Robert learned from David P Kyle. David is a legend in Seattle. He taught a good bit of the talent that was coming out late 70's early 80's. Anne Wilson of Heart, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, Chris Cornell Soundgarden and Layne Stanley of Alice in Chains. This is a major reason why I started my lessons with Robert. If his teacher was good enough for that all star lineup then it would be perfect for me.
On your comment about "performing" this is one thing Robert tries to use to separate himself from the crowd. When you go to a lesson in Seattle your on a stage with a PA and you get comfortable up there. He also picks are you for little things I hear all the time... "Get your hand out of that damn pocket!" "Open your eyes" "Pick a place in the back and focus on it, do not look down" haha. The one thing I loved is that no matter how bad your lesson goes he finds a way to instill confidence in you and want to come back for another lesson. I started out planning on doing once a week for 1-2 months to make sure I was not going to over practice something wrong from our lesson and here I am 6months later still doing a lesson every week haha.
I have nothing but love for my teacher Robert.