Rogue (musician)

Biography

Virgil Roger du Pont III was born in Charlottesville, Virginia and 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 Storybook 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. 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 1990, 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 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. 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 now defunct gay club called Brothers 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. In the early 2010s, Rogue would sometimes guest DJ for the Monday Goth/Industrial night at Tallahassee's Club Rehab, the location of which was the same as that of Brothers before it merged with the adjacent Pug Mahone's Irish Pub.

Before the Cruxshadows, Rogue was the leader of a band called the Stone Pale Gods.

Rogue started The Cruxshadows in 1993 while in college at FSU. 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 Cruxshadows' albums and EPs.

Rogue's spider-like hairstyle may be the most identifiable feature of his appearance, though he is also known for his unique performing style, his impassioned vocals, and the tight and personable relationship he has with his fans. His stage persona is charismatic and dramatic, which often includes significant audience interaction and mobility allowed by his headset microphone. In December 2007, he and Cruxshadows dancer/drummer Jessica Lackey were married, after dating for over 12 years.

On Monday, September 6, 2010, Rogue and Lackey announced their intention to have a child, while on-stage at their Dragon*Con concert. On April 2, 2011 at 7:11 PM, their daughter Angelina Miette was born.