In a city with ten million and one stories it's impossible to know which one is going to have that end-of-the-rainbow finish. Anyone who's followed the life and career of Rockwilder has enjoyed a pretty interesting read. A native of Queens, New York, he as a child dreamt of a life in music. He did more than idle daydreaming, and was focused on making it in the music world. Now he is one of the most prolific producers in the industry. But his accomplishments and status haven't undone Rockwilder. He remains an open-minded and down-to-earth guy. Which makes it that much more difficult to begrudge the producer the success and accolades he obviously deserves!
We are en route from Queens to Uniondale, Long Island to pick up his 2001 GMC Yukon and Rock is busy answering phone calls and two-way messages. "I'll be out there this weekend," "I'll meet you at the studio later this week," "I'll see you right after I finish some work on the Island," etc. When finally free of all the electronic beeps and rings, he says, "Oh you got the new Janet CD, what did you think of it?" I'm too conflicted to reply - he's tight with the woman I love and she don't know me. You have to give it to the guy, though. Like I said, he's down-to-earth, and wants to hear your opinion. I tell him, "It's awright," but the hype creeps through my expression. One thing on his mind at all times is his music, how to make it better for the audience.
Alpine all the way. CVA-1005...
Alpine all the way. CVA-1005 in the dash. Below, the DVA-5205 DVD player. The KCE-420v handles the video switching. And the CHA-S624 6-disc changer holds Rockwilder produced CDs.
After taking the exit ramp we are approaching Unique Autosports. Rockwilder sees his truck from afar. The Yukon is shining bright, reflecting enough sun to feed all the plant life in the Garden State next door. He makes his way over to Will, co-owner of Unique Autosports, gives him a handshake and a hug, "Good looking, those are hot." Rockwilder is pleased as he checks out the new 22" chrome CEC/Antera 301 rims and Toyo Proxes tires. I'm thinking, "Those 'shoes' cost more than my whole car and that's not hot!" Rock first heard about Will when he saw and heard the sound systems in the vehicles of Reggie Noble, Erick E. Sermon, and Busta Rhymes. "I met E while working with him when I was part of EPMD. We got to talking about his system and others that I had seen. E then told me about his custom audio and rim shop in Uniondale: 'My partner Will is gonna take good care of you.'" After getting rid of his first love, an '89 Acura Legend, Rock made a radical switch to a Yukon. He brought it to Will and told him to hook it up with monitors, DVD and toys like that for his kids and nephews to have during long family trips. Will looked over the truck and sent Reme (aka, "the man") to work. They did it up with an Alpine CVA-1005, the DVA-5205 DVD player, and a KCE-420v video selector. A 13-inch Audiovox flip-down TV serves both the DVD and Dreamcast systems. (Whaddup? Could've put in a PlayStation 2 in there as well. This is Rockwilder! not some wannabe joker.) Anyway, if the game console battles get too intense players can slap on headphones to spare other passengers the noise. Alpine's CHA-S624 6-disc changer keeps an assortment of Rockwilder hits at his fingertips with two PPI (4400 & 2600) amplifiers powering the MB Quart Reference RSD 216 series 6.5-inch speakers in the front and rear doors. Damn, exactly the same products I would've chosen - well, maybe some different amps.