Rogue (musician)

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Rogue
Promotional photo
Background information
Birth name	Virgil Roger du Pont III
Born	July 4, 1972
Origin	Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
Genre(s)	Goth music electro pop Darkwave
Occupation(s)	Singer Songwriter Musician
Instrument(s)	Violin, Keyboards
Years active	1992 - present
Label(s)	Dancing Ferret Discs
Associated acts	The Crüxshadows
Website	http://www.Cruxshadows.com

Rogue (born Virgil Roger du Pont^[1] III^[2], July 4,1972) is a founding member and lead singer of the American goth/electropop band The Crüxshadows.

[edit] Biography

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, he moved frequently throughout the 1970s and early/mid 1980s, living on or near US Army bases in Europe and the United States. The son of an Army officer, he spent many of his formative years abroad. As a youngster, he was removed from normal classes to be placed in an art program designed to find talent and cultivate it in young children. His family finally returned to Jacksonville, Florida, where both his mother and father had lived prior to his birth, and where he was enrolled in several Catholic schools. As a child he excelled in art, poetry, drama, and music. He was a troupe member of Marion Conner's Story book players, and was active in art and musical theater for a number of years.

Called "Bear" by his family he was dubbed "Rogue" by friends as a teenager^[3]. At 13, he attended Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, where he was an honor student, letterman, founder of the poetry club, national competitor in speech and debate, Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, and Executive Officer in the school's Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC).

After graduating high school in 1989, he was awarded a full academic scholarship and attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, majoring in art. He additionally took violin lessons at the FSU School of Music, and later played the violin in his band (in addition to singing). While a student he took courses in music composition, paleontology, film, and math logic. He graduated magna cum laude from FSU's art school in both its Baccalaureate and post graduate programs. While at FSU, Rogue was involved in the student government association, and was the leader of the student Monarchy Party^[4] during its final period, engineering its biggest and only significant victory, taking control of the executive branch of the student government.

He went to work for a year as the first curator in the state-funded art gallery in the Florida State University Student Union building named the Oglesby Gallery, the creation of which he had proposed and helped to realize while a student^[5]. Rogue's own artwork involved stone-carving, installation sculpture, photography, film, animation, computer manipulation, oil paints, and pastels. Later he would create primarily digital artwork. Rogue was also DJ at a gay club called Brothers^[6] in Tallahassee through most of the 1990s. The New Wave/80's night he ran was a very popular weekly event, attracting many people, straight and gay, every week.

Before the Crüxshadows Rogue was the leader of a band called the Stone Pale Gods. ^[7]

Rogue started The Crüxshadows in 1993 while in college. He is responsible for writing most, if not all of the band's songs to date, and is the primary force in the band's history. His artwork adorns several of the covers of The Crüxshadows' albums and EPs.

Rogue's spider-like hairstyles may be the most identifiable feature of his appearance, though he is also known for his unique performing style, his awkwardly impassioned vocals, and the tight and personable relationship he has with his fans^[8] ^[9] ^[10]. His stage persona is charismatic and dramatic, which often includes significant audience interaction and mobility allowed by his headset microphone. Recently, Rogue announced that in December of 2007 he and Cruxshadows dancer Jessica Lackey, who have dated for over 12 years, plan to marry.