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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Local Band Rocknoceros finds its niche
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Date: August 13, 2011 05:23PM
Rocknoceros finds its niche
Area children’s band hits high note with seventh Wammy Award, release of PINK! CD
by Daphne Butas, Special to the Times
It was like any other day of the week when David Cotton took his two young boys, ages one and three, to Jammin’ Java in Vienna to see Mr. Don perform, but what happened while Cotton was there was the “lightbulb moment” from which the wildly popular children’s band, Rocknoceros—made up of Coach Cotton, Boogie Woogie Bennie and Williebob—was born.
“I remember it being a packed house,” recalls Cotton, a 41-year-old Fairfax native. “And as a musician, that is what you are looking for. The crowd at Jammin Java was my lightbulb moment because you see something like that and know there will be rewards.”
Cotton left Jammin Java that morning and called his high school friend and fellow musician, Patrick Williams (Williebob), to deliver the good news. “I’ve got an idea,” Cotton said.
Engaging their other childhood friend and local musical talent, Marc Capponi (Boogie Woogie Bennie), Cotton told his two lifelong buddies of his bright idea to focus their musical efforts on children’s music exclusively. What unfolded from that day forward was a “very fluid, organic experience,” remembers Cotton.
The first order of business was choosing a name for their newly formed, children’s rock trio, so the guys sought help from a fourth, extremely witty and glib, friend who came up with a short list of band names, including Rocknoceros and Rocktopus. “Rocknoceros was the one that consistently made us laugh,” said Capponi, who graduated from Robinson Secondary School along with Williams and Cotton.
The next order of business was finding a place to perform. “We scored the Wednesday opening at 10:30 a.m. in 2005 at Jammin Java and that automatically exposed us to the kid arena,” said Williams. “It didn’t hurt that Jammin Java has a good reputation as performers go,” said Capponi, 40.
Initially all the guys kept their day jobs, because as much as they loved to sing and make music, trying their hands at performing only children’s music was a new thing for all of them and like children, completely unpredictable. Cotton was busy with his kids and Williams and Capponi were both teaching music lessons at Jammin Java’s music school and gigging on the weekends at weddings and other events to generate income as Rocknoceros began to make a name for itself. The band members had the musical inclination, the desire to perform and a weekly gig to get their name out there, but they still needed time and exposure.
Daniel Brindley, one of the three brothers who owns Jammin Java, took note of how well-received the Rocknoceros trio was and how quickly the band was gaining momentum and offered to manage them. Brinley proved to be just one of the many serendipitous aspects to this band’s formation and rise to the top as the Washington, DC’s area favorite children’s band.
In just six short years, Rocknoceros has received seven Wammy Awards from the Washington Area Music Association, produced three CDs- Rocknoceros, Dark side of the Moon Bounce, and PINK!- and published their first children’s book Colonel Purple Turtle’s Purple Turtle Journal. Add 20 shows per month to their list of accomplishments and a bi-weekly video podcast series and it is no wonder that the guys have left their day jobs to pursue their original love- music.
Williams says that the band is “still waiting for our Ed Sullivan moment,” but Capponi says that PINK! was “a noticeable ramping up of our exposure to a national audience.” “It was a progression of little tiny steps over the six years,” said Cotton, “and our willingness to play anywhere for any amount of people that helped get us that exposure.”Even with their rising star, Cotton, Williams and Capponi are still just a bunch of average guys who share a real love of all things music. They have all been playing the piano, guitar, base or other instruments since elementary school and have played together in more self-formed bands than they can remember since the age of 16, but they have finally found where they are most comfortable and happy as musicians. For them, Rocknoceros is about enjoying the creative process of songwriting and recording, collaborating, and “seeing kids have a good time when we play,” said Cotton.
“Everything we did to get into this job and all the unique challenges that we faced were so positive,” said Williams, which just reinforces Cotton and Capponi’s beliefs that these guys were always meant to make music together. It just should have been children’s music from the start, instead of rock n’ roll and other endeavors.
“The audience itself sorts out who should be doing this,” says Williams, and when you see Rocknoceros perform in a packed coffee house or outdoor ampitheater, you know by the squeals of delight coming from hundreds of children that these guys have finally hit their high note as a band. You can expect to see more great things from this singing trio.
Photo from Elizabeth Waldman Frazier Nearly 25 years after graduating from Robinson Secondary School, longtime friends (from left) Patrick Williams ("Williebob"), Marc Capponi (“Boogie Woogie Bennie”) and David Cotton ("Coach Cotton") now head up the popular children's band, "Rocknoceros".
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Area children’s band hits high note with seventh Wammy Award, release of PINK! CD
by Daphne Butas, Special to the Times
It was like any other day of the week when David Cotton took his two young boys, ages one and three, to Jammin’ Java in Vienna to see Mr. Don perform, but what happened while Cotton was there was the “lightbulb moment” from which the wildly popular children’s band, Rocknoceros—made up of Coach Cotton, Boogie Woogie Bennie and Williebob—was born.
“I remember it being a packed house,” recalls Cotton, a 41-year-old Fairfax native. “And as a musician, that is what you are looking for. The crowd at Jammin Java was my lightbulb moment because you see something like that and know there will be rewards.”
Cotton left Jammin Java that morning and called his high school friend and fellow musician, Patrick Williams (Williebob), to deliver the good news. “I’ve got an idea,” Cotton said.
Engaging their other childhood friend and local musical talent, Marc Capponi (Boogie Woogie Bennie), Cotton told his two lifelong buddies of his bright idea to focus their musical efforts on children’s music exclusively. What unfolded from that day forward was a “very fluid, organic experience,” remembers Cotton.
The first order of business was choosing a name for their newly formed, children’s rock trio, so the guys sought help from a fourth, extremely witty and glib, friend who came up with a short list of band names, including Rocknoceros and Rocktopus. “Rocknoceros was the one that consistently made us laugh,” said Capponi, who graduated from Robinson Secondary School along with Williams and Cotton.
The next order of business was finding a place to perform. “We scored the Wednesday opening at 10:30 a.m. in 2005 at Jammin Java and that automatically exposed us to the kid arena,” said Williams. “It didn’t hurt that Jammin Java has a good reputation as performers go,” said Capponi, 40.
Initially all the guys kept their day jobs, because as much as they loved to sing and make music, trying their hands at performing only children’s music was a new thing for all of them and like children, completely unpredictable. Cotton was busy with his kids and Williams and Capponi were both teaching music lessons at Jammin Java’s music school and gigging on the weekends at weddings and other events to generate income as Rocknoceros began to make a name for itself. The band members had the musical inclination, the desire to perform and a weekly gig to get their name out there, but they still needed time and exposure.
Daniel Brindley, one of the three brothers who owns Jammin Java, took note of how well-received the Rocknoceros trio was and how quickly the band was gaining momentum and offered to manage them. Brinley proved to be just one of the many serendipitous aspects to this band’s formation and rise to the top as the Washington, DC’s area favorite children’s band.
In just six short years, Rocknoceros has received seven Wammy Awards from the Washington Area Music Association, produced three CDs- Rocknoceros, Dark side of the Moon Bounce, and PINK!- and published their first children’s book Colonel Purple Turtle’s Purple Turtle Journal. Add 20 shows per month to their list of accomplishments and a bi-weekly video podcast series and it is no wonder that the guys have left their day jobs to pursue their original love- music.
Williams says that the band is “still waiting for our Ed Sullivan moment,” but Capponi says that PINK! was “a noticeable ramping up of our exposure to a national audience.” “It was a progression of little tiny steps over the six years,” said Cotton, “and our willingness to play anywhere for any amount of people that helped get us that exposure.”Even with their rising star, Cotton, Williams and Capponi are still just a bunch of average guys who share a real love of all things music. They have all been playing the piano, guitar, base or other instruments since elementary school and have played together in more self-formed bands than they can remember since the age of 16, but they have finally found where they are most comfortable and happy as musicians. For them, Rocknoceros is about enjoying the creative process of songwriting and recording, collaborating, and “seeing kids have a good time when we play,” said Cotton.
“Everything we did to get into this job and all the unique challenges that we faced were so positive,” said Williams, which just reinforces Cotton and Capponi’s beliefs that these guys were always meant to make music together. It just should have been children’s music from the start, instead of rock n’ roll and other endeavors.
“The audience itself sorts out who should be doing this,” says Williams, and when you see Rocknoceros perform in a packed coffee house or outdoor ampitheater, you know by the squeals of delight coming from hundreds of children that these guys have finally hit their high note as a band. You can expect to see more great things from this singing trio.
Photo from Elizabeth Waldman Frazier Nearly 25 years after graduating from Robinson Secondary School, longtime friends (from left) Patrick Williams ("Williebob"), Marc Capponi (“Boogie Woogie Bennie”) and David Cotton ("Coach Cotton") now head up the popular children's band, "Rocknoceros".
Attachments: