by Alec Eng
“Rock” and “a cappella” are two musical genres that don’t necessarily seem to mash together and yet there is a group of close knit friends that came together to form one of the most well-known rock a cappella groups in the past 50 years. Rockapella was formed in New York City back in 1986. The acapella group sang original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; over time, their music evolved from high-energy pop and world music toward a more R&B style of music. The founding members, Sean Altman, Elliot Kerman, Steve Keyes, and David Stix, all met at Brown University, where they were a part of an a cappella group called High Jinks. Later, they decided to form an a cappella group in New York City.
They began performing on the corners of the streets of the concrete jungle. Interested listeners helped them lead to performances at private parties and club performances. Stix then left the group in 1987 and was replaced by Charlie Evett. They appeared on WABC-TV The Morning Show the following year. They were then invited to perform on the PBS “Great Performances.” However Evett also left the group and Barry Cal replaced him. This is when their popularity really began. In Japan, their most well known performance as a group was their role as a vocal house band and resident comedy troupe on the PBS children’s geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, based on the classic computer game of the same name developed and published by Broderbund. Later on, the group picked up even more fame, starring in a HBO comedy special, Chez Whoopi, a Taco Bell commercial, and also as opening acts for artists like Chuck Berry and Billy Joel. They even opened for their idols at the time, The Persuasions, another a cappella group they were very fond of.
After the popularity of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago? began to diminish, Altman left Rockapella to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Kevin Wright. Another chance in the spotlight arose when another PBS special brought Rockapella back as one of the frontrunners of modern-day a cappella. Rockapella took a turn down holiday lane as they eventually went on tour annually in their “A Rockapella Holiday” tour starting in 2003. They would perform jolly music as well as their top hits uplifting the holiday spirits for their fans. Later, in 2005, Elliott Kerman, one of the original members left the group. This created a new era for the group, known as “The New Rockapella.” This obstacle was leaped and cleared as the non original members learned and adapted the ways Rockapella used to succeed and applied to what they were at the time. Obstacles continued to hit the group as group members came and went for the next 15 years. Over the years, the group released 19 albums in the US and Japan bringing vibrant varieties of music to their fans. Current members of the group include Scott Leonard, Calvin Jones, Jeff Thacher, Jose Rosario, and Bryant Vance. Past members include: Sean Altman, Elliott Kerman, Steve Keyes, David Stix, Charlie Evett, Barry Carl, Kevin Wright, John K. Brown, George Baldi III, Steven Dorian, Ryan Chappelle and Mitchell Rains. Rockapella came to Geneseo and rocked the Wadsworth Auditorium numerous times, dating back to 2008 and their most recent performance in September of 2014.