Jackie, Pete, and Home

Rob now lives in Paradise Valley, Pennsylvania, with his wife Jackie, their son Pete, and their dog Lexi.

Becoming Pete’s father changed Rob’s definition of success.

Music is no longer only about personal fulfillment, playing big stages, or being part of a famous band. The years of sacrifice, uncertainty, and hard work now belong to Pete too.

If the life Rob has built through music can give his son a great childhood and a strong beginning to his own life, Rob will consider all of it worthwhile.

When he is not touring, Rob is happiest doing things that look remarkably unlike touring.

A typical day begins with black coffee about an hour after he wakes up and time with Pete in the playroom. Rob enjoys fixing things around the house, maintaining the property, running painfully normal adult errands, and making the best dinner he possibly can.

He genuinely enjoys mowing the lawn.

He approaches dinner as an event rather than an obligation and loves taking the time to grill steak or prepare an elaborate meal. His preferred cuts include ribeye, filet, and New York strip, although crab, lobster rolls, lobster bisque, French fries, charcuterie, and kangaroo filet are all welcome.

He keeps a small collection of scotch and bourbon, enjoys tasting craft beer, and occasionally spends an evening smoking a cigar beside the fire pit.

Every summer, he treasures time with his family at the Jersey Shore. His father-in-law has been teaching him to sail, although Rob has no intention of attempting it alone.

He also enjoys sporting-clay shooting and organizing nearly everything around him. Rob may not describe planning the day as a hobby, but everyone who knows him probably would.

Despite spending his life in punk bands, much of the music Rob listens to at home comes from the 1930s and ’40s. Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman remain major influences alongside the Beatles, Beastie Boys, NOFX, blink-182, Face to Face, No Use For A Name, BigWig, Incubus, and the Aquabats.

He cannot stand silence.

Rob will not eat in a completely silent room and generally prefers that some form of noise be happening around him at all times.

He also hates flying, despite having built a career that requires a tremendous amount of it. His frustration with airports has turned him into a borderline expert on airline loyalty programs, reward systems, upgrades, and extracting every possible benefit from the experience.

Rob describes himself in three words: neurotic, jocular, and indecisive.

His bandmates might put it differently:

“He gets really angry about things that do not matter, and then he gets over it and is fun to be around.”