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BIOGRAPHY :

Eugene Rocha, BNO's amazing new vocal percussionist, was actually born in Sacramento, but currently resides in Stockton, CA. Little did he know he'd be "going back home" to perform with Sacramento's own, Boyz Nite Out.

Rocha, the baby of the group, says he has always loved music, but never really got serious about it until he was in high school. When he was in his sophomore year in high school, he joined an R&B group called 3-D. It was in this group that Rocha realized his love for the "group" atmosphere. "We performed all our own material. One of the guys, Ryan Leslie, was inspirational to me. I learned a lot from him. He could write songs in no time. And I mean good songs...songs that touch the heart," said Rocha.

When he was in his junior year at Bear Creek High School in Stockton, he showed interest in doing the school's talent show. He just didn't want to do it by himself. "It was hard for me," says Rocha, "to get up in front of a crowd and sing. I hated singing solo. I knew I wanted to sing a cappella. I remember seeing an a cappella group at a party I had went to, and the people were so impressed with them. I just remember saying to myself, 'I want to do that!'" Needless to say, he was hooked. It was in 1996 when Rocha started the a cappella quartet, Unique.

The group was made up of members of his high school's honor choir. Their first performance was the talent show where the group took first place. Since the forming of Unique, they have performed in such events as: The Business Leadership Summit, The Davis A Cappella Festival, Hear The Vision 1999, and coincidentally was the opening act for Boyz Nite Out's 5th Anniversary at The Crest Theatre. Rocha says he hasn"t left Unique yet. "I can't bail out on my group. I started out with them. Fortunately, Boyz Nite Out couldn't have asked at a better time for me to sing with them.

Unique was going to break up in August, because of people going off to college. I'm really gonna miss singing with those guys!" Rocha currently resides in Stockton, CA- about an hour away from Sacramento. Right now, he's doing double duty singing with his hometown group, Unique, and with Sacramento's own Boyz Nite Out. When asked how he has the energy to do both groups, Rocha replied, "I do it because of my love for music."

 

Send Eugene email at: bnovp@yahoo.com.