Over the years Savannah Center and the Nightly Entertainment venues have been a host to events put on by Rocky Productions, most familiar being Rocky & The Rollers.
Rocky is back at Savannah with his Rocky’s Big Band Meets Rock and Roll this month! This is a multi-faceted show with music from the forties all the way through the eighties with a big band rock and roll sound.
With Rocky, seventeen Rollers and other big band orchestra members, and three Rollets we can expect a great evening of BIG sound with this fun crew. Rocky has known some members for as long as twenty-three years playing around the country and the state!
When asked about his favorite songs in the show, Rocky noted jazz classics like “In The Mood” and of course “Sing Sing Sing” with the big drum solo on his list of favorites to perform. We can expect to see Rocky behind the drums in his blue sequin suit on the evening of the show.
Singer, Steve Santo is gearing up to perform the iconic Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra tunes, and Kathleen Kane will perform a “Proud Mary” that will blow you away!
“I’m still very true to the music and it’s why I do this.” -Rocky
Visiting the history of big band music and rock n’ roll, we can see the evolution as the horn sections of these big bands were absorbed into mainstream pop and the sounds were “amplified” resulting in “rock n’ roll”. Naturally, the two complement each other in the arrangements that Rocky and his crew have created and we can look forward to some modern favorites mixed with a big band sound.
“You get a mixture of both sounds in one show, which is why audiences continue to show up for this special.” -Rocky
Backstage, Rocky says that it’s enjoyable for cast members to get together and they often find themselves reminiscing over old shows they’ve played through the years. They also generally nerd out over how cool it is to play both genres in one show. “It’s fun for us because it’s the old stuff, but we get to do it LIVE!”
The rehearsal process has certainly changed over the years. When the music charts are finished and are sent out to all players, they don’t commence with a full-blown ensemble rehearsal. The rehearsal starts in the comfort of their living rooms where they study their parts independently. Eventually, they break out into small groups over Zoom calls.
The full group doesn’t gather until the day of the performance where they spend the day putting everything together on the Savannah Center stage.
“Every single player we have on that stage reads music like a professor. We go in early at 9am the day of the show and rehearse 11 to 2:30 and then boom! The first show is at 4.”
You won’t want to miss this show November 12th at 4pm and 7pm. “It’ll be one of the most musically exciting and thrilling shows because you get to hear things you don’t normally hear.”
Rocky’s Big Band Meets Rock and Roll– November 12
Get your tickets here!
