Rogue (musician)

For other uses, see Rogue (disambiguation).
Rogue

Rogue performing with The Crüxshadows in Germany on July 25, 2015
Background information
Birth name Virgil Roger du Pont III
Born (1972-07-04) July 4, 1972
Origin Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Genres Gothic rock, Synthpop, Darkwave
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, musician, producer
Instruments Violin, keyboards
Years active 1992–present
Labels Wishfire
Associated acts The Crüxshadows
Website http://www.Cruxshadows.com

Rogue (born Virgil Roger du Pont III,[1] July 4, 1972) is a founding member and lead singer of the American goth/electropop band The Crüxshadows.

Biography

Rogue was born in Charlottesville, Virginia and he moved frequently throughout the 1970s and early/mid 1980s, living on or near US Army bases in Europe and the United States. The son of an Army officer, he spent many of his formative years abroad. As a youngster, he was removed from normal classes to be placed in an art program designed to find talent and cultivate it in young children. His family finally returned to Jacksonville, Florida, where both his mother and father had lived prior to his birth, and where he was enrolled in several Catholic schools. As a child he excelled in art, poetry, drama, and music. He was a troupe member of Marion Conner's Storybook Players, and was active in art and musical theater for a number of years.

Called "Bear" by his family, he was dubbed "Rogue" by friends as a teenager.[2] At 13, he attended Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, where he was an honor student, letterman, founder of the poetry club, national competitor in speech and debate, Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, and Executive Officer in the school's Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC).

After graduating high school in 1990, he was awarded a full academic scholarship and attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, majoring in art. He additionally took violin lessons at the FSU School of Music, and later played the violin in his band (in addition to singing). While a student he took courses in music composition, paleontology, film, and math logic. He graduated magna cum laude from FSU's art school in both its Baccalaureate and post graduate programs. While at FSU, Rogue was involved in the student government association, and was the leader of the student Monarchy Party during its final period, engineering its biggest and only significant victory, taking control of the executive branch of the student government.

He went to work for a year as the first curator in the state-funded art gallery in the Florida State University Student Union building named the Oglesby Gallery, the creation of which he had proposed and helped to realize while a student.[3] Rogue's own artwork involved stone-carving, installation sculpture, photography, film, animation, computer manipulation, oil paints, and pastels. Later, he would create primarily digital artwork. Rogue was also DJ at a now defunct gay club called Brothers[4] in Tallahassee through most of the 1990s. The New Wave/80's night he ran was a very popular weekly event, attracting many people, straight and gay, every week. In the early 2010s, Rogue would sometimes guest DJ for the Monday Goth/Industrial night at Tallahassee's Club Rehab, the location of which was the same as that of Brothers before it merged with the adjacent Pug Mahone's Irish Pub (now known as 926 Bar and Grill).

Before the Crüxshadows, Rogue was the leader of a band called the Stone Pale Gods.[5]

Rogue started The Crüxshadows in 1993 while in college at FSU. He is responsible for writing most, if not all of the band's songs to date, and is the primary force in the band's history. His artwork adorns several of the covers of The Crüxshadows' albums and EPs.

Rogue's spider-like hairstyle may be the most identifiable feature of his appearance, though he is also known for his unique performing style, his impassioned vocals, and the tight and personable relationship he has with his fans.[6][7][8] His stage persona is charismatic and dramatic, which often includes significant audience interaction and mobility allowed by his headset microphone. In December 2007, he and Cruxshadows dancer/drummer Jessica Lackey were married, after dating for over 12 years.

On Monday, September 6, 2010, Rogue and Lackey announced their intention to have a child, while on-stage at their Dragon*Con concert. On April 2, 2011 at 7:11 PM, their daughter Angelina Miette was born.

On August 28, 2014 Rogue announced his collaboration with playwright Brenton Lengel on a rock-opera called Afterall, based in part on the mythology of the Crüxshadows. Afterall received its first public reading at Dragon*Con. After serious revisions the work was again read the following year.

Described as a fantasy adventure through the afterlife, Afterall begins with the death of the main character and her journey through a mythology-filled Oz-like purgatory.[9]

References

  1. ↑ BMI credits artist Virgil Roger DuPont III as the sole writer in songs performed by the Crüxshadows. See also
  2. ↑ "Emerging from the shadows". Sorted magAZine. 2002.
  3. ↑ Matus, Ron (1994) "New on Campus", Florida Flambeau, the student newspaper of FSU, September, September 14, 1994, Pg 3, Col 1
  4. ↑ Brothers Night Club – Tallahassee's Only Pansexual Playground
  5. ↑ Rogue CXS page
  6. ↑ Guestbook
  7. ↑ A conversation with The Cruxshadows founding member, Rogue. (article) by – - Wa on AuthorsDen
  8. ↑ Grave Concerns Ezine- Goth & Industrial Music News, Reviews , Interviews, Radio and more... – The Cruxshadows- 11/13/03
  9. ↑ "Christmas 2014- Light a Way (Back Home)". The Crüxshadows. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
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