Deejaying with some of the world’s best has catapulted Roxy Cottontail to the foreground of her craft, proving she can hold her own not only in a DJ booth, but a recording studio as well.
by Kristie Bertucci
Photography by Tony Gale
Built an impressive reputation around the Big Apple’s club scene and is quickly rising in the electronic dance music ranks across the nation, thanks to her deejaying skills and sexy vocals. With an eclectic mix of friends that spans from Diplo, Chromeo, Spank Rock, electro-clash icon Larry Tee and more, Roxy’s ear for music and signature style, mashed with her roots in punk, electro, house, hip-hop, rock and reggae, have propelled her to the forefront of a powerful movement.
With her own Bunnyjawn label launching this fall, Roxy looks to add some fresh voices to the scene to further expand her takeover. But that’s not all this bombshell bunny has up her sleeves: Roxy Cottontail is looking for world domination, starting with female empowerment, and won’t stop until everybody is shaking their tails to her beats.
YRB: Was a career in entertainment your childhood goal?
Roxy: I was pretending I was Cyndi Lauper when I was six and dressing up like the part, so you could say I found my calling at a young age. My mom is a retired music teacher, so I had music around me all the time. When I was in high school I had a punk band called The Fox DeLuxe, which is where I think it all began. It finally became professional for me when I became roommates with Justine D. She was this big DJ/promoter in New York who did these infamous parties called “Motherfucker.” I then became a baby sub-promoter for her events and everything really took off from there.
YRB: How did you end up becoming “Roxy Cottontail?”
Roxy: It comes from my fascination with rabbits because they’re very maternal and mysterious. And then cottontail is a good way to refer to your booty. I have a mild ass obsession and I just thought the name was really cute.
YRB: When did you start producing your own events?
Roxy: After 9/11, I moved to Philly and met Diplo, Spank Rock and Amanda Blank. I lived there for 10 months but then got bored and moved back to N.Y.C. But I loved the whole party scene out there that they had created and brought it back with me in 2003. During that time, I was doing design work for a beauty packaging company and throwing my own events at night on a weekly basis. I then was given the chance to do special one-off parties and nights with big acts like Chromeo, all my music friends from Philly and various other artists.
YRB: How did you go from promoting to becoming a DJ?
Roxy: After producing events for so long and being in that scene, I realized that I had a pretty good record collection and a good ear for music, so I decided to try deejaying in, like, 2005. I did parties with a friend on Thursdays and I asked him if I could practice at the venue when nobody was around. He was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I started practicing there because I couldn’t afford the equipment, and then it started slowly but surely, and I booked dates out of town to DJ. I eventually quit my day job as a designer and decided to do the music thing full-time. After that it just took off.
