Robbie Allen, also known as Rob Rule, is an American bassist and guitarist from

Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the w ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He has played with Tender Fury,

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

One Hit Wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

Candlebox Candlebox is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. Since its formation in 1990, the group has released seven studio albums, several charting singles, a compilation, and a CD+DVD. Candlebox found immediate success with the release of ...

, and as a live member of the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Career

Allen grew up in

. He began playing in bands in the 1980s as a member of

Jack Grisham Jack Grisham (born July 22, 1961) is an American rock vocalist, musician, raconteur and political activist from Southern California. He is the vocalist for the punk rock band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), which emerged from the late 1970s L ...

's Cathedral of Tears. He also played bass for Grisham in Tender Fury, before fronting his own band Gypsy Trash. Following this, he played bass for

on their 1989 album '' Slippery When Ill''. In 1992 he sang backing vocals on

Rikk Agnew Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. (born December 9, 1958) is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as we ...

's solo album ''Turtle''. He also recorded with

Rat Scabies Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned. Career Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...

on a project that was never released, before forming the band

. Allen left

in 1993 to record an album "She Gets Too High" for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

under the moniker "Rob Rule". The album was produced by

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. He was one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he also helped ...

, and as part of its promotion, he opened for

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

and

. During this time, Allen made his primary living as a guitar tech for the

. Occasionally he played with the band as a live guitarist and backup singer, and opened shows for them as a solo act, sometimes with

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...

drumming. In 1996 Allen recorded the album ''Monkey on Rico'' as part of the band Thermadore, a

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

that featured

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

, and

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. G ...

. Allen served as Thermadore's lead singer and songwriter. He teamed up with Jack Grisham again in 1996, singing backing vocals on

Joykiller The Joykiller was an American punk rock supergroup from Huntington Beach, California, United States. The Joykiller were formed in 1995 by Jack Grisham of T.S.O.L., Billy Persons (The Weirdos/ Gun Club) and Ronnie King. After the formation of t ...

's album ''Static''. Allen joined

after their album '' Happy Pills'' was released, playing guitar for them from 1998 until their split in 2000. He would continue to work with Candlebox singer Kevin Martin as a composer and background vocalist on Martin's 2003 album ''The Possibility of Being''. In 2008 he released his own solo album ''Artificial Horizon''. In 2017, Allen played in an act called "Cowboy and Indian" with Antoine Arvizu and Sublime bassist Eric Wilson. The trio opened for

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robbie American male guitarists American guitarists American bass guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)