CULLMAN, Ala. – Those who had a chance to stop in at Berkeley Bob’s Friday evening were given a talented treat by local band the Cotton Pickin’ Kids. The coffee shop was filled with energetic lively music in celebration of the band’s first CD, “Slemish Mountain,” which it said was inspired by the mountain in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The group performed originals off the CD and covers of artists from which it draws inspiration.
Performing for three years now, the band is made up of the Cipollari family, with members ranging from the age of 9 to 17.
The Cotton Pickin’ Kids are:
- Savio Cipollari, 17, on mandolin
- Therese Cipollari, 16, on lead fiddle
- Cecilia Cipollari, 14, on acoustic guitar
- Rosalinda Cipollari, 12, on back-up fiddle
- Gianluca Cipollari, 11, on banjo
- Giovanni Cipollari, 9, on resonator guitar
Accompanying the kids is their father, Fabio Cipollari, on double bass.
Savio Cipollari shared a brief history of how he and his siblings started performing.
“Our dad went to this barbeque in Jones Chapel and we were all little, I was probably 2 years old,” he said, “but he met this man- and my dad wasn’t into bluegrass at the time- but our dad asked the man to teach our aunts and uncles because our grandfather was looking for someone to teach music, Eventually we grew up seeing our uncles and aunts playing music, so we started wanting to play! After a little while, we just started learning from him and eventually he got us going as a band!”
As for where the name Cotton Pickin’ Kids came from, he said, “As for the name, we went to this bluegrass festival going into a band competition and at registration they asked, ‘What’s your band name?’ and my dad went ‘We need a band name?’ and he then said, ‘Oh, it’s those Cotton Pickin’ Kids,’ and it just came to him and it stuck.”
Friday evening, the band performed an original piece composed by Savio Cipollari, “Slemish Mountain,” an Irish-inspired tune bearing the same name as the CD.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland and I love the music there,” he said. “The song kind of came to me, but at the same time I was inspired by just movies seeing the beauty of Ireland. For me, when you imagine that, you just hear and imagine the song happening at the same time, so I wanted to write a song that had that feeling you get when just staring at the nature. It just came to me and I devoted the song to my Saint Patrick. It’s Slemish Mountain; it’s the mountain that Saint Patrick was a shepherd’s slave on.”
The CD’s cover art has special meaning as well.
“We were looking for a picture of Slemish Mountain and we found this really great one and so we contacted the photographer who was all the way in Ireland,” said Savio Cipollari, “and we asked if we could use his photo and responded saying he’d thought it’d be really cool if we used it and so he let use it. He also told us, ‘When you’re done, send a CD!’”
Cecilia Cipolarri said with a smile about the CD release, “It’s really wonderful!”
Savio Cipollari echoed his sister’s excitement, smiling, “It’s really exciting and it’s really good!”
To purchase a copy of the CD, visit www.Facebook.com/CottonPickinKids.
You can catch the band at its next live performance March 14, 2020 at Festus’ “Night of Bluegrass” at 5 p.m. at the Gold Ridge Community Center located at 5225 County Road 1545.
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