Show by Show: Rockapella

There are few shows this season that I'm anticipating as much as A Rockapella Holiday on December 20.

I first saw Rockapella in 1990 on "Spike & Co. Do It A Cappella," a Spike Lee-produced television special that highlighted many of the top a cappella groups of the era. Admittedly, I'd tuned in to see groups I knew, including Take 6 and Ladysmith Black Mambazo ... but it was the show's first performer, Rockapella, who earned my lasting devotion.

(You can skip ahead to approx. 2:30 in this clip to see their show-opening performance.)



Almost 20 years later and still awesome!

Rockapella was founded in 1987 by four Brown University alumni, Elliott Kerman, David Stix, Sean Altman, and Steve Keyes, who had all sung together in one of Brown's numerous a cappella groups and reunited for street corner gigs in New York after graduation. Altman, Kerman, and Keyes appear in the video above along with bass Barry Carl, who joined the group in 1989. Another early, and important, change in the group's lineup was the addition of high tenor Scott Leonard, who replaced Keyes in 1991 and is now the group's primary arranger.

Rockapella expanded their audience as the "house band" on the popular PBS children's game show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" from 1991-1996. Singing the show's well-known theme song and providing interlude music between segments, the group became easily identifiable to a large audience -- including, I can imagine, more adults than just me who watched the show regularly to hear them sing (with the side benefit of being able to point at Burkina Faso on a map).

No doubt a sign of the times, many of Rockapella's fans were drawn to "Carmen Sandiego" because at that time it was largely impossible to hear Rockapella anywhere else. The group had signed a recording contract with a Japanese record label and, prior to the days of iTunes and easy Web access, their CDs were either not available, or only available with a cost over $35 per unit (remember, we're talking early '90s here) through specialty retailers.

In 1995, the group had their first American release, "Primer." Released on an independent label, the disc featured Altman, Leonard, Kerman, and Carl, and introduced fans to vocal percussionist Jeff Thatcher (who's amazing, as you'll see on a video of him performing solo here) singing a wide variety of the group's previously unreleased songs.

Ironically, this disc is no longer in print and used copies are available beginning at $97 on Amazon.

(Editor's note: I'm rich!)

"Primer" was followed in 1997 by "Lucky Seven," Altman's last recording with the group. He was replaced by Kevin Wright, a former Broadway actor whose easy charm was a hit with audiences, despite turning the rest of the group into caffeine addicts:



As more American releases began to follow ("2" and "Christmas" in 2000, "In Concert" in 2001, and "Smilin'" in 2002, "Comfort and Joy" in 2002, and "Live in Japan," in 2004) Rockapella began to tour more. What had been their schedule of performing live every couple of weeks became a routine of performing over 40 dates per year).

The last time I saw them was at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in 2002. At that concert, Barry Carl announced his retirement and the audience got what was perhaps a first look at replacement bass George Baldi. To me, Barry Carl's deep, deep voice was in theory one of the most un-replaceable elements of the combo. But George is amazing. A one-time member of the group that would become Boyz to Men, he has a stunning lower range, as you can see in this video from one of their Christmas concerts:



The last original member of the group, Elliott Kerman, has also recently left the group, replaced by John K Brown, whose distinctive vocal range other members acknowledge has changed their approach to a number of their songs.

I can't wait to hear them!

A couple of show notes:

A Rockapella Holiday comes to the BCPA on Saturday, December 20.
This is an all-ages show. Patrons young and old will be knocked out at how good these guys sound. They're terrific entertainers and their arrangements of Christmas songs are unforgettable.

One last video before I finish. This is the promotional video they sent us: Nine minutes, but a great look at everything they do.



My favorite part is the combined performance with the Boston Pops.

Wow! Just Wow!