Born in Queens and raised in New York City and Northern New Jersey, Robert Tiersten has been involved in both music and acting since his teenage years.
Tiersten, who studied French horn and guitar when growing up, made his acting debut at the age of 15 in the 1983 cult horror film Sleepaway Camp, where he played Ricky Thomas.
He went on to study acting at New York University's prestigious Circle in the Square Theater School, where he was a classmate of future Saturday Night Live cast member Molly Shannon.
In 1987, Tiersten had a principal role in the Emmy-winning ABC after-school special Seasonal Differences, which also starred Uta Hagen, Melba Moore, Gabrielle Carteris, and Frank Whaley.
He also had a part on the NBC soap opera Another World in the late 1980s.
As a singer/songwriter, Tiersten made his presence felt on the Greenwich Village folk-rock/roots rock circuit in the late 1980s and early 1990s as one-half of the acoustic duo The Magic Box.
However, in 1991, Tiersten surprised his fans by leaving New York City and moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he opened a beer bar/live music venue called The Mountain Tap Tavern.
The bar attracted well-known artists, including Dishwalla, David Gray, and Victor Wooten, but Tiersten eventually sold it to focus on his music.
He has since been involved in various music projects, including solo performances, AC/DC and Black Sabbath cover bands, and the alternative rock outfit Bambis Apartment, which he co-led with guitarist/singer Micah Stone.
Tiersten has also been a member of the alternative funk-rock band Gaphiltaphunk and now leads the band TEN TIERS, whose debut album Don's Club Tavern, Part 1 was released in 2006.
After concentrating on music for the 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s, Tiersten returned to acting in 2008, reprising his role as Ricky Thomas in the Sleepaway Camp sequel Return to Sleepaway Camp.
In 2010, Tiersten had major roles in two independent films: Redemption and The Perfect House.
In Redemption, he played a pimp, while in The Perfect House, he portrayed a serial killer named John Doesy, who sees his murders as artistic performances.
Tiersten is set to reprise his role as John Doesy in a full-length prequel centered around his character.
In addition to his acting and music career, Tiersten has also written the score for the short film Demption and has been working with the independent film company Brittany House Pictures.
He has been hired by the company's president, Anjul Nigam, to help produce Good Ol' Boy and act and do soundtrack/score work on future projects.
Despite his acting endeavors, Tiersten stresses that his music will never take a back seat.
