Generation 1

July 1988

The band was formed in the year 1988 consisting of two guitar players, (Frank Camuglia & Ritchie Zuhowski), drummer (Bobby Sico), and bassist/singer (Vinny Melanga). The band formed out of two other popular local high school bands. Frank & Bobby came over from Blind Rage, Vinnie & Ritchie from Ragged Edge.

The band would also ask Ragged Edge manager, Cory Palmer, to be the new manager of R. A. Roller. Cory would be involved in almost all the band's decisions. He was a driving force for the band and was responsible for all the club bookings and everything that went on behind the scenes. He played a huge part in the band's success in those early years. Frank has said he always considered him the fifth member of RAR, and a good friend.

Quickly after forming, they would play their first show at the very popular small club in Elmont, NY, “Februarys” on July 31, 1988. They would follow with a string of February’s shows on 8/14, 8/28 and then 9/11.

After recording their first demo, the band would then go through their first major lineup change. Feeling that guitarist Ritchie was going in a different direction, the band decided to part ways with him. They would go with only one guitar player. At the same time, Vinny wanted to solely play bass so the band began to look for a dedicated frontman.

During their time looking for a new singer, the band‘s sound was starting to take shape. There was obvious chemistry between Frank‘s guitar playing style and Bobby‘s drumming style that would grow into the “R.A. Roller Sound.“ They would finally find a singer. The band would go with long time friend of Bobby, Dave Unger.

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Generation 2

October 1988

Tommy Gunn Presents:

The GUNN CLUB

R.A. Roller was finally reaching the point of being more than just a high school band. They were now being seen as a real club band. Their catalog of songs including, “The Way I Feel For You,“ “Foolish Eyes,“ “On My Way Back Home,“ and “Back In The Streets,“ would get them their first show at the club that would become their home. They would play their first professional paid gig as an opening band on December 5, 1988 at The Gunn Club in Bayside.

The Gunn Club was on the rise and was one of the most popular local clubs on the scene at that time. Run by promoter Tommy Gunn, it was a packed house every weekend.

R.A. Roller had a huge draw their first night at The Gunn Club. This show would separate them from the rest of the bands that came out of the local high schools who had not yet made the leap to clubs. They would be the first to break through. It would solidify them as a club circuit band. On December 23, 1988, only 18 days after their first ever professional show, they were asked to take a secondary opening slot for Sweet Revenge at the Virgin Outlaw Club in New York City.

The band had a great performance at the Virgin Outlaw. They were having a great early run of successful performances and this would continue. The band would kick off 1989 as a secondary opening act for the “U68 Channel“ star Adam Bomb at The Gunn Club. This was a huge show as it would be their first show opening for a signed artist. Right after, they would get their first primary opening slot, again at The Gunn Club, for the popular NYC band Shakespear.

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Generation 3

March 1989

Lineup Changes

With the band having great momentum, they would decide that their lead singer was headed in a different direction from the new material being written and R.A. Roller would part ways with singer Dave Unger. This change could not have come at a worse time for the band who were riding a string of successful shows and bookings. This would also lead to the darkest time in the band‘s history.

As the search went on for a new lead singer, bassist Vinny and guitarist Frank would get some serious equipment upgrades. Both would purchase new custom ESP guitars from the famous “48th Street Custom Guitars“ on musician‘s row in New York City. This upgrade would change and reshape their look & sound bringing them to a higher standard and setting them even further apart from the rest of the local acts.

A New Frontman

The three remaining original members of the band would attend a battle of the bands at a theatre in Brooklyn. This would be where they would find their third lead singer. After seeing Frankie Boccia perform, they approached him and invited him to audition. His audition went well and the band decided to ask him to join.

Rehearsals were slow. Frankie‘s style took some time to incorporate into the existing music and the band was also adding new material to the set list. But eventually they were ready to get back out and perform.

At this time, the band‘s favorite venue, The Gunn Club, was still seeing success and booking popular local and signed bands. The bands first show back would be on July 31, 1989 as the primary opener for the L‘amour based band Skin & Bones. The performance did not go well. The band was not the same with their new frontman.

Turmoil in the band was becoming obvious. It was thought that the chemistry during their live performances, which had always been the strongest part of R.A. Roller, was not the same.

The Promoter

At this time, The Gunn Club decided to celebrate their success and organized a “21 Gunn Salute“ booking the top 21 bands that have played there since its beginning. Each band would perform 3 songs in a long night of great music, and of course, R.A. Roller was on the bill.

R.A. Roller took the stage with a mediocre performance and the band left disappointed.

Not soon after, Cory would score a private showcase for legendary promoter Bob Scher. This was a make or break moment for R.A. Roller. Held in their rehearsal studio Multisound in Whitestone. They performed their set for the promoter. After declining to help the band in its current state, he gave the band his critique and some advice. The result would leave RAR in search of a new singer yet again.

Another Member Leaves

Not interested in waiting and searching again, the second original member of RAR would leave the band. Vinny would accept an offer to join the band Beggars Opera, leaving Frank and Bobby to carry on.

It was a long tough time for the two last original members. To his credit, Cory would continue to manage and work hard at finding new musicians to audition. This period of just guitar and drums really solidified the RAR sound. Some of the best music and jam sessions were created during this time.

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Generation 4

August 1990

After a long search and auditioning many singers, RAR auditioned a singer from Woodhaven who fit the bill. Jay Jacobs would join the band. The band would immediately begin working on new material while looking for the final piece, a bass player.

Then Frank tracked down a good friend from high school and convinced him to play bass for the band. Dave Peterson would join as the new bass player. His impact was immediate. A very seasoned musician, this turned out to be a great addition to the band. He and Bobby instantly clicked and the sound and music that the band were creating was the best it had ever been.

Top Of The Mountain

Musically and socially, this lineup would would be the best version of the band until its end. Bobby and Frank had finally found two members who were as dedicated and professional as they were. The band had a bond similar to that of brothers. It was a memorable time in their history.

As work began on writing new songs and creating a new brand, it was clear that there was something there. For the first time musically, the band had it all together. All members could sing, 4 part harmonies became a normal feature of their music making their songs fuller and more melodic. With the addition of Dave‘s bass playing style, the rhythm section was tighter than ever, giving Frank room to voice his guitar over their groove creating a symphony of hard rock music.

Queens Day

Flushing Meadow Park June 23, 1991

The band was at it's highest point in 1990. They recorded their second studio demo and were promoting it. It was at this time that a few of the members felt a change was necessary. It was decided that Cory would no longer be the band's manager. This would probably be one of the biggest mistakes the band had ever made, but the majority had won and the decision was made.

Not soon after, they were put on the bill at Flushing Meadow Corona Park for the Z100 sponsored Annual Queens Day Event. This would be the biggest stage and show the band would ever play. Music would be performed throughout the entire day and night on the big stage.

The band would go on in the afternoon and play their most commercial songs. Much to their surprise, after they finished their set, they were mobbed backstage by a crowd wanting their demo tape. The crowd grew so large the band could not get down from the stage and security had to get involved. It was their "Beatles" moment.

This show would lead the band to connect with a promoter/producer duo who showed interest. They would begin months of rehearsals and re-structuring material with RAR in preparation for the studio sessions. This would be their first and only professionally recorded demo. The band would cover the classic song "Alright Now" for the demo as well as "The Way I Feel For you," "Where Daylight Hides" and "Foolish Eyes."

Rehearsals were long and hard under the producer's hand. The band would then spend the weekend out on Long Island recording their songs during long, overnight, 12 hour sessions. The result would be RAR's best sounding demo ever, and the process of working with a producer brought them to a new level as musicians. The band never sounded as good as they did at this time.

RAR would support the demo playing two big shows. The first was opening for the Kiss Army at the Red Spot in Staten Island. The second would be playing on the same bill as Beggar's Opera. (the band original bass player Vinny left to join) Beggar's Opera had managed to get a CBS AR rep to come down to their show. Unknown to RAR, and fresh off their professional demo experience, the band would put on a great performance. So much so that the AR rep would approach them showing interest and giving them a hard deadline of having their press kit on his desk that Tuesday am. The deadline was not met due to a long weekend of partying and RAR would miss the opportunity. This would lead to the final lineup change.

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Generation 5

January 1992

The Last Lineup Change

Although the band was sounding great and shows were going well, Bobby, the third original member of R.A. Roller would decide to leave the band.

Once again, another search for a new member was underway. Through a friend, The band met Darren Lora. He was a couple of years younger than the others and was playing with the band Chain Gang.

Darren did bring a fresh new style and energy to the band and he and Dave worked hard to get their parts together and the band sounded great.

From Darren:
"I remember rehearsing with a band that I was in at the time named Chain Gang. You guys met me in the front of Multisound as I was leaving to ask if I was interested in trying out. Chain Gang was going through some personnel changes. Chain Gang’s sound was very raw and unpolished but it was fun because we drank all the time and we had a great following. When you guys approached me, I recognized your poster being on the ceiling of Long Island Drum Center and thought that it was a no brainer for me to join even though you were a few years older. I think we all met at a bar on Bell Blvd to discuss (maybe KC’s or Sullivan’s not sure). I remember you guys being more disciplined in your approach and polished in your sound. When I joined, I started to play with a click track which proved to be beneficial to me overall. I also feel like I didn’t party as much with you guys…definitely a more professional band. For some reason I don’t remember auditioning or our first jam together. My favorite songs to play were "Where The Daylight Hides," "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Hit Me".

Shared Memories:
"One memory is when Dave, the owner of Multisound, made these really cool bomber jackets that had Multisound Studios on the back and R.A. Roller on the front. "
"I also remember a show at Sparks in Deer Park where we used an ominous backing track (on cassette) with the lights out right before we kicked into the first song (Daylight Hides). I thought it was great vibe and I felt like we were polishing up our show and making it even more professional."

For me towards the end, I felt like the music scene was changing. There were less places to play and the grunge/Seattle sound was taking over. I moved to Florida to be with my dad and go back to school because I felt like the window of opportunity for music was closing for me."

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Curtain Call

The band would go on for another year, playing shows and working on new material. They would record their fourth demo in a studio run by Dave's old college audio instructor. It wasn't the greatest quality, but it did at least get some new music recorded.

As they finished up their new demo and were beginning to promote it, places to play were starting to switch over and close down. The shift in the landscape of what was once popular in hard rock had also changed. Then Darren decided to step away, once again leaving the band without a drummer.

Dave, Frank and Jay, growing frustrated, would eventually lose their drive, They cleared out the rehearsal studio and put the band on hold for a while.

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RAR V

What does the future hold?
Currently, as of the publishing of this website, the last members of the band have been in discussions about collaborating and writing new music.
Frank has re-written and recorded 5 old R. A. Roller classics as well as 3 new tracks never heard before for the new album under the name RAR V.
The album is titled "RAR V - Looking Back, Moving Forward", and was released on January 24, 2024. It is available to purchase on bandcamp and streaming on all major music platforms.

Hopefully, as of the publishing of this website, viewers send us images and stories they might have and we can add them to this collection.
raroller90@proton.me

Known Side Projects:
Darren is currently playing in a cover band, covering songs from the 70's to present day. They are getting their setlist together and ready to hit the stage! (He has shown interest in a RAR reunion!)

Frank has launched his side project, "BluesTone" off the ground, releasing his first ep titled "Placid." It is available on all streaming platforms.
Bandcamp
Spotify

Dave and Frank have rejoined and began to collaborate on a follow up to the new RAR V album.