Hot Peas 'N Butter
Encyclopedia
Hot Peas 'N Butter is a children's musical group founded by Danny Lapidus and Francisco Cotto, both professional musician
s in New York City
. Lapidus and Cotto have been best friends since childhood, both having grown up in New York (Brooklyn
and The Bronx
)
The band operates on the principle that one can create music that appeals to children without lowering musical standards. Their style is a bilingual, energetic Latin folk. As a featured group on Sirius Satellite Radio's
"Kids Stuff", and with the appearance of their hit videos, "Number 1" and "Deep Down", on Nickelodeon
and Noggin on Jack's Big Music Show
, Hot Peas 'N Butter's prominence and notability are on the rise.
Danny Lapidus was born in Belgium
, but his family returned to Brooklyn when he was only three. Lapidus' love of music began back then, sparked by his father filling the house with the sounds of jazz
, folk
, blues
, and bluegrass
. Then in later years, Professor Louie—a pioneering children's musician—taught Danny how to reach young children through a caring, professional performance.
After attending the High School of Music & Art in New York City, Lapidus earned his undergraduate degree at Binghamton University
. As a professional musician, he has performed with such acts as Dominico, Wendy Star, Zoot, The Skadanks, and Oliver Lake, and has been featured as a vocalist on various commercial recordings. His own rock band, The Danny Lapidus Band, has opened for high-profile groups like Stroke 9 at Irving Plaza
and The Wetlands.
As a professional producer and engineer, Lapidus has composed, arranged, recorded, and mixed music for film and television with clients ranging from the Oxygen Network, JP Morgan & Chase, Verizon Wireless
, McCann-Erickson and many more. All the music he produces (including Hot Peas 'n Butter's) is created in his own midtown NYC recording studio - The Pod, Audio Productions.
When the time came to plan his own children's project, Lapidus immediately turned to best friend and acclaimed musician Francisco Cotto for support.
Cotto was born in Puerto Rico
, and came to New York at the age of seven, settling with his family in the Bronx. Cotto 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 (LaGuardia) in Manhattan, where he was immersed in all genres of music, but found himself particularly drawn to jazz. He later joined the Children's Aide Society, where he incorporated all that he'd learned, performing for the benefit and enjoyment of children.
After graduating from high school, Cotto cultivated his musical education at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later at Lehman College
.
As a professional musician, Cotto has recorded and performed with Lew Soloff, Bernard Purdie, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern, The Authority, Sonido Isleno, Johnny Colon, Jerry Gonzalez, C&C Music Factory's Brian McKnight & The Hansons (dance remix), Yomo Toro, Yerbabuena and others. His own band, Vaya, an eclectic mix of Latin rhythms with contemporary blues & rock, performs regularly throughout New York.
Hot Peas 'n Butter contributed a song, Different Spokes for Different Folks, to the Saint Jude's Hospital Trike-A-Thon DVD.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Lapidus and Cotto have been best friends since childhood, both having grown up in New York (Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
)
The band operates on the principle that one can create music that appeals to children without lowering musical standards. Their style is a bilingual, energetic Latin folk. As a featured group on Sirius Satellite Radio's
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
"Kids Stuff", and with the appearance of their hit videos, "Number 1" and "Deep Down", on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
and Noggin on Jack's Big Music Show
Jack's Big Music Show
Jack's Big Music Show is a children's television program currently airing on the Nick Jr. television network. The show premiered on the same network on September 12, 2005...
, Hot Peas 'N Butter's prominence and notability are on the rise.
History
The band was formed in 2000 by friends Danny Lapidus and Francisco Cotto.Danny Lapidus was born in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, but his family returned to Brooklyn when he was only three. Lapidus' love of music began back then, sparked by his father filling the house with the sounds of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
. Then in later years, Professor Louie—a pioneering children's musician—taught Danny how to reach young children through a caring, professional performance.
After attending the High School of Music & Art in New York City, Lapidus earned his undergraduate degree at Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
. As a professional musician, he has performed with such acts as Dominico, Wendy Star, Zoot, The Skadanks, and Oliver Lake, and has been featured as a vocalist on various commercial recordings. His own rock band, The Danny Lapidus Band, has opened for high-profile groups like Stroke 9 at Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza is a 1,200-person ballroom-style music venue at 17 Irving Place and East 15th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
and The Wetlands.
As a professional producer and engineer, Lapidus has composed, arranged, recorded, and mixed music for film and television with clients ranging from the Oxygen Network, JP Morgan & Chase, Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
, McCann-Erickson and many more. All the music he produces (including Hot Peas 'n Butter's) is created in his own midtown NYC recording studio - The Pod, Audio Productions.
When the time came to plan his own children's project, Lapidus immediately turned to best friend and acclaimed musician Francisco Cotto for support.
Cotto was born in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and came to New York at the age of seven, settling with his family in the Bronx. Cotto was first exposed to music in a Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, 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 (LaGuardia) in Manhattan, where he was immersed in all genres of music, but found himself particularly drawn to jazz. He later joined the Children's Aide Society, where he incorporated all that he'd learned, performing for the benefit and enjoyment of children.
After graduating from high school, Cotto cultivated his musical education at the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and later at Lehman College
Lehman College
Lehman College is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, USA. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within the City University in 1968. The college is named after Herbert Lehman, a former New York governor,...
.
As a professional musician, Cotto has recorded and performed with Lew Soloff, Bernard Purdie, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern, The Authority, Sonido Isleno, Johnny Colon, Jerry Gonzalez, C&C Music Factory's Brian McKnight & The Hansons (dance remix), Yomo Toro, Yerbabuena and others. His own band, Vaya, an eclectic mix of Latin rhythms with contemporary blues & rock, performs regularly throughout New York.
Hot Peas 'n Butter contributed a song, Different Spokes for Different Folks, to the Saint Jude's Hospital Trike-A-Thon DVD.
Members
- Danny Lapidus - (Lead vocals)
- Francisco Cotto - (Vocals, bass)
- Rich Mercurio - (Drums)
- Oz Noy - (Guitar)
- Jorge "Georgie" Vazquez - (Percussion)
Hot Peas 'N Butter Volume 1: A Few New Friends (2002)
- Johnny Booker
- Bobby Bass
- Mi Cuerpo
- Little Red Caboose
- I Hear You Knockin'
- Juba
- Hambone
- Baila
- The Wise Old Man
Hot Peas 'N Butter Volume 2: A Second Helping (2006)
- My Dog Rags
- The Central Park Zoo
- Pollito
- Joe And The Button Factory
- Railroad Bill
- Cincinnati Block
- Nabiya
- Campo
- Hot Peas 'N Butter
Hot Peas 'N Butter Volume 3: Mo Hotta Mo Butta! (2006)
- Deep Down
- I'm So Glad I'm Here
- Que Lueva
- Number One
- Yonatan
- Down Down Baby
- Moishe The Camel
- Garcon et Filles
- The Waterhole
- Que Bonita Bandera
Hot Peas 'N Butter Volume 4: The Pod Squad (2008)
- Paranue
- Aacchoo!
- Somos Familia
- Different Spokes For Different Folks
- Jack-a-Lacka
- Beautiful Dream
- Ocho Candelikas
- Time To Fly
- Peggy-O
- Hey Mike! (Conversation With A Guitar)
- Jam House Blues
- In Belgian Rain
- Glad You Were Here