Rocky Votolato (born March 8, 1977 in Dallas, Texas), is an American singer-songwriter. He was raised in a small town called Frost, roughly 50 miles south of Dallas, until the age of 13. After his parents were divorced, his mother remarried and moved the family to the Pacific Northwest in 1991, where he attended Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington. Alienated by his southern roots, the isolation led him to focus all of his attention on learning to play guitar and writing songs. Inspired by seeing many punk shows including bands like Jawbreaker and Fugazi, he started several different musical projects while in high school.

When his former band Lying on Loot disbanded in 1996, Votolato, along with friends Rudy Gajadhar (drums) and Andrew Hartley (bass), started playing under the name Waxwing. His younger brother Cody (The Blood Brothers) soon joined the band on second guitar, and the band recorded their debut 7" for Henry's Finest Recordings. In 1999, Second Nature Recordings released their first full-length, entitled For Madmen Only. Blending straight-up rock with elements of post-hardcore, and Cody's metal reminiscent guitaring, Waxwing soon established a strong local following. The band then signed with Second Nature Recordings out of Kansas City, MO. The band then released three full-length albums: For Madmen Only in 1999, One for the Ride in 2000, and Nobody Can Take What Everybody Owns in 2002. By this time, the band's profile in the Seattle music scene had grown substantially, causing them to consistently sell out at local clubs like the Crocodile Cafe and The Paradox Theater.