Physical Facts


OTHER FACTS

Robs parents divorced when he was 2.  For most of his childhood years, Rob was raised by his Grandmother (who peddled marijuana and bootleg liquor) but he rejoined his Mother in Columbia, SC, and they later settled in Orlando, Florida where Matchbox 20 originated.
Despite his Father's absence, (they're slowly reconciling), Rob says he had a healthy upbringing.  "People think you need a Father to give you backbone, but I did just fine with the women who raised me."
  Dropped out of high school when all the kids called him the homeless guy (because he lived in a trailor park with his Mom and Grandmother and they made fun of him that he didn't live in a real home. ).  He  ran away at 17, but called his Mom often to tell her where and how he was.   He did in fact, become homeless for 3 years, when he left home, but now he states that it didn't bother him. He made due by doing gigs and playing the piano at parties at friends' houses.  He slept on park bences, beaches, and at friends' houses.
A friend taught him how to play the piano and start a band that use to cover Richard Marx and and U2 songs.   Rob wrote most of his songs while sitting on an exit ramp.   He says the most meaningful song he has ever written is "Kody".   Rob says that his academic washout in high school apparently had little bearing on his musical career.  Rob fondly remembers a guidance counselor at school in Florida who deviated from standard procedure to help him drop out.   He gave Rob $69 for a bus ticket after he threatened to hitchhike to South Carolina. Rob repaid the debt last year. "He wrote me a nice letter saying that I'd restored his faith in people," says Rob.  "He thought I was a lost cause that he'd never see again." The counselor saw potential in Rob that he sensed would never flourish in school, he theorizes."Individuality and cleverness are frowned upon in the public school system," says Rob.
 
 

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