Song of the Month, August 2022
Stories and trivia about our songs
"Summertime", 2017
"In August we'll head to the beach..."
Well, maybe next year, Rocknoceros - this August, we are booked solid!
The line quoted above is from our Song of the Month for August, "Summertime". The lyrics, written by Coach Cotton, attempt to describe as many activities and wistful memories of summers past as you can fit into two minutes and fifty-five seconds of musical joy. When vacations are over and everybody goes back to work or school (Labor Day, yuck!), we hope that our song evokes a lingering feeling of blissful summer freedom.
The members of Rocknoceros actually were kids once, did you know that? (It was a long time ago, but it's true, and someday we'll post photos as proof). Those were the days of endless summers... ah, where were we? Oh yes. Sure, as grown-ups we can manage the occasional getaway trip with our loved ones, maybe recapture a little bit of the glory of carefree youth. However, there is a bittersweet aspect to the Rocknoceros lifestyle: Summer is when we are working the most! This is probably not surprising to hear, and it seems to be the case for entertainers everywhere. Stage performers of all kinds are in high demand wherever people gather for fun. Demand, meet supply! Now, that word ‘bittersweet’ means two opposite feelings which blend together into one strange new feeling. The bitter part for us is that we often cannot coordinate trips with family or friends when they are typically getting together. Bummer! However, the sweet part is that we get to play for people who are enjoying their time together, and we have been told many times how our music helped make those summer days special. That can be some of the sweetest stuff around.
But before you get all weepy about the bittersweetness of being in Rocknoceros, rest assured that entertainers also find ways to take vacations with their loved ones. Only you've got to be creative. For example, Puerto Rico in February is a fine substitute for Ocean City in August, if you can swing the finances.
Back to our song, and also a bit about finances.
"Summertime" was released as an Internet-only single in 2017, along with the first episode of our podcast (the episode also titled Summertime), however it was written long before we recorded it; the lyric and tune were both completed probably as early as 2014 (some facts get lost, even in the Digital Age!)
When creativity is really humming along, you can end up with material that doesn't fit into the current plan. Trying to figure out what to do with this song nudged us away from making another full-length album (our last true LP being 2015's Plymouth Rockers, the one that's all U.S.A. "state songs"), and toward some other way of presenting our music to the public. By 2016, the idea of an ‘album’ had arguably reached its nadir in popular terms - does anyone listen to more than one or two songs in a row by the same artist anymore? So that led to a serious look at ‘podcasting’ (a funny word, that), which in 2022 seems to be more popular than ever (could it be that Rocknoceros was, for once, ahead of its time? Hmm... )
The Rocknoceros Podnoceros was hatched with the idea of featuring a new song in every episode, along with scripted audio sketches pertaining to the song's subject. We are very proud of the results, though we only made a handful of episodes - they were really hard work!
About those finances. The bottom line influences artistic decisions for better, worse, or just different, up to and including how we record and release the music. We used to release our music on CDs, but printing CDs is not too cheap and had to be considered carefully in a world where sales were shrinking everywhere. We knew it had to be Internet-only distribution for the foreseeable future. The recording of "Summertime" is also a rare example of Rocknoceros using virtual instruments (i.e. computer-based sounds). We did initially try to record it with real instruments - in fact, it was the first time since "Boogie Woogie Bennie" (from our 2006 debut album) where we recorded Boogie playing on his piano-drum setup! However, we were not convinced by the result, and so decided to try things in a more modern (and cost-saving) way. The drums, horns, and keyboard sounds were programmed and/or played by Boogie Bennie and produced by Tom Bernath at his Upfront Audio studio in Fairfax, VA. The podcast material was being produced at the same time, so it made sense to get most of it done with computers. For those who are interested: We were all using Apple Logic Pro on Macintosh computers, making it not too difficult to join recordings from different home studios.
Tom has been wonderful to work with all these years, and we'll be sure to keep working with him in the future. The Photo of the Month is from the main studio room at Tom's where we recorded all the podcast dialogue.
One final thought about "Summertime". It might be the closest we have gotten (so far) to writing a Beatles song. Perhaps a listen to their "Penny Lane" would be an interesting comparison. Be sure to tell us what you think. Or tell us a great story from your own summer vacation! Until next time, stay cool and enjoy every break you get.
TRIVIA CHALLENGE:
”Banana seats” might be an obscure phrase to some, but who knows what a “Tastee Freez” is? Admittedly, this is not a fair challenge - we don’t have them around the D.C. area anymore! Still, it could be a delicious thing to look into. Email us at fanclub@rocknoceros.com with your idea of a great summer treat, or with anything else you want to ask or tell us!
LISTEN to Episode One of The Rocknoceros Podnoceros on Soundcloud:
LISTEN to “Summertime” from a streaming service you can select by clicking here