In a recent interview, he talked about his upcoming children’s show at The Grey Eagle. Question: So you’re re-releasing a children’s CD that you put out a few years back? Answer: Yes, it’s called “Swing For the Sky.
” I sold about 1,000 copies originally ...
and decided recently to re-mix one of the songs on it, then I added four more new songs. I did the recording over at Chris Rosser’s studio with some guest musicians — a local fiddle player named Lew Gelfond, and Craig Anderson played triangle ..
. now it’s got about 26 songs on it. Q: How did you get into writing music for children?
A: I was living in Los Angeles in the early 1990s; Raffi was big then. My sister told me one day “Hey, you should perform for kids, you’d be really good at it.” I didn’t really know any kid’s songs at the time.
I mean, I grew up with the Beatles. I wrote this song about cows in the zoo. I started writing more and performing around L.
A. I made a tape, and people really seemed to like it. I made a second tape and put them both together on CD.
I’ve gotten a great response from kids and teachers — but I wouldn’t call it just “kiddie music.” It’s just the music I hear in my head. Q: What’s your favorite thing about playing to audiences with both kids and adults in them?
A: It’s fun because kids are uninhibited, and they are attentive and ask questions and participate and share. I like having kids become inspired to pick up a guitar and play it and write songs. I like it when people come up to me after the show and talk about songwriting.
(During my shows), I talk a lot about the blues, I talk about the guitars that I like to play. Not all of my songs are interactive —some of them just tell stories. Q: What inspires you to be creative?
A: I get inspired by playing with other musicians who know how to listen, by working with kids in song writing workshops, by playing music in the streets. I love to play in places where people wouldn’t normally expect to hear a musician playing. (I’ve played) in the subways of New York, the streets of L.
A., Venice. That’s the best part — I love the music, but not so much the business.
Laura Blackley writes for take5. E-mail her at laurablackleyband@yahoo.com .
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