Gregory Rogove
Encyclopedia
Gregory Rogove is an American
indie music drummer
and songwriter
. He is notable for partnering with indie artist Devendra Banhart
to form the group Megapuss
. He signed a record contract with Knitting Factory Records
in 2011.
of Jewish parents with some of his distant ancestors being Mennonite
s. When eighteen, he traveled to India
on a year-long scholarship
and studied the tabla
. He described India as a "swirl of energy." He traveled to Singapore
, Mali
, and Mexico
. He spent five weeks in China
at the Peking Opera and commented that the sound of the gongs made it seem likely that one's head would split in two. The journeys influenced his musical sensibility and helped him achieve a "rich repertoire" with diverse influences from freak folk
, psychedelic rock
, progressive rock
, classical music
, punk rock
and world music
, according to one source. At Wesleyan University
, he studied musical composition
. Upon his graduation in 2002, he was the recipient of the Pokora Prize, awarded annually to the outstanding undergraduate student in music composition. In the music scene in New York City, he founded a band called Tarantula A.D. which later became the band Priestbird. He performed with artists such as Beck
and met Paul McCartney
. He plays piano
, organ
, flute
in addition to his mainstay of writing songs.
, and they collaborated on songs and toured together. According to one account, Rogove and Banhart
started their association on the project Megapuss "as a joke" but ended up writing numerous songs together, and the project gelled into a band and an album. The band was "built for laughs" and emphasized "fun", and Banhart and Rogove had promotional pictures featuring the two men "standing stark naked". A reviewer later asked: "Have you found yourself talking about your genitals a lot?" and Rogove said it had been a "prescribed aesthetic decision" in which "everyone is very well represented." The album Surfing was recorded in a cabin near Los Angeles and released in 2008. One report was that the words Mega puss translated from Swedish to English means Mega kiss or big kiss.
Reviews have varied from positive to mixed. One reviewer described the Megapuss album entitled Surfing as something that "sounds like a freak pop version of the Doors" and with a video that was entertaining as "heck" and might have been "something the Monkees might have come up with after not showering for several weeks ... and taking lots of drugs." Another wrote that it was not fruitful to search for levels of meaning in the song Chicken Titz but to "just listen and laugh," and described the song Crop Circle Jerk 94 as "warm and sunny." The reviewer described Theme from Hollywood as having a catchy melody but criticized the "meowing breakdown" at the end of the song. A third reviewer described the album as "obnoxious."
In 2011, Rogove lives in Los Angeles
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
indie music drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He is notable for partnering with indie artist Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
to form the group Megapuss
Megapuss
Megapuss is a band with the following members: Devendra Banhart, Gregory Rogove , Fabrizio Moretti , and Noah Georgeson...
. He signed a record contract with Knitting Factory Records
Knitting Factory Records
Knitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists including deceased Nigerian political agitator and musician Fela Kuti...
in 2011.
Background
Rogove grew up in Amish country in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
of Jewish parents with some of his distant ancestors being Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
s. When eighteen, he traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on a year-long scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
and studied the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
. He described India as a "swirl of energy." He traveled to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He spent five weeks in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
at the Peking Opera and commented that the sound of the gongs made it seem likely that one's head would split in two. The journeys influenced his musical sensibility and helped him achieve a "rich repertoire" with diverse influences from freak folk
Freak folk
Freak folk is a genre of folk music associated with contemporary artists such as Faun Fables, Animal Collective, Davenport, Devendra Banhart,CocoRosie, Panda Bear, Kelli Ali, Joanna Newsom, Bowerbirds, Woods, Greg Weeks, Hecuba, Akron/Family, Rio en Medio, Birdengine, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Hayes,...
, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, according to one source. At Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, he studied musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. Upon his graduation in 2002, he was the recipient of the Pokora Prize, awarded annually to the outstanding undergraduate student in music composition. In the music scene in New York City, he founded a band called Tarantula A.D. which later became the band Priestbird. He performed with artists such as Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
and met Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. He plays piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
in addition to his mainstay of writing songs.
Priestbird
The band Priestbird was formed by mutual associations of friends. One reviewer described Rogove in Priestbird as anchoring a "welcome foray into sludgy, feedback-heavy noise-rock" after a performance in 2009. A second reviewer found the songs to be "trippy" and were more "epic, heavy, and hypnotic."Megapuss
During these years he became friends with musician Devendra BanhartDevendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
, and they collaborated on songs and toured together. According to one account, Rogove and Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
started their association on the project Megapuss "as a joke" but ended up writing numerous songs together, and the project gelled into a band and an album. The band was "built for laughs" and emphasized "fun", and Banhart and Rogove had promotional pictures featuring the two men "standing stark naked". A reviewer later asked: "Have you found yourself talking about your genitals a lot?" and Rogove said it had been a "prescribed aesthetic decision" in which "everyone is very well represented." The album Surfing was recorded in a cabin near Los Angeles and released in 2008. One report was that the words Mega puss translated from Swedish to English means Mega kiss or big kiss.
Reviews have varied from positive to mixed. One reviewer described the Megapuss album entitled Surfing as something that "sounds like a freak pop version of the Doors" and with a video that was entertaining as "heck" and might have been "something the Monkees might have come up with after not showering for several weeks ... and taking lots of drugs." Another wrote that it was not fruitful to search for levels of meaning in the song Chicken Titz but to "just listen and laugh," and described the song Crop Circle Jerk 94 as "warm and sunny." The reviewer described Theme from Hollywood as having a catchy melody but criticized the "meowing breakdown" at the end of the song. A third reviewer described the album as "obnoxious."
In 2011, Rogove lives in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.