Rockapella
Kevin Wright, tenor; Elliott Kerman, baritone; Scott Leonard, high tenor; Barry Carl, bass; Jeff Thacher, vocal percussionist
Several people have noted that I am quite fanatical about this band. It was for that reason that I first acquired my home on the web in the first place. Now that I have finally figured out how to scan pictures and put them on my page I can liven the place up with pictures of the boys. I'll also refer you to other pages with good pictures. The most obvious is Rockapella in Cyberspaceof course.
So how did a stodgy classical music fan like me become interested in an a cappella rock group? Well at the time I was already a big fan of the King's Singers, an a cappella group from England, so I had already discovered that a cappella music is pretty cool. I first saw Rockapella on the PBS show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? where they were the house band. Admittedly, the first thing that attracted me to them was not their musical talent, but rather their physical attractiveness. (Hey, I was a teenager at the time.) Gradually, though, as I listened to their musical clues, I came to realize that they were every bit as good as the King's Singers, and in some ways better. I think it finally clicked for me when I heard them do one of their musical clues to the Beatles tune Back in the USSR, which they titled The Former USSR. I had only ever heard this song performed by the King's Singers, and I had to admit that Rockapella did a better job with it. This realization was only the start of my Rockapella fandom.
At first I was a little embarrassed to be so fanatical about a kiddie show band, and felt I was probably their oldest fan. (I think I was 16 when I first started watching the show, and I am now...um, older.) So when Carmen Sandiego was replaced on PBS I was delighted to find that Rockapella is a band separate from that show with several recordings out. Most of them are only available from Japan, however, by a process that is both lengthy and expensive. Through perseverence, though, I have gotten all of these CDs, plus all of the ones they have produced here in the States. I have seen the guys in concert several times and am working on getting to the point where they know who I am when they see me at concerts. Scott and Kevin, at least, have recognized me, so it shouldn't be to hard to get the other guys to recognize me as well.
Out of some misguided sentimentality I have decided to include here a link to Sean Altman's page. He is a founding member of Rockapella who left the group in 1998(?) to pursue his own career as a solo artist. I think this was a mistake on his part and I like Kevin Wright a lot better in his place. Sean Altman is indeed a very talented songwriter, but he has some funny ideas about what constitutes good material for a song. I realize I may have incurred the wrath of Sean worshippers everywhere, or at least the ones who read this page, but I cling to the right to voice my opinions on my own web page. ;~)
While we're at it, I might as well give you the webpage of another departed 'Pella. Barry Carl, bass extraordinaire left the band in 2002 for reasons which he has not bothered to express publically. Which only leaves us fans to speculate and hope to glean clues from the postings on his own page.
And I guess I really should include a link to the home page of Jeff Thacher, Rockapella's amazing vocal percussionist. It's under construction at the moment, and has been for years, but keep checking it periodically. He may update it one of these days. And pigs may fly, too.
I have mentioned elsewhere that I am a writer. Poetry is not my forte, but I have made an attempt at some Rockapella Limericks. Check them out if you dare! ;~)
I have finally gotten around to writing reviews of the precious few Rockapella concerts I have been to. Feel free to peruse them.
Me with Rockapella at the second Long Island concert
Kevin, Scott, me, Barry, Jeff, and Elliott
