Roto's Magic Act

Roto’s Magic Act is a band conceived by multi-instrumentalist and singer known as Roto (aka James Rotondi) which features a core band—and a revolving guest cast—that includes some of New York’s finest players, a mix of young upstarts and first-call veterans. Keyboardist John Deley is the former musical director for Dido; Mike Chiavaro is the bassist for Only Son, the 45s and Knights on Earth; drummer Paul Amorese has recently worked with Goodbye Motel and A.J. Croce. Their first album “Into the Unknown” also features performances from drummers Shawn Pelton (SNL Band, Sheryl Crow), Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, David Bowie), and drummer/percussionist Christopher Heinz (Walking Shapes, Shayna Zaid), and includes cameos from cellist Julia Kent (Antony & the Johnsons) pedal-steel virtuoso Philip Sterk (Alana Amram), string arranger Josh Fix (solo artist), and guitarists Joe Gore (PJ Harvey) and Paul Lacques (BoneDaddies). Holding down the bottom end on several of the album’s tracks are Richard Hammond (Joan Osbourne) and Brad Houser (David Garza, Edie Brickell).