Leader of the band Rain Parade before he left to join Rainy Day in 1983 after the release of Rain Parade's first album "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip.".
Released a self-titled album before launching the band Opal (initially called Clay Allison) with Kendra Smith of The Dream Syndicate. In 1989 the band morphed into Mazzy Star.
He and his brother Stephen Roback, a bass guitarist, formed a band called the Unconscious, which also included Susanna Hoffs, who would go on to become the lead singer and guitarist of The Bangles.
Wrote and produced the songs that actress Maggie Cheung sang in the 2004 film Clean.