O.A.R. Embraces Their Rockville Roots
It was 2014 and the band O.A.R. was releasing its eighth studio album. After becoming an international success and touring all around the world it seemed fitting to go back to where they started and name their album “The Rockville LP,” after their hometown in Montgomery County, MD.
Afshan Mizrahi is a published children’s author from Montgomery County. The book she published, Fairyland Horror, was written while she attended Mill Creek Towne Elementary School, an MCPS school in Derwood.
While in 5th grade, Afshan had a creative writing assignment where she needed to write a short story and draw pictures. It was then that Fairyland Horror came to life.
This Montgomery County native is an accomplished musician, a New York Times Best Selling author, and Twitch streamer. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he grew up in the West Deer Park neighborhood in Gaithersburg. He also worked at Joe’s Crab Shack in Rio and performed there a few times when he started off.
Originally under the name Psychological, he started performing professionally in 2009. As to why he called himself that, he said, “ I just loved this word because it was about the mind and I knew that’s what I wanted my music to consist of; something that really challenges the mind.” Years later, he would rise to international fame and receive 2 Grammy nominations.
Updated on 3/12/22 with additional information
Fleetwood Mac’s song “Silver Springs” is based on Silver Spring, MD. While many of us love Nicks’ music and the song itself, the title of the song could be one of the reasons people often add an ‘s’ to the end of our beloved Montgomery County… census designated place.
Retro MoCo Ads – 1985
Today we’ll be looking at local ads from thirty-five years ago from the County Courier!
“(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” R.E.M. Sang in 1984
R.E.M. will go down in rock and roll history for their legendary hit songs. A popular favorite is “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” When it plays, everyone in the car shouts the chorus and mumbles the rest. But while I was scrolling through a list of R.E.M’s music, I was surprised to find a lesser-known song featuring Montgomery County’s Rockville.
Although the novel “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson takes place in rural Virginia, the story has a surprising connection to Takoma Park and Sligo Creek. Katherine Paterson’s son David Paterson and his childhood friend Lisa Hill attended Takoma Park Elementary School together. The two main characters in “Bridge to Terabithia,” Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke, are based on Katherine Paterson’s son and Hill.
David Paterson reminisced to the Washington Examiner how he and Hill spent their time outside of school. “We used to play together around Sligo Creek building forts and inventing games.” The idea of Leslie Burke’s tragic death in the book also originated from real life. 8 year-old Hill was struck and killed by lightning while visiting the beach with family.
A Tale of Three Cities: Rockville’s Sister Cities
Many of us have spent a warm summer evening sampling Rockville Town Square’s various eats or tossing a football at Woodley Gardens Park. Rockville is a uniquely American city, full of diverse cultural touches and flavors. At every different corner, you might find someone who speaks a different language, or perhaps a new local restaurant that has opened up to share another unique iteration of the countless cuisines that are already represented in the area.
Markoff’s Haunted Forest Opens Tonight
Every year, the Markoff brothers have invited daredevils to venture out into their frightful forest during the Halloween season. As Halloween fever descends on Montgomery County, Markoff’s Haunted Forest is opening again with health precautions in place to ensure a safe and thrilling night.
Celebrities with MoCo Ties: Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel) is an Oscar-winning film director, screenwriter, photographer, and actor.
Part of the movie “All The President’s Men” was filmed in Chevy Chase.
In 1975, two scenes from the movie “All The President’s Men”, were filmed at 7009 East Avenue in the Town of Chevy Chase.