Rob Cushing

Rob Cushing (born February 8, 1970 in Falmouth, Massachusetts) is an American musician and songwriter originally from Hyannis, Massachusetts. He is known for his ability to compose on and play on many different types of instruments, including guitar, keyboards, bass and drums while being able to carry lead and harmony vocals. Recently he started playing bass for the band Rocketscience and is in the process of performing and writing recently written songs with this band.

Cushing was born and raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts until after his parent's divorce in 1980 when his mother moved the family to New Bedford, Massachusetts. He took up saxophone in his elementary school symphony band. It wasn't until another family move brought him out to Grinnell, Iowa in 1985 that he began to develop a real interest in rock music, playing keyboards for a local rock band "Doublecross". In 1988, when he graduated from Grinnell High School, he made the decision to follow his older brother's footsteps into the Navy. For the next six years until his honorable discharge in the winter of 1993, he worked as a cryptologic technician (maintenance) third class for shore stations in Pensacola, Florida, Naples, Italy, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. During those times he not only continued to hone his keyboard skills but also branched out into lead vocals and guitar work. Most notably during his stint in Italy, his band "Destiny" opened for Sha Na Na at a local USO show. Upon his discharge in December 1993, Cushing returned to his native Cape Cod.

While attending college at Cape Cod Community College and later University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Cushing began playing in the groups "The Score" and "Division" in the mid 1990s. He also released in 1997 a 3-song EP "East to West (and back again" which received minor acclaim in Massachusetts before co-founding the famed Cape Cod band Singer Bad Dancer in 1997 with Jaclyn Stevenson, Jon Goodridge and Pete Maguire. The band's high-energy onstage coupled with its remarkable musicianship helped gain it quite a following in the region. So much in fact, that their 2001 release "Pass The Sombrero" gained the attention of MTV who used their song "Sweet Jessica" on their popular series "MTV's Undressed". A film production company, Double Midnight Productions of New Hampshire, used "Sweet Jessica" for their film "Nowheresville" later that same year.

In 2002, Singer Bad Dancer split, and Cushing went on to enter into the Boston music scene, joining up with Boston band Pure Fiction on keyboards and guitar, assisting with the release of their album "From All Sides" in 2003 before leaving the band in early 2004 to pursue a solo career full-time. In addition to touring the East Coast and Midwest extensively, Cushing also worked as a freelance musician, with such local artists as New Blood, Bleu, and Juniper's Daughter and gaining further notoriety in the Boston area.

As of late 2007, Cushing spends his time in both Boston and Cape Cod and has hooked up with several different Boston bands, including well-known Boston rockers Rocketscience performing on bass guitar for the band while writing songs for an upcoming release to be determined. His solo album is expected for a Q1 2008 release along with a West Coast tour planned for mid-April 2008.

Discography

*"East To West (and back again)"(1997)
*"Pass The Sombrero (w/ Singer Bad Dancer) (2001)
*"From All Sides (w/ Pure Fiction) (2003)
*"Tosa Nua (forthcoming solo album) (2008)

Band members

Rob Cushing: (Solo) All vocals and instruments, (Singer Bad Dancer) Guitar/keyboards/vocals, (Pure Fiction) Backup vocals/keyboards/guitar, (Rocketscience) Bass, vocals

External links

* [http://www.robcushing.com/ RobCushing.com] - Official site
* [http://www.myspace.com/robcushing Rob on Myspace] - Rob Cushing at myspace.com