Rob Roper Music Biography

"The Troubadour of the Misfit"


Updated September 8, 2021


In an industry where "Alternative" means mainstream and "Indie" means pop, Rob Roper's songs are independent of Indie and alternative to Alternative.

Jon Solomon of The Westword calls him "...a guy with some sharp songwriting skills and a knack for penning witty lyrics."

The Belgium website Rootstime.be described his full-length CD "Misfit" as "...drenched with emotion, with truly beautiful songs...A modest masterpiece."

His friend and former bandmate, Kurt Loken, calls him "...the troubadour of the misfit."

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Roper spent his teenage years in Dallas, Texas. After college he left for Arizona and lived there for many years, playing music with various people and bands. He moved to Denver in 2000, where he is now based. A guitar player since the age of 12, he took up songwriting and singing in 2004.

In 2007 Roper released a DIY demo EP, Some Songs I Wrote. 2009 saw the release of the acoustic EP, Me. In 2011 Roper released his first full-length album, Misfit, produced by John McVey. In 2012 he released an 8-song acoustic EP, The Other Side of Nowhere, featuring Paul Ermisch on violin. In 2016, Roper released a 3-song EP for download, Word, which features spoken word or rap over a hybrid of rock and hip hop music. Also in 2016, Roper released the hard rock/psychedelic rock EP Roses under the band name Total Flower Chaos.

Rob Roper has played over 150 gigs since 2005 (see list of past shows here), mostly in Colorado, but also in Oregon, Texas, Iowa, Massachusetts and The Netherlands. In 2008 he played his songs with violinist Julie Oxenford-O'Brian, and then from 2018-2019 with violinist Paul Ermisch. Beginning in 2013, Roper adopted the name Scupanon for his acoustic group, at the suggestion of percussionist and bandmate Sam Caston. From 2013-2014, Roper was the guitarist and one of the songwriters for the Denver rock band, Dorian. In 2017, Roper formed the rock band, Electric Poetry. Electric Poetry played in the Denver area from 2017 to 2019.

From 2015-2017 Roper studied music theory, piano and composition at Metro St. University in Denver.

Like other working musicians, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, 2020, Rob Roper saw all his gigs cancelled. After playing a few internet shows, Roper decided to use the opportunity to record a new album-- his biggest and most ambitious yet. Working with engineer and co-producer Jeff Kanan at The Keep Recording studio in Denver, Roper and a small group of great local musicians donned masks and recorded from November, 2020 through February, 2021. Editing, mixing and mastering were completed in June, 2021. The result is Rob Roper's masterpiece, The Way, consisting of 13 songs and 2 instrumentals, blending multiple sub-genres of rock music, and with lyrical themes ranging from the personal to the political. The first single, "Metadata (We're Watching You)" will be released in early October. The entire album will be released November 9, 2021.

Rob Roper is currently forming a new rock band to play the songs from The Way and earlier releases. He continues to play occasional acoustic gigs solo and with informal groupings of musicians.