Bob Curiano

He began touring during the late 1970’s as the bass player with the Manhattan-based band Mink De Ville. Curiano was with Mink De Ville for a decade before moving on to pursue his own musical interests of writing and producing.
In 1993 he was the first producer and writer for the Backstreet Boys. “A friend of mine (Lou Pearlman) called and said, ‘I found these kids. Can you come down to Florida?’ They were these nice little kids, but they couldn’t really sing harmonies very well,” recalls Curiano of that initial meeting with the teen band calling themselves “The Backstreet Boys”. In the beginning, the Backstreet Boys were actually performing Curiano’s work: “When Jive Records entered the picture, they cleaned house, brought in their own people, and I sort of got lost in the shuffle”, recalls Curiano.
Curiano first met Ritchie Blackmore at the Normandy Inn, a Long Island tavern. They talked music over a few pints and subsequently played music there, earning Curiano the stage name "Sir Robert of Normandie". In October 2000 Curiano joined to Blackmore's Nightfor the last few shows of the Under a Violet Moon tour. Curiano announced his departure on September 22, 2006 at the end of the second European tour of that year. He returned to his passion of writing music. He and Mr. Blackmore have parted on good terms and remain friends.