Brooklyn Center presents HOT PEAS 'N BUTTER - April 5

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2009

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michelle Brandon Tabnick, Publicist, 646-765-4773
Rick Berubé, Director of Marketing & Communications, 718-951-4600 x22

HOT PEAS 'N BUTTER
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 2pm
At Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

PLEASE JOIN US:
Sunday, April 5th at 2pm
RSVP to Michelle Brandon Tabnick, (646) 765-4773, michelle@michelletabnickcommunications.com

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College concludes its 2008-09 Target FamilyFun series with a family concert featuring Hot Peas 'N Butter on Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 2pm.

"The sizzling percussive beats will put even the gloomiest kid in a party mood!"
- Erika Milvy, Parenting Magazine

Hot Peas 'N Butter was founded in 2000 by Danny Lapidus and Francisco Cotto, childhood friends who studied music together at the Laguardia High School of Music and Art. 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.

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 Pentacostal 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 in Manhattan, 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), Pacquito 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.

In addition to Mr. Lapidus and Mr. Cotto, the band includes bassist Bernie Minoso (Tito Puente Orchestra and Paul Simon's The Cape Man) and guitarist Oz Noy (Harry Bellafonte Orchestra and Richard Bona). Hot Peas 'N Butter has produced three CDs: Hot Peas 'N Butter, Volume 1: A Few New Friends; Hot Peas 'N Butter, Volume 2: A Second Helping; and Hot Peas 'N Butter, Volume 3: Mo Hotta Mo Butta, featuring tracks like "Johnny Bucker," "Bobby Bass," "Baila," "Central Park Zoo," "Pollito," and "I'm so Glad I'm Here."

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2008-09 Target FamilyFun series is sponsored by Target.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving schoolchildren from over 225 schools annually.

On July 15, 2008 Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts (BCBC) was selected as Brooklyn's Best Place for Family Bonding as part of Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect's First Annual Parents' Picks Awards. Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect (http://www.parentsconnect.com), the online resource for parenting advice and community, asked parents to vote online for the best of their local communities with the Parents' Picks Awards. In the category of Best Place for Family Bonding, Brooklyn Center was nominated along with Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Coney Island, and the New York Aquarium.

Hot Peas 'N Butter at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 2PM
Tickets: $6

2 train to Flatbush Avenue / on-site paid parking available
Running time: approx 60 minutes
Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Online orders: www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1PM - 6PM
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 22

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are made possible in part with public funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2008-2009 season is provided by: JP Morgan Chase; Independence Community Foundation; Con Edison; National Grid; Citi Foundation; Commerce Bank; Macy's; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Air Jamaica; the Carnegie Corporation of New York; and the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in the New York Community Trust by founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Additional support provided by the Best Western Gregory Hotel, Courier-Life Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and The Brooklyn Paper.

Brooklyn Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York State Assembly: Assemblymembers William F. Boyland, William Colton, Steven Cymbrowitz, Diane Gordon, Janele Hyer-Spencer, Rhoda Jacobs, Alan Maisel, Joan Millman, Felix Ortiz, N. Nick Perry, Sheldon Silver, Darryl C. Towns, Helene E. Weinstein; and members of the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York State Senate: Senators Eric Adams, Martin Golden, Kevin Parker and John L. Sampson. Brooklyn Center thanks the New York City Council: Councilmembers Simcha Felder, Domenic M. Recchia Jr., Kendall B. Stewart, and Albert Vann, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin.

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