History:
Rob started playing drums at age 8. His dad noticed he had a knack for rhythm when he started tapping on a tin can with a paint brush. Within minutes Rob had 5 cans in front of him and a pair of long, thin paint brushes to hit them with. This was the beginning and he soon got his first real drum set; a flame red snare and 12” cymbal. This was enough to get him into a band with other neighborhood "musicians". He outgrew that 2 piece set almost immediately and soon found himself on top of a new blue sparkle Kingston 5-piece kit and taking lessons from Ron Herman at Karnes Music. When Rob turned 17 he saved enough money to buy a shiny Slingerland kit with copper wrapped shells. He still own this set and uses it from time to time. It included a warm sounding chrome plated brass snare. Rob has since purchased a Roland V-Concert electronic set and a 7-piece DW kit in Black Velvet. Using the 2, he created a versatile hybrid kit by combining several parts of the V-Concert with the DW which can be seen in several of the pictures.

Influences:
Rob's early influences in drumming were from drummers like Mitch Mitchell of Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jon Bohnam from Led Zeppelin, the dual drummers of the Allman Brothers Band, and of course, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.

Rob's current influences come from the more contemporary but deep rooted drumming styles of Mike Mangini, Steve Smith, Virgil Donati, Dennis Chambers, Gregg Bissonette, Tommy Igoe, Thomas Lang, Terry Bozzio, and former drum instructor Paul Wertico. These new styles and techniques are evident in Rob's playing. He also performed with many blues bands and is listening intensely to drummers from that genre which will undoubtedly add to his list of drumming influences.

Practicing:
Rob practices many different ways by rotating his focus on stick control with just a practice pad, grooves, formal lessons, DVD instructional videos, play along (all styles - even international), and free form drumming. This method allows him to be more creative and adaptable to many different musical situations.

Rob's list of Chicago-area musicians and bands he has performed with:
Vinyl Highway Band Last year it was MHB; and now, Rob is once again back with one of his favorite bands, VHB! As one of the founding member of Vinyl Highway, Rob is anxious to play the festival and club circuit with this talented band. Vinyl Highway Band
MHB Rob's first show with MHB was at the Abbey main stage in '08. MHB drummer couldn't make the gig so Rob sat in last-minute and was able to cover the tunes well playing by ear. The show was a success and Matt Baron offered Rob an opportunity to lay 8 drum tracks for MHB's latest CD, Sparks Are Going To Fly released in summer of 2009. www.mhbmusic.com
Agent Axiom Rob joined Agent Axiom in August 2007. Their music is fresh, catchy, and fun. Rob complimented the band's ambition and talent to create new and exciting originals and delivering a unique sound to all the cover tunes they play. www.agentaxiom.com
John Juul & Friends Guitarist, vocalist and good friend, John Juul still performs at the Wooden Nickel in Highwood, Illinois every Thursday night. You'll never know who will show up! Look for John's new CD coming out this year (2010) called..."John Juul & Friends" - of course! Oh, and look for Rob on the cover.
Barrelhouse Chuck - Pianist and Vocalist
Sammy Fender - Blues recording artist
Michael 'Angelo' Batio - Guitarist and song writer
Mike Koontz - Guitarist and Song Writer (Three Machine)
Sharon Lewis - Blues vocalist and song writer
Jimy Rogers - Vocalist/Guitarist (The Mauds)
The Slackdaddies
Jimmy Sohns from the Shadows of Knight
Two for the Blues
Trace Zabor - Vocalist from the David Shankle Group
Warren Beck - Keyboards and Vocalist David Bernstein - Bassist Gary Gand - Guitarist Greg James - Bassist Peter Mayer - Keyboards, Vinyl Highway Band Carl Piper - Guitarist, Vinyl Highway Band Harmonica' Todd Levine - Harp and Vocalist Plus dozens more from all the Pro-Blues jams!

Rob's Drum Kit:

"I have 3 kits (DW, Slingerland, and V-Concert electric) but I prefer to use the DW for shows and the diagram below shows the complete DW set plus some of the V-Concert components that I use when the job calls for it. Depending on type of band I'm playing with, I will bring the whole set or scale it down accordingly. A new matching 5x14 DW Black Velvet snare was recently added to the kit." -RvD

Rob uses Vic Firth sticks and Remo heads