ROKITA Music • A New Artist Striving to Give Rock Music a Much Needed Facelift

One of the things I most enjoy about the REVIEW Music Awards involves new artists popping up each year who gain enough support from the general public to make it to the final round of voting,  And this year an artist who accomplished that difficult feat in spades is Christopher Rokita (aka; ROKITA) who managed to secure a total of 10 nominations, including Best New Artist, Best Solo Artist, Most Innovative Artist, Best Songwriter, and Best Recording Studio,  in addition to the trophy he walked home with for Best Rock Vocalist.

Embracing an approach for creating fresh, original, and upbeat music informed by the style of Classic Rock, yet loaded with modern sensibilities and catchy lyrics, in many ways Rokita is a one-man music factory: as a solo artist, he retains complete control over every aspect of the music-making process, and as a singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and recording engineer, his talents afford him the ability and freedom to fully express his artistic vision without any constraints.

Ironically, while he was able to secure so many nominations as a new artist at this year’s 38^th annual RMA’s, Rokita is not a stranger to the mid-Michigan musical community. Back in 2003 he appeared with rising regional musical star Liliana at our 17^th Annual Music Awards Celebration. Married to her at the time, and also serving as her producer, Liliana caught public attention with her innovative mix of Tejano, Latin, and contemporary R&B styles, and worked with Mid-Michigan music legend Bobby Balderrama and The Robert Lee Band, which is where his musical journey actually began 20 years ago.

“I worked a lot with Liliana on her arrangements and I’m a computer programmer by nature, so did a lot of her sequencing arrangements that were executed with KORG and  Midi-modules to layer the music back then,” he reflects. “Bobby Balderrama handled the lead guitar parts on a few of her songs and all of her work was recorded in my own studio.  Eventually Liliana and I moved to New York City for a year, but it was a really tough road. We had children at the same time and she did try to take things to the next level, and actually had a gig at Madison Square Garden for promotion, but eventually things kind of disintegrated.”

“I decided to get back into music and think it’s great that I won the Best Rock Vocalist award this year, because 10 years ago I did not have a voice,” he confesses. 

“I got remarried and as my daughter got older I started getting into singing with her, which progressed over the years until about two-and-a-half years ago I decided I wanted to start making my own music again, which wasn’t easy. I play some guitar, but apart from singing and writing I’m more of programmer/technical type of guy. I didn’t have an experienced person managing me and knew little about social media, so there was a big learning curve there.”

“I would do all the recordings & arrangements and contract out the mixing and mastering, but would send my work out to places that do reviews and give you constructive feedback, which was an eye-opening experience, because while most of the reviewers liked my music,  they thought my voice was terrible,” laughs Chris.

“It took a lot of iterations to get to where I am now and a lot of feedback from professionals, not just friends and family, who will always tell you they like your work,” he states. “It’s important to get your work out to the pros to get constructive feedback and get your music to where it needs to be. This was a huge learning experience for me that took a lot of incentive and determination to accomplish. Frankly, it took a good year of constructive criticism to improve both my voice and my songs.”

With his recording company CARokita Music Chris has released seven original songs that can be heard on both YouTube and rokitamusic.com.  “Everything I do is original but the style and feel I’m striving for is that upbeat euphoric sound of Classic Rock music. I strive to make each song different and spend a lot of time on the lyrics, because I don’t want to throw some lyrical gobbly-gook out there but am striving for deeper meaning behind the lyrics that goes well the texture of the music.”

“I grew up back in the late ‘80s and would go to see these local bands like Backtalk and go to concerts by Poison, Ratt, Dio, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, who were all big influences,” he continues. “You could really feel these complex progressions in the music and real emotion in the lyrics that I think is lacking a bit these days.  As things progress with my music, I’m going to try and rope in more professionals and influential people to help make my music better. That’s my goal - to always try and improve in every aspect with my music.”

While hesitant to reveal the identity, Rokita says the next track he’s releasing shortly will feature a big name artist who’s worked with a lot of the top tier bands around the country. “It’s exciting because I think the next song is going to really drive the popularity forward. In fact, the song She Is, which was nominated at the RMA’s this year also got a couple other national nominations and is doing really great on YouTube. The song before that, Hyperbolic Overload, is about what’s going on with social media and AI and how we’re being influenced by everything.”

Although he has no official shows booked yet, ROKITA has enlisted the aid of agent Kelly Milionis, who he says has really helped him improve his approach and up his game. “Kelly’s got real experience in the music industry and when he asked if I needed some help, I said, ‘Yes, please - we’ve got to save rock music!”  I think there’s a lack of good old fashioned rock music. I’m not criticizing the stuff coming out nowadays, but compared to the older stuff from the late 90s and early 2000s, the feeling of the music and strength of the lyrics is not the same. I really miss it and think a lot of other people do as well.”

Chris says the tentative release date for his next new single will be mid-June. “It’s a real personal song and a little different from my other work,” he notes. “About five years ago I lost my Mom, who had a stroke and struggled; but growing up she was the stability in my life who was always there, so that’s the inspiration behind the song. And it’s not a ballad. You think of songs like that and assume they’re going to slow, but it’s a nice fast rock song with a lot of feeling and some very cool guitar work

“It’s been quite a journey,” concludes Chris. “Things fell apart and I didn’t want to have anything to do with music for a stretch, but it’s amazing how fast things can change in two years if you stay committed to your vision and focus on your goals. You’ve got to be able to take your lumps in order to improve and if it was easy everybody would be doing it.  Friends will always say ‘Yes’ to everything you do and its important o get unbiased opinions regarding your work.  Kelly is helping me pull in the talent for my work an I’m very grateful for all the support from my fans and the pubic at large and looking forward to how far I can take my music in the year ahead.”

If you’re looking for music to take you on a journey and leave you feeling energized, turn up the volume on Rokita’s classic rock music style, close your eyes, and open your mind to a whole new world of music.

You can find his artist channels on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and learn more on his official website at www.rokitamusic.com