Roger Miret

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Roger Miret
Roger Miret - Agnostic Front - Reload Festival 2016.jpg
Miret with Agnostic Front in 2016
Background information
Birth nameRogelio de Jesus Miret
Also known asRoger Psycho [1]
Born (1964-06-30) June 30, 1964 (age 59)
Havana, Cuba
OriginNew York, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
  • mechanic
  • electrician [2]
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass (early)
Years active1982present
Member of
Formerly of

Rogelio de Jesus Miret (born June 30, 1964) [3] [4] is a Cuban American musician. He is the vocalist for New York hardcore band Agnostic Front, street punk group Roger Miret and the Disasters, and hardcore band The Alligators.

Contents

Agnostic Front are considered to be "the godfathers of hardcore" and one of the bands that created the New York scene. [5]

Personal life

Miret was born in Havana, Cuba. [3] He is the older half-brother of Madball frontman Freddy Cricien. The two have the same mother, who is of Cuban descent, and different fathers, hence the different last names. [6] Miret and his family fled Cuba to escape the Castro regime. [7] They came to the United States in 1968 and settled in New York. [3]

Miret was incarcerated on a drug charge in the late 1980s, spending almost two years in jail. [8] In a 2011 interview, he stated that he became involved in it because he was living in poverty, squatting buildings, and his then-partner was pregnant. [9] After being released, he started supporting PETA campaigns, as well as other non-profit organizations, and followed a vegetarian diet for many years. [9] [10]

Nowadays, he does not smoke and does not use recreational drugs, except for an occasional drink. [11]

In September 2021, Miret revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer earlier in that year. However, after a lengthy hospital stay and surgery, the cancer is now in remission. A GoFundMe page was launched to help Miret pay for his medical bills. [12]

Other projects

In 2012, Onno Cro-Mag (real name: Onno van Ravensteijn; d. 2013) [13] from Aardschok magazine of the Netherlands and Miret started the hardcore music record label Strength Records. [14]

With Jon Wiederhorn, Miret released My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts & Glory in August 2017. The autobiography chronicles Miret's career as the vocalist of Agnostic Front as well as his upbringing; it focuses on Miret's trials and tribulations growing up in 1980s New York City. [15]

Prior to joining Agnostic Front, Miret played bass for The Psychos, who claimed in a 1984 interview that Miret was replaced due to the fact that Miret became "more devoted" to Agnostic Front and therefore "couldn't make rehearsals and so forth." [16]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnostic Front</span> American hardcore punk band

Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Miret and the Disasters</span> American punk band

Roger Miret and the Disasters are a street punk group formed by Agnostic Front frontman Roger Miret. The band started when Miret was writing songs that were not a style suitable for Lady Luck or Agnostic Front, so he starting recording them on his own on a Boss recorder. Johnny Rioux had previously mentioned he would like to work with him, so Rioux helped Miret on what originally started as a solo project. Then Miret met Rhys Kill, who liked the material and joined in on the project. The band then recorded a demo tape, with Miret and Kill on guitar, Rioux on bass and Matt Kelly from the Dropkick Murphys on drums. That six-song demo found reviewed by Lars Frederiksen, who passed it off to his Rancid bandmate Tim Armstrong. He asked Miret to put his project out on Hellcat Records. As Kelly could not continue with Miret due to his commitments with Dropkick Murphys, Miret asked Johnny Kray of The Krays and New York Rel-X to join on drums. After a couple rehearsals, they decided to make it a band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cro-Mags</span> American hardcore punk band

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York hardcore</span> Punk music and associated subculture

New York hardcore is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Initially a local phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s, New York hardcore eventually grew to establish an international reputation with little to moderate mainstream popularity but with a dedicated and enthusiastic underground following, primarily in Europe and the United States. With a history spanning over more than four decades, many of the early New York hardcore bands are still in activity to this day. Some of them have been continuously or almost continuously active since their formation as well as having reunion shows.

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Madball is an American New York hardcore band. Originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front, the band developed after Agnostic Front's vocalist Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Freddy Cricien take the microphone and perform lead vocals during Agnostic Front shows. Following, Agnostic Front's 1992 disbandment, Madball became the members' main project and many became a part of the band who were never in Agnostic Front. They have released nine studio albums and four EPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Milano</span> Musical artist

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<i>Victim in Pain</i> 1984 studio album by Agnostic Front

Victim in Pain is the debut full-length studio album by New York hardcore punk band Agnostic Front. It was released in 1984 on Rat Cage Records and follows the United Blood EP. The album features Rob Kabula and Dave Jones, who replaced Adam Mucci and Raybeez on bass and drums respectively. It is still available as a split album with their subsequent album, 1986's Cause for Alarm.

<i>Cause for Alarm</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Agnostic Front

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Warriors is the ninth full-length studio album from New York hardcore band Agnostic Front released on November 6, 2007. The album is produced by Madball frontman Freddy Cricien, who is the half-brother of Agnostic Front frontman Roger Miret.

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The Psychos were an American first-generation New York hardcore band. They were Roger Miret's previous band before joining Agnostic Front as a vocalist in 1982. In The Psychos, Miret played bass while the vocalist was Steve Rieber. After Miret's departure, he was replaced by Billy Milano, later of Stormtroopers of Death and M.O.D.

Don Fury is an American recording engineer and producer who owned three rehearsal and recording studios in New York City. He has recorded and produced music for a variety of punk and hardcore bands including GG Allin, Agnostic Front, Sick of It All, Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Madball, Warzone, Helmet, Into Another, and Quicksand. In 2008 Fury moved his studio to Troy, New York.

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References

  1. Abrams, Howie (August 28, 2017). "Roger Miret's United Blood: The Singer on How He Met Some of NYHC's Biggest Characters" . Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  2. "Exclusive interview: Agnostic Front's Roger Miret on his hardcore past and future plans". June 24, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Pasulka, Adam (Fall 2010). "Roger Miret Talks Emmigrating From Cuba". frank151.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016.
  4. "Interview - Freddy (Madball) & Roger (Agnostic Front)". Spiritribe. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012.
  5. "The Godfathers Of Hardcore". Thegodfathersofhardcore.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. "Hammerock - Spiritribe - Interview Madball & Agnostic Front USA". March 5, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  7. "Agnostic Front Leader Roger Miret Writes About Poverty, Prison And Violence In Autobiography". Kerrang!. March 9, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  8. Torreano, Bradley. "Roger Miret". AllMusic . Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  9. 1 2 "Exclusive Interview: Agnostic Front's Roger Miret on his hardcore past and future plans". Alternative Press . June 24, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  10. Sanderz (November 8, 2012). "Isn't your mind curious? An interview with Roger Miret of Agnostic Front". www.circlesonthewater.org. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  11. Matulaitis, Spencer (November 16, 2008). "Interview with Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret". puregrainaudio.com. Toronto, Canada (published November 24, 2008). Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  12. Pasbani, Robert. "AGNOSTIC FRONT's Roger Miret Reveals His Cancer Is In Remission". metalinjection.net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  13. "Onno Cro-Mag overleden". Metalfan.nl. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  14. "前线报料:拉魯斯 VS 沙士菲-千秋万古网". Swnk.org. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  15. "BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: My Riot by Roger Miret". RockRevolt Magazine. June 22, 2017.
  16. Eager, Wendy; Goph (1984). "The Psychos". Guillotine (8) via Internet Archive. Stu Psycho: It wasn't a matter of our throwing [Miret] out of the band. It was a matter of his being more devoted to Agnostic Front. He couldn't devote his time to us. He couldn't make rehearsals and so forth.