Rob E V is a cross between the pop-rock sounds of John Mayer, catchy lyrics of Jason Mraz, and the laid-back and introspective mood a la Jack Johnson. Thematically, he sings stories about the immigrant experience, the joys and sorrows of life and love, and striving to be a better man throughout the journey.

The Foreigner

Rob E V is a foreigner. Born from Filipino parents in Madison Wisconsin, but raised in Miami Florida, Rob E V has always felt different in more ways than one.

While in elementary school, he was often mistaken for Hispanic, or Chinese, sometimes Indian. At age 6, he was placed in the advanced class for Spanish speakers, only to be ridiculed by the school’s Spanish teacher for not being able to understand his “native language”.

At age, 7, his classmates stretched the corners of their eyes and called him “Mr. Miyagi” while singing the “he’s Chinese, he play joke and put pee-pee in my coke” song.

At age 12, he traveled to the Philippines and for the first time met people who knew his origins. However, the “Americanized-Rob” as his cousins called him, soon realized that this place, too, was not where he belonged.

Finally at age 24, Rob E V traveled to small-town China as an English Instructor where they outwardly called him “wai-guo-ren” which means “Foreigner”. At that moment, for the first time, Rob E V felt completely comfortable being known as someone completely different than everyone else.

This is at the heart of Rob E V’s music. He writes from the perspective of feeling different, ostracized, misunderstood, frustrated, yet well-educated and well-traveled. And though his viewpoint is often from the foreigner’s lens, he doesn’t lose sight of the common denominators which he believes are universal to everyone: love, compassion, and humanity.

Through solid storytelling, memorable lyrics, and the articulation of his frustrated soul, Rob E V strives to communicate with the masses, often praying to his musical gods for inspiration and direction: The Beatles, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the list goes on…

He writes of joy (Reward Yourself), the complexity of living in a shrinking world (The Foreigner), and leaving all that behind in search of something more within (Betterman). While many of his songs possess an international theme and message, they touch home musically with familiar rock progressions, acoustic strumming, and folk-style finger-picking.

Currently, Rob E V has approximately 30 songs.