis, from Chicago to Lincoln, Nebraska.

In the fall of 1999, Morey's brother quit the duo. Before long Morey was back in the studio, working on the first recording released under his own name. This Time hit the racks in May, 2000, and it features contributions by a number of Iowa City luminaries, including brother David, Red House recording artist Dave Moore, Trailer Records recording artist David Zollo, drummer Bill Neff, and ace bassist Rick Cicalo, who frequently backs up Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey.

Time passed, Morey got married, and soon he was itching to make an album of catchy, upbeat pop songs. Assembling a top-notch, crackerjack roots/rock/Americana band, The Hired Guns, Morey returned to the studio to record Renovation in three days of live sessions. This disc thus has a more cohesive and energetic feel than his previous work. Morey's mother says, "It's absolutely fantastic!"

Despite holding down a regular job as The Cheese Guy at New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City (no joke: he is known as Iowa's cheese authority), Morey maintains a regular performance schedule. He has shared the stage with such respected songwriters and performers as Richard Buckner, The Nields, Peter Case, Carrie Newcomer, Ellis Paul, Martin Zellar, Darden Smith, and Susan Werner.

Off stage and away from work, Morey likes to read, garden, cook, and hang out with his wife Shelly and stepsons Peter and Henry.