Background
Roback grew up in Los Angeles and attended Palisades High School, graduating in 1975.
Roback grew up in Los Angeles and attended Palisades High School, graduating in 1975.
Roback was active in the Paisley Underground music scene in Los Angeles in the early to mid-1980s as the leader of the band Rain Parade which was immensely popular on the Los Angeles club circuit. Shortly after the release of the band"s first album Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, in 1983, Roback left Rain Parade to join Rainy Day, a collaborative effort with a number of Los Angeles musicians in the Paisley Underground. After releasing their self-titled album, Roback formed Opal (which was initially called Clay Allison), with vocalist/bassist Kendra Smith, formerly of The Dream Syndicate.
After one European Parliament and one full length album Kendra Smith was replaced by Hope Sandoval but this lineup never released an album as Opal.
Roback changed the name of the band to Mazzy Star in 1989. Roback wrote and produced the songs which actress Maggie Cheung sang in the 2004 film Clean.
He also played the role of himself in the film.