Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College’s 2011-2012 Target FamilyFun series continues with the return of children’s musical group, Hot Peas ‘N’ Butter, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.
Hot Peas ‘N’ Butter was founded in 2000 by Danny Lapidus and Francisco Cotto, childhood friends who studied music together at New York City’s High School of Music and Art.
Recipients of three Parents’ Choice Awards, the group combines an interactive, invigorating approach to performance with mature, multicultural music, incorporating elements of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, jazz, R&B, folk, and rock into their inspirational family concerts that strive to reach kids through music without lowering musical standards.
Hot Peas ‘N’ Butter has launched five CDs and multiple videos, with a sixth CD called Peas Go To Sleep, featuring a collection of lullabies and an accompanying children’s book, soon to be released. Their videos “Number 1” and “Deep Down” have been seen on both Noggin’s Jack’s Big Music Show and Nickelodeon’s Move to the Music, and can also be found on Noggin’s Videos on Demand.
Danny Lapidus was born in Belgium, but his family soon returned to the U.S. and settled in Brooklyn, NY. His connection to kids’ music stretches back to the early days of his childhood, when Danny’s father sparked his son’s musical interest by filling the house with the tones of folk, jazz, blues, and bluegrass guitar.
Danny was also inspired by his dad’s friend Professor Louie, a pioneering professional children’s musician who taught him about music’s power to not only reach children, but to teach them as well. He attended the High School of Music and Art and earned his undergraduate degree at Binghamton University.
As a professional musician, he has performed with Dominico, Wendy Star, Zoot, The Skadanks, and Oliver Lake, and has been featured as a vocalist on various commercial recordings. As a composer, he has scored music for radio, film and television. His own rock band, Daruma Shakes, has opened for national acts like Stroke 9.
Francisco J. Cotto was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico and came to New York at the age of seven, settling with his family in the Bronx. He was first exposed to music in a Pentecostal Church in Harlem, where – at only nine years old – he became a member of the church band
A friend later convinced him to audition for the High School of Music and Art, where he was immersed in all genres of music, but found himself particularly drawn to jazz. After graduating from high school, he continued his musical training at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later at Lehman College.
As a professional musician, Frank has recorded and performed with Lew Soloff, Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Cobb, Brian McKnight, The Hansons (dance remix), Paquito D’Rivera, and others. Frank’s own band, Vaya, regularly performs its eclectic mix of Latin rhythms with contemporary blues and rock throughout New York.
Tickets: $7
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College
2/5 trains to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue
Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-5000, ext. 3326
Facebook: www.Facebook.com
Photo courtesy of Hot Peas ‘N Butter
