About Riviera
| Josh B. | Derek P. | Mick R. | Joshua R. | Matt U. |
Joshua Rogers
Email JoshuaThe son of a Detroit-area producer, Joshua Rogers began a rigorous training regimen on the drums at age 9, starting off learning drum parts for songs by CCR, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and T. Rex among many others. At 10 years old, he played drums and sang lead vocals in his first band, which performed songs (Dire Straits, ZZ Top, Chuck Berry, et. al.) at local area schools. In high school, he partnered with critically renowned composer Neil Rabaut and a load of synth/sequencing gear to create diverse and rhythmic compositions of a distinctly new-wave feel.
In late 1992 he connected with Derek Phillips and they began a project that would span a variety of sounds over nearly five years in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When their key project disbanded, Joshua and Derek went their separate ways and Joshua joined the high-energy Kalamazoo/Detroit pop outfit Packaged Bliss. When Phillips requested that he join his new project, Joshua left Ann Arbor to move to Chicago and help define the sound that would become what Riviera is today.