The Contemporary A Cappella Newsletter Interviews Series:
Originally appeared in the September 1992 issue of the CAN.
Millions of weekend television viewers know him as "the guy from the Taco Bell commercial a couple years ago." You probably know him as the man who made "Zombie Jamboree" hip again. But your kid sister probably knows him as simply "the one with the wierd hair." His name is Sean Altman. With a suite of hugely successful TV specials, a five outstanding Japanese albums, and the adulation of millions of American children under their belt, the corn-rowed Altman and his cohorts, Rockapella, are poised on the brink of super-stardom.
CAN: The first question that most people want to know is how you got started. I'm not sure many people know that you began as an off-shoot of a college a cappella group.
SA: That's true. Our four original members were alumni of the Brown University High Jinks. The bizarre thing was that we were four guys who had never all sung together at Brown. Between the oldest and youngest member, there was four year gap. I had sung with everyone, but it wasn't as if we were a quartet in college who thought we sounded good enough to go on from there. We just happen to find ourselves in New York at the same time.
CAN: At that time, how big was the college a cappella scene?
SA: When I joined the High Jinks in 1981, there were only 3 a cappella groups at Brown. By the time I graduated, there were 3 or 4 more, and when I returned to Brown last year, there were at least 10, maybe more. In fact, the audition process is now similar to the medical school match system - you try out for everyone and then you are chosen for a group based on your first or second choice. It's amazing to me, because when I started singing, you auditioned for one group and if they liked you and there was a spot open, then you were accepted.
CAN: When you started singing after college, was it just for fun?
SA: Oh yeah! You see, I never thought that anyone would take an a cappella group seriously. For the first couple of years, I was "doin' Rockapella" but I was also in a band, trying to become a rock star. I began to realize that I was making money off Rockapella and losing it on the rock band. But it wasn't until we made our first recording, using vocal percussion and things that people didn't associate with traditional a cappella, that I began to realize that this was something that people would like and would buy. Our style came out of 50's doo-wop, which doesn't have a lot of rhythm and isn't necessarily danceable. That 1950's sound is great and I'd consider it the "roots" of Rockapella but I never thought that style would sell records again.
CAN: Where did you first perform?
SA: We began just doing street-singing. You see, we never planned on being a professional group. It was a kick for us to continue singing after college. We didn't need the money because we all had other jobs. We used to take all the quarters and go eat Chinese food up on Columbus and 72nd. We'd pay for the whole meal in quarters. Eventually, people started throwing business cards and we were offered other paying concerts and corporate gigs.
CAN: Was your travel limited to the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area?
SA: Yes. We did a couple of corporate concerts in Pennsylvania but that was as far as we went.
CAN: So you started to develop a following?
SA: Yeah. One of the first tunes we recorded was "Zombie Jamboree," which we put on the first album. People began to like it. We didn't get a record deal out of it but someone offered to make a video and that turned out to be how we got invited to perform with Spike and Co. on the Do It A Cappella soundtrack.
CAN: At that time, were you performing originals or strictly covers?
SA: When Rockapella first started, we were ostensibly a barbershop quartet that did some pop stuff. Our early promotional material read "Great barbershop quartet" and listed 50-60 barbershop tunes and 15 pop songs, all snatched off of Persuasions records. But we made most of our money performing standard SPEBSQSA music, because everyone thinks of barbershop as 4 guys from the 50's in funny hats, and we were four young guys singing that style with pop voices, and it made for an interesting sound. Plus, we worked for cheap too, which didn't hurt. We were the "Long Island Bar Mitzvah Kings" for a really long time.
CAN: How did your sound evolve from there?
SA: Well, after performing for hundreds of private parties and weddings where we'd be greeting the guests, taking their coats, and singing, we began to work on a "show." And gradually, we began to insert more pop songs in our repertoire. We didn't want to keep stealing all of our arrangements from the Persuasions so I began to arrange.
CAN: Were you doing all of the promotional and contact work yourself?
SA: We handled all of it ourselves at first, but around 1988 we realized that we just didn't have the contacts to go any further, so we hired a press agent to help us get radio and TV appearances as well as newspaper interviews. That was the first major business decision we made. One of our first TV appearances was the Regis Philbin Show, which was a small, regional show that Regis did before he went national. After that we started getting calls from other shows in the city. We'd sing Christmas carols around the holidays or sing with the host, whatever the format was.
CAN: Did you hire an agent as well?
SA: Actually, Rockapella has never had an exclusive contract with an agent. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. We've always worked with one or two people who have gotten us gigs. We haven't wanted to be an indentured servant to any one person.
CAN: Up until 1989, how often were you performing?
SA: In 1987, after the group had been together around three years, we were singing between 15-20 times a month. Some months we sang more. For instance, I remember one December where we had 30 paying gigs. Of course, the money we were making was nothing compared to now. We'd sing for three hours and trash our voices and get a couple hundred dollars. Now we sing much less frequently, but the quality is better.
CAN: If you were singing that much, how did you find time to rehearse?
SA: We never had a set rehearsal schedule unless we had a specific song to learn. You have to realize that we were singing mostly barbershop tunes, and once you've sung one a hundred times, its like an insidious worm in your brain that's impossible to get out. It's not like we've never added new material at a ferocious pace, so every once in a while I'll crank out a new arrangement.
CAN: How did you support yourselves outside of the group? Was there ever a time when you had to make a decision to leave a job because Rockapella was getting big enough to become a full-time thing?
SA: Not really. In the early years of the group, we had members who were, for example, 75% computer programmer/25% Rockapella member. We also had another member who, just before Carmen started, made the decision to stay in law school because the time constraints were becoming too great to do both. But now, since Scott [Leonard] has joined the group, we have four Rockapella members who are career performers and who are committed, Rockapella or otherwise, to performing. Each of us has worked jobs outside the group at times, in order to pay the rent. It's a tricky thing, but if I were giving advice, I'd say that you can do both. We rarely get gigs during the day and there are plenty of jobs that allow you the flexibility to get out early if you need to.
CAN: How many songs are in your standard repertoire?
SA: I'd say about we have about 30 tunes that we pull from. However, you've got to remember that Scott, who sings high tenor, just joined the group a year and a half ago, so he didn't have to learn any of the barbershop songs, because we decided to get away from that style. In fact, we pared down our repertoire when Scott came - we had another 20 songs which we cut. We only wanted to keep our most important tunes.
CAN: You spoke earlier about Spike Lee's Do It A Cappella which, I think, is how most people first saw and heard you. Do you consider that your first big break?
SA: Unquestionably, that was our big break. What led up to that was our being on shows such as Regis Philbin and Regis and Kathie Lee and having a great video. Those things gave us the credibility that led to Do It A Cappella. And not only did Do It A Cappella give us exposure but it also led to our landing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? because one of the producers of Carmen had a daughter who saw us on Do it A Cappella and told her dad to check us out. It led to other things such as the Whoopi Goldberg special. It also helped that Elektra records decided to release "Zombie Jamboree" as a promotional single which got our name out there. All of a sudden, we went from being "Rockapella - the group you may have seen on daytime TV" to "Rockapella - the group that performed with Take 6 and Ladysmith Black Mambazo."
CAN: There were some big-time a cappella groups on that soundtrack. Have you had the opportunity to work with any of them?
SA: The only group that we've actually worked with is the Persuasions. We've worked with them a number of times. In fact, our new album has several collaborative tunes with them. But in terms of Take 6 or The Nylons or Ladysmith, we haven't had the opportunity, but we'd love to.
CAN: Have you met with or sung with any fledgling a cappella groups and helped them along?
SA: We have been contacted occasionally by groups and when groups show up at our concerts, we take special pleasure in talking to them because we know what they going through. We also have incorporated the CASA lists into our mailing list, so we frequently hear from other groups that way by sending out information to them.
CAN: If I were to describe Rockapella to someone who had never heard you, what would I say?
SA: If it were someone who knew a cappella, I'd say that Take 6 does jazz and gospel and the Persuasions do more doo-wop, soul, and R&B. We do rock and pop a cappella. If it were someone who didn't know a cappella, then I'd have to go into the long explanation of what a cappella is and how we make the sounds with our mouths and all that.
CAN: Are you the main arranger for the group?
SA: Up until the last few months, I did do most of the arrangements, but now everyone is getting involved, especially in songwriting. We are going in the studio soon to record a Christmas album for a Japanese record company, and everyone in the group has at least one song on it which they have written.
CAN: What kind of musical training do the members have? Does everyone play an instrument?
SA: Scott is the only one that majored in music but we all have musical backgrounds. Elliot [Kerman], the only remaining founding member besides myself, plays jazz piano. Barry [Carl], who sings bass, came to us from Julliard, where he played french horn, and the New York City Opera, where he sang for four years. Scott got his degree from the University of Tampa and he plays the piano. As for me, I play the guitar very poorly. While I have the least amount of formal training, I have a good ear, which is probably the most important quality in an a cappella singer. I basically do the arranging by ear on a four-track. I'm glad that Rockapella is a four-person group, because the lead and bass parts are obvious, so that leaves me with one background part to think about and then one to harmonize with it.
CAN: You spoke of the Persuasions as a musical influence. Is there anyone else you are modeled after?
SA: I listened to Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles and the Beach Boys, but to be honest, I didn't listen to any a cappella other than the Persuasions. People might not hear the similarities between our two groups necessarily but I've learned a lot from them. To me, what is most prominent when listening to the Persuasions is that Jimmy Hayes' bass line, along with the lead, could carry the song and the other two parts are just filling in the spaces. I feel that is the key to a successful arrangement: that the bass line fully implies the drums, which are non-existent. I like to think that we are a thinner, brighter, less soulful version of the Persuasions.
CAN: What are your favorite songs to perform?
SA: Well "Zombie Jamboree" always gets an incredible ovation from the crowd, although we feel that originals are the future of the group. It's also more gratifying to get a great response from the crowd after a song that you've written.
CAN: Carmen Sandiego seems to be the most important thing you've done up until this point. What does that entail?
SA: It takes about 6 weeks to tape the 65 episodes for one whole season. It is grueling work - we start taping at 7:00 am with one group of kids and then we break and come back in the afternoon with another group. We tape 3 episodes a day, except Wednesdays when we tape 4. Our second season, which we taped this past spring, started airing in late September.
CAN: What has the exposure meant for the group?
SA: I think we've all started to take for granted the fact that we are on a TV show and how many people watch it. We just went out to Utah to promote the show - it is really popular out there - and it drew 4500 people. We were shocked at the response. On the other hand, we have mixed feelings about the show because we don't want to be pegged as "the act that is on the kids show." We are somewhat worried that adults won't take us seriously because we're on the show. But Carmen is the highest-rated kids show in the adult market, so it is serving us remarkably well.
CAN: Do you see yourself doing it for another season or more?
SA: We'll definitely do it for another season, but beyond that we're not sure. The show needs to get funding and we have to decide whether we want to continue, but we are definitely going to be taping shows this spring, to be aired next fall. But we're hoping that the Carmen Sandiego album is going to help show that Rockapella is not a kids' group. The album, both musically and lyrically, is aimed at adults rather than kids.
CAN: What is the next step for the group?
SA: We're looking to get a record deal. The new album is being produced by an independent label but it's going to be nationally distributed by Zoom Express, which is a division of BMG, so we're hoping it will sell a lot of copies and draw a lot of attention to Rockapella.
CAN: Do you see the future of a cappella as being strong?
SA: Yes. I think that what you've done with the CAN is really great. It's a brilliant idea - getting together this huge network of college a cappella singers. That's where the majority of a cappella singing is done in America, and people don't even know about it. People ask us if the doo-wop tradition of street-corner singing was how we got our start, and when we tell them that we were basically formed out of a college group, they think that is so novel. They don't realize that there are groups doing this at every college in the country. That's where the foundation of a cappella lies.
Sean Altman was interviewed by Marty Mahoney
Copyright 1995, The Contemporary A Cappella Society of America - italy@casa.org