Most widely known for his role as guitarist in the Boston-based progressive jam band Dopapod, Rob Compa is an all-around accomplished musician and road warrior. Rob’s sixteen-year tenure with the band resulted in nine studio albums and saw the group tour nearly every nook and cranny of the U.S. and beyond.
In 2018, Rob also recorded his own solo album entitled Same Damn Thing. In 2025, Dopapod announced an indefinite hiatus. Upon Dopapod coming off the road, Rob took on guitar duties as a member of the Boston based rock band Neighbor, which tours nationally. He also joined his old friends The Niche, and started a brand-new original group called Night Zero with members of Twiddle, The Breakfast, and Kat Wright. You can also find Rob guesting on occasion with groups such as Club D’Elf, Grippo Funk Band, Soule Monde, and many more.
What are you currently working on?
Gosh, where to start?! Right now, I’m focusing a lot on finding my footing as the new guitar player for my friends’ Neighbor. I joined them this past winter, and we’re really starting to feel comfortable with each other. They have a massive catalogue, and I’m finally getting to the point where all the information is becoming second nature, so I can focus on being present and really enjoying each gig and finding new places to go together as improvisers. I’ve also been writing and rehearsing with my new instrumental group Night Zero a lot.
We’ll text each other ideas throughout the week, with our goal being that the music should be simple, with not too many specific things to remember. Just platforms for improvising really. It’s really fun to have a group and watch it start as nothing and slowly but surely grow into something fun and unique and personal to us.
Can you talk about your transition from Dopapod to The Niche?
The funny thing is that The Niche existed long before Dopapod. I was a huge fan of theirs, and used to see their shows when I was a teenager. I became good friends with them, and I even almost joined the band instead of going to music school. That of course didn’t happen, but when I moved to Boston to go to Berklee I really just wanted to meet like-minded musicians so that I could have a band of my own and kind of recreate the feeling I used to get in tiny little bars seeing The Niche play.
Transitioning on some levels was really natural. The Niche catalogue of music had been stuck in my head since I was 17, so learning the music was really natural. I didn’t have to write anything down. It has been stuck in my head for two decades anyway. I just had to figure out where to put my hands on the guitar to play the parts. The hard part was that I also joined Neighbor at the same exact time as well. I had to learn both bands’ catalogues simultaneously, and both bands have some really tricky compositions with parts that don’t repeat the same way twice. It required some serious work to figure out.
On top of that I have a two-year old, so the only time I could learn stuff was late at night, after he went to bed. I’d stay up until one or two in the morning learning songs, and then he’d wake my wife and I up at 7 in the morning and off we’d go! It was also hard on a mental level, because I stopped doing the only band and only job I’d had since leaving college, and joined two new bands and started learning their music before Dopapod even played its last gig.
I didn’t exactly give myself time to wrap my head around such a big life change or even just to relax after sixteen years of doing nothing but Dopapod. It wasn’t until I’d learned all the music and gotten in a rhythm with touring again that I could take a second and appreciate both everything Dopapod did, as well the fact that I was lucky to still be playing and doing what I love with new bands.
How do you balance your career between live touring and teaching music
lessons?
To be honest, this year I haven’t really been teaching at all. I figured since I didn’t really take a break from touring at all, I would at least let myself have a bit of a break on the teaching front. For a good decade or so, though, I taught pretty much any time I wasn’t on the road. To balance it all it was important for me to be own boss, make my own hours, and do it on my own terms. I typically would only teach when I was home – never on the road. I also tried to be lenient with people rescheduling, because a lot of times I had to reschedule stuff as well.
What is the greatest thing that you learned from The Berklee College of Music?
I feel like all the really valuable stuff I learned at Berklee was just cold, hard information and training. The ear training, harmony classes, and learning to read and write music notation was invaluable. And for sheer guitar, learning all my arpeggios in every inversion and all their corresponding chord voicing was huge. Again, though, all that stuff is just information.
I think I got a lot more knowledge and real-world experience after the fact when I was on the road and just navigating being an adult trying to make a living playing guitar in a band. There were just too many lessons in that time period to type out. I don’t think any music school could teach it to anyone. I just had to go out in the real world and figure it all out organically.
Who are some of your biggest influences as a guitarist, and how have they
shaped your sound?
I’d say my guitar pie chart would have major chunks of Trey Anastasio, David Gilmour, Jimmy Herring, John Scofield, Robben Ford, and Wayne Krantz. I feel like all my favorites had a strong penchant for improvisation, which I was just really drawn to as a kid with ADD. I just hated memorizing things, and always seemed to thrive more when I could just wing it.
All those players did stuff like that, and I was drawn to that.Some of my other biggest influences growing up were players that were right there in my town. I always felt like I could learn more from great players who were right there, because I could talk to them and pick their brain. Erik Ward and Paul McAardle, who both played guitar in The Nichebefore me, are perfect examples. I could watch their gig and get my face melted and then ask them a million questions about their playing or gear or whatever after the show. Tim Palmieri and Lyle Brewer (who was the guitarist in Neighbor before I joined) are also that type of influence for me. They’re world class monster musicians, but they’re also my buddies and are generous with their knowledge.
You also sing, too – something most people may not know about you. Can you
share a little about that side of your artistry?
As a kid in the ’90s, I started playing guitar mostly just to accompany myself and sing tunes I liked from the radio. Also, my dad was always playing acoustic and singing folk songs at home. I also sang in some musicals in high school. Singing just sort of happened naturally. I frankly don’t work at it super diligently. I just use what I’ve got.
I do like writing lyrics a lot, so in that regard I do care a lot about the vocal side of things. I also always really liked the vocal tracking phase of the album making process. I’d put all this pressure on myself with the guitar parts, as if I had to prove myself or whatever. But when I had to lay down vocals I could kind of relax and say, “Yeah, that was good enough.” I wasn’t trying to be Chris Cornell or some mind-blowing singer. I just needed to get it done earnestly without a ton of overthinking.
Who are you currently endorsed by?
I’ve a had a great relationship with the people at Paul Reed Smith for over a decade now. I got my first PRS twenty years ago. It’s just what a guitar is supposed to feel and sound like to me. They’ve always been super cool helping me keep my instruments in working order. I’ve definitely put my guitars through a lot over the years, and the PRS folks have been amazing about helping me keep them road ready. I used to work a lot with Maxon pedals as well, and I still use a ton of their pedals! They make amazing stuff. Analog Man also makes amazing stuff and has been super helpful over the years. I’ve been using his King of Tone overdrive since before I could even drink legally. It’s a crucial piece of gear for me.
Anything else you want to talk about?
Just keep your eyes peeled for more! Neighbor is going to start a new record soon, and we’re always playing around. Night Zero is playing more and more shows and is figuring out plans to record as well. The Niche is a much rarer occurrence since we’ve all got kids and responsibilities, but we have a mini tour coming in November that we’re really excited about.
