Roger had been playing drums along to the radio in a 10 foot deep pit dug into the basement of a stranger’s home for nearly two years before he was let out to join his first band. His freshman year of high school, the group was created solely to be in the school's Battle of the Bands. The band included, of course, Rogers’s older brother Ron on keyboards. Ron had already been making music with his little brother in that basement since Roger got his first drum kit in grade 7. The band, Crossover, covered songs by Asia, Billy Joel, Genesis, Rush and Journey, all bands with drummers Roger held in high regard. Their BOTB winning performance also may have been the debut of Roger as a singer as he lent his lead vocals to the band’s version of "Abacab".

Throughout his high school years, Roger pursued music wherever he found opportunity - whether singing in church choirs and school musicals, drumming in garage bands or just breaking into sing-alongs whenever together with his best buddies. In his college years, Roger performed as a member of the Western Michigan University Marching Bronco Drum Line, drummed on the hard-to-find debut album by Diamondback and became a drummer-for-hire, sitting in with many wedding bands as well as The Sun Messenger All-Stars with Bugs Beddow. Bugs was recently quoted as saying, "Who?"

In the early 90’s, Roger was asked to join Bis Morgen, a known and busy Detroit based German polka band. Not your average ohm-pa band, "Bis" played for over 5000 people at a Ft. Wayne Octoberfest, sat in with friends (BOP) Harvey, and played a set at Detroit’s Masonic Temple for a local radio station’s anniversary party. While still with "Bis", Roger was recruited by his older brother to be the drummer for the new band he was putting together with singer/song writer Bruce Bright. Along with bass guitarist/vocalist Bruce "Deuce" Cohen and lead vocalist Sue D’Orazio, The Jericho Project was formed. They released their self-titled debut album in 1994. It was in this band Roger first found his love for music producing and song writing, co-writing two songs for the band’s never released second album. One of these songs, "The Greatest Of These", ended up appearing on Bruce Bright’s solo album, Hold On.

In the late 90’s, Roger was the first musician recruited by Blarrit Records recording artist Eliza when she was putting together a band to tour and flesh out the songs she was writing for her second album. Well, the first musician who said, "Yes". In support of Eliza, who was managed by Motown singing and writing legend Barrett Strong ("Money"; "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"), Roger got to play in some great venues like The Bottom Line in New York City and play with some of Metro Detroit’s finest musicians including Brian Lord and Stephen Grant Wood of The Hummingbirds, just to name two. Roger appears on Eliza’s second album, I’m Waiting, playing drums, percussion and singing background vocals.

The new millennia brought a self-imposed hiatus from playing in bands. Roger concentrated on writing and recording his own music, occasionally playing drums or guitar in the Praise Bands of Detroit’s Grace Community Church or collaborating with songwriter Martin Rola on his projects. Having no band to perform with, for two years Roger sat in regularly on Thursday night’s at McB’s in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Then, in late 2005 back in Detroit, Roger started sitting in with the new band his brother Ron and his next door neighbor Dan were in. After all, the group -- soon to be known as CHARUBA -- practiced in Roger's basement.

Look for My Two Uncles, the vanity side project of Roger and Ron, coming someday.

Roger’s drumming was taught and influenced by, among others, Terry Breese and Mike Fletcher. Some of Roger’s drummer heroes are John Bohnom, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland, Liberty DeVito, Steve Jordon, Carl Palmer, Neil Pert, Simon Phillips and Jeff Porcaro. Some of Roger’s vocalist heroes are Jake Blues, Paul Carrack, Ray Charles, Sammy Hagar, Terry Kath, Sam Moore, Roy Orbison, Wilson Pickett and Frank Sinatra. And other, just general, music heroes are Barenaked Ladies, The Beatles, Jack Blades, Jeffery Gaines, Kevin Gilbert, Jellyfish, Jeff Lynne, The Odds, The Rembrandts, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Spingsteen, Pete Townshend, U2 and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Roger has been, at one time or another, one half of the d.j. team Jon & Rog D.J.’s; a Jack-of-all-trades at Utica, MI’s The Locker Room Saloon; an apartment complex maintenance tech.; a manager for Jet’s Pizza; the pre-recorded music coordinator (d.j.) for The Detroit Red Wings, The Detroit Tigers, The Detroit Drive, The Detroit Rockers and The Detroit Ambassadors/Jr. Red Wings; a pool guy; a radio on-air personality; and a Zamboni driver. Roger is currently an Engineer for FANUC Robotics America, Inc.

Roger dabbles in photography - many of the photos on the web site and in the "CHARUBALAYA" cd insert were taken by him – and enjoys writing in the third person.

And as for the Detroit music scene’s six degrees of separation, Roger has played with musicians Bugs Bedow, Bruce Bright, Scott Boozan, Ed Cantrell, Kevin Chown, Bruce "Deuce" Cohen, Sue D’Orazio, Tim Diaz, Jon Diem, Eliza, Mike Fletcher, Steve Floyd, Bob Gracin, Melissa Gray, Chris Kertcher, Doug Kahan, Rick Koskey, Brian Lord, Dave Mastick, Sonya Mastick, Vince McQueen, Bob Mead, Ron Pangborn, Dave Petty, Scott Poquette, Michael Puwal, Michael Romeo, Joe Saliz, Rick Seja, Gordie Shelest, Dan Shepherd, Hans Stiener and Stephen Grant Wood.