Robert J. Sexton
Robert Joseph Sexton is an American director, producer, writer, and former musician, best known for his work on music videos and with virtual reality. He has won three Emmy Awards for his work as a producer and was a post-production producer of Paul McCartney's Live Kisses, which won two Grammy Awards in 2013.
Early life
Sexton was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As an infant, his family moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey, where his maternal grandmother had settled. His mother, uncle, and maternal grandmother and grandfather were Holocaust survivors from Lithuania who had been forced into a concentration camp by the Nazis. Their survival and resilience became a defining part of his family’s history.Sexton earned a degree in business and marketing from Middlesex College before continuing his education at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He later receive a film and television production certificate from LACC, further honing his skills in the entertainment industry.
Career
Music
As a teenager, Sexton joined the seminal metal-punk band under the stage name Rock 'n' Roll Bobb Sexton. The band was fronted by vocalist Bobby Ebz, noted for spending GG Allin's final day with him. The drummer for Genöcide was Brian "Damage" Keats and Pete "Damien" Marshall briefly played second guitar before the band broke up. During the years Sexton played with the band, they released the albums Reign of Terror and Guttercat. The band's breakthrough album was Submit to Genöcide, which was recorded at Broccoli Rabe Studios engineered by Al Theurer.Sexton played with the "supergroup" Undesirables, before founding the band Pound of Flesh, which recorded a demo tape with Pete "Pistol Pete" Powers and friends Joe Wood and Mitch Dean from T.S.O.L.. Sexton then founded One Bad Eye, whose self-titled debut album Self-Titled was engineered by Matt Pakucko.
Music videos
After relocating to Los Angeles from the East Coast, Sexton began his career in the film industry as an editor. Meeting director Brian Smith in an editing bay, he was offered a job as a production manager. Working alongside Smith, Sexton worked as a production manager on videos for Shakira, Sublime, and Ricky Martin. Sexton went on to produce music videos for country artists including Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Reba McEntire, and Clint Black; rock artists including Marilyn Manson, Alice Glass, OK Go, and John Fogerty; hip-hop artists including Busta Rhymes; and Christian artists including Skillet, KJ-52, and ZOEgirl.Sexton then moved largely into directing. One of his videos for Incite, which premiered on The Wall Street Journal, was the first ever narrative-driven heavy metal virtual reality video. In his career, he has directed music videos for artists including Soulfly for Unleash, Hellyeah, Michael Schenker, the Dwarves, Kataklysm, The Devil Wears Prada, and Cavalera Conspiracy.