Robo | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Julio Roberto Valverde Valencia |
Born | 1955 (age 68–69) Cali, Colombia |
Genres | Horror punk, punk rock, heavy metal, hardcore punk |
Occupation(s) | Musician, drummer |
Instrument(s) | Drums |
Years active | 1977–present |
Julio Roberto Valverde Valencia (born 1955 [1] ), better known by his stage name Robo, is a Colombian-American drummer. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with punk band Black Flag, and more recently has been a member of Misfits.
Robo (at the time known by his birth name, Roberto Valverde), born in Cali, who came to the United States on a student visa in early 1975. He stayed after the visa expired. [2]
Robo began playing drums in 1976, while living in El Segundo, California and working in a plastics factory. In 1978, he joined Black Flag as the band's second drummer, replacing Brian Migdol. He toured and recorded with them through 1981, performing on the EPs Jealous Again and Six Pack , and their first full-length album, Damaged . He was forced out of the band after being detained at Heathrow Airport over visa complications just prior to Black Flag's return from their 1982 UK tour; in order to fulfill existing commitments back in the US, the band replaced Robo before he was able to return to the country. When he did eventually return later that year, he learned that the Misfits were seeking a drummer. He relocated to New Jersey to join that band full-time, touring and recording the Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood album before quitting in the summer of 1983, a few months before The Misfits' final dissolution. Robo would eventually, along with Jerry and Doyle Caiafa and Frank LiCata (aka Franché Coma), be a party to the 1992 lawsuit against Glenn Danzig which led to the settlement of unpaid back royalties to Danzig's former Misfits bandmates, as well as provisions for the apportionment of future royalties and merchandising/licensing rights. This settlement was also significant in establishing the exclusive right of the plaintiffs, rather than Danzig, to perform and record as The Misfits moving forward, giving rise to the Caiafas' revamped version of the band from 1995 on.
In 2003, Robo drummed for Black Flag during their reunion shows. He was joined by Dez Cadena on vocals and rhythm guitar, Greg Ginn on lead guitar, and C'el Revuelta on bass. In 2005, he rejoined the Misfits, then featuring Jerry Only on bass and vocals and fellow former Black Flag member Cadena on guitar. When touring, the band played Misfits songs as well as Black Flag songs, with Cadena singing the Black Flag songs. Robo appeared on the "Land of the Dead" single.
He was briefly mentioned in the Jim Jarmusch short film Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California by Iggy Pop, who suggested using Robo's drumming talents to an offended Tom Waits.
Robo has been married once, to Barbara Mazzone Valverde, and they have one son, Vincent Valverde (formerly of the band TALP), who was born on December 6, 1985. Robo and Barbara subsequently divorced.
In 2010, Robo dropped out of the Misfits due to passport troubles.
On January 25, 2013, it was announced that Robo would be participating in Black Flag's upcoming reunion show at Hevy Music Festival in Folkestone, their first UK show in 30 years, in August. [3] A few days later, it was announced that Gregory Moore would be the drummer for Black Flag, not Robo. [4]
Robo's drum style relies heavily on open high-hat to generate the frenetic sounds on early Black Flag records. His signature drum kit during that era was transparent to match Greg Ginn's see-through Dan Armstrong guitar, and was unique in that all of the drums and cymbals were parallel to the ground rather than tilted towards him in the typical style. He was also known for wearing plastic and metal bracelets during concerts and recording sessions; they can sometimes be heard faintly clattering on recordings. While many drummers utilize a style which uses quick movements originating from the wrist, Robo's style consists of stiff, robotic movements of the entire arm. His stage name was given to him by his Black Flag bandmates, and is both a play on his name (Roberto) and a reference to his drumming style.
Note: Robo was credited as the drummer on early pressings of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP but did not play on the actual recording.
Black Flag is an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Initially called Panic, the band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands, as well as one of the pioneers of post-hardcore. After breaking up in 1986, Black Flag reunited in 2003 and again in 2013. The second reunion lasted well over a year, during which they released their first studio album in nearly three decades, What The... (2013). The band announced their third reunion in January 2019.
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
Nervous Breakdown is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag, released in January 1979 through SST Records. It was the label's first release.
Dez Cadena is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initially joining the band alongside Doyle, Jerry Only, and Robo for their 25th Anniversary Tour.
My War is the second full-length studio album by American punk rock band Black Flag. It was the first of three full-length albums the band released in 1984. The album polarized fans due to the LP's B-side, on which the band slowed down to a heavy, Black Sabbath-esque trudge after establishing expectations as a faster hardcore punk band on their first album, Damaged (1981).
Damaged is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released by SST Records in November 1981.
Everything Went Black is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1982 through SST Records. The compilation comprises early songs recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981, and was initially released without the group's name on its cover, due to their lawsuit with MCA/Unicorn. Instead, the names of the group members were listed on the first release.
Jealous Again is the second EP by American hardcore punk band Black Flag, and the third-ever release on SST Records.
Six Pack is the third EP by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in June 1981 through SST Records on 7" vinyl, and later on 10" and 12" vinyl in 1990.
"Cough/Cool" is the first single released by the horror punk band the Misfits. It was released in August 1977 on singer Glenn Danzig's label Blank Records. 500 copies were produced on black 7" vinyl. Both songs from the single were re-recorded and re-released in various versions over the following twenty years.
Gerald Caiafa Jr., better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup.
Gone is a three-piece punk-based instrumental rock band, formed by Greg Ginn in late 1985. Originally, Gone was a side project to his main group Black Flag.
Misfits is a 1986 compilation album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Officially titled Misfits, but also known as Collection, Collection 1, or Collection I, the album features twenty songs by the band. The tracks include some of the group's early singles, as well as songs from their 1982 album Walk Among Us, their 1983 album Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood, and the 1985 compilation album Legacy of Brutality, which was curated exclusively by vocalist Glenn Danzig after the band had dissolved in 1983.
Paul Caiafa, known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own band eponymously named Doyle.
Ron Reyes is an American musician most noted as the second singer for the Los Angeles punk rock group Black Flag, which he fronted from 1979 to 1980 and again in 2013.
The Nig-Heist was a punk-comedy-shock rock band led by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, a roadie and live sound engineer for Black Flag and employee of SST Records. The Nig-Heist featured a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".
Overkill L.A. or SST Overkill is a hardcore punk/speed metal band started in 1980 in Los Angeles and which recorded two records on SST Records and some tracks on compilations. The band started as Overkill but they were rechristened Overkill L.A. by SST Records when they re-released their albums in the '90s and SST Overkill when they reunited in 2005.
The First Four Years may refer to: