Julio Roberto Valverde Valencia (born 1955), 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), was a Colombian army defector, born in Cali, who came to
the United States on a student visa in early 1975. He stayed after the
visa expired.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.
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), was a Colombian army defector, born in Cali, who came to
the United States on a student visa in early 1975. He stayed after the
visa expired.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.
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