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Thursday, July 27th, 2023

Lincoln Elementary – Day Four

I wrapped up my short residency at Lincoln Elementary today, and I got the feeling that we made some friends over the last four days. At the end, one girl said, “I miss you already.”

I brought out The Cat Came Back and I Wanna Be a Dog, a couple of old favorites that I haven’t done in a while, along with Magic Penny at the very end.

I also got three kids to lead the group with The Tutti Tah, and, as I had hoped, the kids had taken ownership of the process and I could become a side member of the group. Ms. Dieter said that it displayed Lincoln Leadership, a great term that the school uses.

I introduced the Rain Stick, as one teacher, Lisa Dieter, googled cactus plants. We had a good session listening to that sound, and, later on, we got to apply it to our rendition of Tropical Vacation as we passed it around and sang the tune. The kids really latched on to this song.

I introduced All Around the Kitchen, taught the kids the chorus, got them up to dance and away we went. The kids came up with The I Don’t Know, The Flamingo and couple of other quirky dances, and, with some prodding, got the kids to sing and dance at the same time, something I’m striving to work on – multiple intelligences stuff. The teachers came up with The Swim and the Knee Switch from the old Charleston days. A lively and engaged session.

At the end, kids came up to give me a hug (they had to ask first) and that was particularly sweet. I mentioned that I felt we were now good friends at this point, and I feel that is quite true. It was nice to do a residency over four consecutive days that made it easier to connect a flow of the material and interpersonal relationships with the kids and teachers.

I’m glad this opportunity popped up in the middle of a fairly slow summer. I learned to access, with the help of the teachers, Google and material on my thumb drive to add visuals. It’s still frustrating about the absence of CD players in the classroom, though.

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Lincoln Elementary – Day Three

My third session out of four at Lincoln Elementary today.

We started out by playing Tropical Vacation and I Like Peanut Butter from my first CD, and we talked about the instrumentation, the vocals and a little about working with other creative people on the album – the designers, the musicians and others. It probably went over their heads a little. This process reminds me about the tremendous loss these students and teachers suffer with the demise of portable music devices like the CD player. There’s no long access to vast amounts of music in this culture.

We led off with two other students leading Tutti Tah and there was a remarkable improvement on memorization and group support on the project. That was nice to witness. They are taking ownership of the process.

I brought a different guitar today and we discussed some of the differences, and talked about being in tune. I followed up with Skip To My Lou, and talked about folk songs, songs that go back in time and are still sung today. And many of the kids knew this one, to prove my point. I brought out my verse “I got ants in my pants and they’re making me dance”, and everyone got up to demonstrate. Another example of the easy and comfort we share with each other.

I introduced We Gave Names to the Animals while breaking out the instrument bag. It was a little chaotic, especially since I had hoped to work on structure of the lyrics, but so it goes. It was time to mix it up and put something in their hands. The kids came around to playing as a group, and also caught on with the structure of the song, picking up on the rhyming clues.

With ten minutes left, I hoped to write a verse to this song involving an octopus. Luckily, we had assembled a vocabulary and fact list about octopi earlier so we were able to get to work on the verse right away. We came up with:

“I saw an animal in a dark hole in the sea / It had eight tentacles and it squirted ink at me (at me?!) / It has a boneless body and it moves with a squoosh / I think I’ll call this animal an octopus.” We sang it several times to see if everything fit, and we agreed that it did. The teacher then showed the octopus image I brought in on a thumb drive. It was a good ending to the session.

One more day tomorrow, and we’ll see if I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Lincoln Elementary residency, Day Two

 I was looking forward to working with my core group of second and third graders again today. I had a vague idea of where I wanted to go today, to reinforce some of what we did yesterday.

I started out by playing Giants from my Playground CD, and encouraged the kids to listen and figure out the instrumentation. Just the fact that it was a CD was novel. They picked up the trombone, the drums but had to steer them to think about the vocals, the bass and the very subtle triangle. It was a rich, learning experience. Listening skills.

I followed up on my notion about turning over some leadership to the kids by getting a boy and a girl to lead the class in the Tutti Tah, with some success and some guidance. I hope to see some growth in this tomorrow. I did Down By the Bay and we worked on rhyming, active verbs and adjectives as well as singing out loud. This is a great set of engaged kids and we had some fun.

 

I then did some follow-up with Giants. I brought in a thumb drive of some picture drawn by some kids from about eight years ago, and, using the overhead projector, we explore the images and had a great conversation of art appreciation. The teachers chimed in, as well. It was another rich, non-musical art experience, and another learning extension for my, in my teaching artistry.

I broke out the bag of instruments and did a quick lesson on playing as a band. #1 – silence! #2 – with the beat. #3 – full-tilt shaking (big endings). They picked up quickly and gave us a good format to play together. I then launched into Shoo That Fly, with the kids up and moving and playing. It was a good way to wrap things up for the day.

I’m learning as much as the kids, especially by introducing some non-musical art excursions into the mix, amplifying the “multiple intelligences” theory into direct practice. We’ll see where we go from here.

As usual, I did a brief reflection on what we did as the kids got ready to leave for the day.

Wednesday, July 26th, 2023

Lincoln ES Residency, Day One

I have a four-day residency this week at a Bethlehem school on the Northside of town, Lincoln Elementary, set up by my friend and fellow teaching artist Doug Roysdon. I have an hour set from 12:45 to 1:45 each day with a group of about twenty 2nd and 3rd graders with their two teachers.

Today I started with I Like Peanut Butter, a great opening song that sticks to your brain, involves singing and movement. (The teachers really liked this one.) We did the Tootie Tah to further loosen things up and I plan on using this one as an opener each day, with different kids taking the lead (ownership).

I followed with Tropical Vacation with the kids adding hand movements while singing along. And, at the end, we all got up to do the Hula. I hope to play the CD version of this on Wednesday.

We did Peanut Butter and Jelly, Giants (and spent some time creating a giant on the board – a nice diversion into non-musical art) and finished up with Jelly in the Dish with the scarves. The time went quickly, the teachers were helpful and involved and I got a couple of hugs from two girls in the foyer on my way out the door.

I tasked the kids to draw their own giants and the teachers handed out blank paper for the kids to take home. A nice touch by them.

It was a good start to the week and the kids were polite, engaged and fun.

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

Sayer Day Care on Thursday.

I do several sets at this Northside Bethlehem day care center every summer and it’s always a challenge to be able to play for three distinct age groups, one after another. Puts my brain in overdrive.

I started downstairs in the toddler room for about 15 kids, including some two-year old’s. These kids really don’t know how to sing along to anything but Old MacDonald, but we had a good time. One girl kept on saying too loud, even when I simply strummed the guitar. Perhaps ‘too intense’ would be a better phrase. I caught myself thinkin’ that this was pretty hard and I worked up a sweat in the first set.

I headed upstairs for the preschool kids, and things were easier and the kids more receptive to singing along, although the ‘call and response’ songs took some work. I brought out the scarves and the rhythm instruments and we rollicked and rolled. I did Baby Shark for the first time in a long time.

The last group was the older kids, and, surprisingly, they jumped on board right away, perhaps since I had been there before. No ‘attitudes’ to speak of, and that was novel for this age group. The special wrinkle today was a signer for a young deaf girl. So I had an interpreter right next to me the whole show. We had a great time, again with the scarves and instruments.

The interpreter invited the girl to put here hands on my guitar when I played I Like Peanut Butter and she lit up. A powerful moment, and when I did ‘the big ending’ she yelled out with every one else. A perfect capture of the moment. Sometimes things just work out.

Three sets in a row kind of wore me out, but a good ‘worn out’.

I have a date later today, my first with Lorrie, and that really has me verklempt.

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

Day II – Wm Penn Residency – Big Plans.

Second visit and time to get down to work on our Big Plans song.

I refreshed our version of Down By The Bay, and the kids had some good recall of the words, motions and reactions, but, as we went through the song, I realized how scattered these kids are. (pandemic?) A mix of too quiet, too bouncy, too unfocused, while still doing some good work. So it goes with a after-school program, I guess.

Since we have to come up with some verses on several jobs suggested last week, we picked up on truck driver, teacher and actor. Again, what once was a fairly productive process, the focus and verbal responses were all over the place. This puts it in my hands to come up with more of the content and rhymes. The kids get caught up in the rhymes and less on creating sentences and story arc. This was a tough session, and not as much play as last week.

  1. A cup of coffee and I head for my semi-truck.

Fill up with soccer balls at the warehouse, just to make a buck

I could do this forever cause I’m a lifer,

I think that I’ll be a truck driver.

 

  1. I have a classroom at Wm Penn with girls and boys,

Math Spanish, Reading, ; there’s so much noise.

Summertime you’ll see me down the shore; I’m a beacher.

I think that I’ll be a teacher (Sit Down!)

 

  1. At our talent show, I’m going to do my act.

A very dramatic scene, and that’s a fact.

When I grow up, I’ll read the script on the page,

I’ll think that I’ll be an actor on the stage. (Take a bow)

After our sweat shop session, I loosened things up with my scarf routine, and it was a great way to finish out the day. I’m glad we’re in the central library area, carpeted and nice open space. And, we are the people left in the building.

We covered our faces with the scarves and then came up with facial emotions. We then explore “writing” with the scarves, letters, names, etc. It’s a great swirl of colors. I then do Jelly in the Dish, with the kids launching their scarves at the end of the verse, and then trade scarves with each other. Controlled chaos with a visual payoff that is quite psychedelic, frankly.

I was pretty spent after today’s session. One more session next week and then an assembly. We’ll never be ready for the assembly and I’ll have to carry the load, but I can do that.

 

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023

Diabetes Camp on Sunday

An interesting gig was offered to me recently; a one-day camp for diabetes-1 kids and families at Cedar Crest College on Sunday: CampConnecT1D. The pay scale was quite lucrative and I figured I could do it well. The theme was health and mental welfare through music. Right up my alley. There were about 15 kids with their parents. The local radio station B101 was there, as well.

I was asked to do two hours but negotiated for an hour and a half, considering our collective attention span. I followed Dr. David Holland’s presentation, spotlighting how the arts can affect emotions, which fit in nicely later on in my show.

Rain stick for Tropical Vacation

I was set up under a big balloon arch, with pillows for the kids and chairs for the adults/parents. A few blow-up guitars, mikes, keyboards were scattered about, and, as I started with I Like Peanut Butter, I encouraged the kids to take a lead on the props. They did and instantly came out of their shells. I followed with Tutti Tah, encouraging the adults to participate. We were on our way. Tropical Vacation, Down By the Bay, Giants, Branching Out, We Gave Names to the Animals (with shakers) and more.

As we headed into the home stretch, I broke out the scarves and we explore emotions, with Dr. Holland coming up and demonstrating being vexed, one of the more curious emotions brought up by the kids. We then did some scarf-art with the alphabet and followed with Jelly in the Dish, with kids (and, eventually parents, nurses and staff joining in) dancing, tossing scarves in the air, and sharing them with each other. I’ve been doing this exercise quite often recently with great effect as a closer.

I took time at the end to reflect on what the kids, and then the adults, liked about the show. This is a great was for folks to vocalize and establish a vocabulary on the arts experience. This was wonderful, as well.

Pizza and hoagies followed and I got to talk with some of the nurses and Dr. Holland about the session. They loved it. I picked up the check (with a 10% tip) and drove back home feeling fairly righteous about the event and my part in it. And I got paid well.

Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

Triple-header at P’burg’s Early Childhood Learning Center on Tuesday

Early Childhood Learning Center

Having retired RockRoots in the last month or so, I’m down to occasional solo shows. I don’t miss the long drives into deepest, darkest New Jersey.  (Actually, I got a lot of thinking done…) This one came from a PTA mom who wondered if I was still playing for kids (??!!). You bet.

From the PTA lady, “The kids loved it so much and the teachers said it was awesome!” nice.

I love playing for preschoolers – their energy, their glee and their curiosity. It’s a treat to see the teachers have some fun, too. That’s a big part of my fee. I was paid well for this one, and I was glad that got what I asked  – what I deserve.

After dealing the the traffic cop, the front office folks, I was guided to my workplace for the morning – a carpeted library!! Oh, yeah, my kinda space.

My liaison was a great help. She scouted down some water, supplied an extension chord (and plugged it in!), and made me welcome. Nice to not play in an echo chamber like the gym – what I had pictured in my mind. She also asked for three short sets, roughly 20 minutes – I fought for 25. I’ve not done something like this small scope but figured out 4 songs to do. It was fun to do as a sprint.

Here’s my thought process as I play my set. Perhaps it’s TMI, but it’s place where I exercise my creative juices so that I can claim to be an Artist.

Each session had about 75 kids apiece, enough that I was glad I had my small amp and mike setup. I introduced my guitar and we counted the strings, listened to the bass E and the high E. I talked about the wood, and that it was born in Nazareth. Why is called a flat pick?

I started with I Like Peanut Butter, complete with clapping, hand-motions and a freeze, stuff that breaks down the doors with little kids and teachers. I then introduced my Superstar response, again with gettin’ up and moving. Also, a nice pat on the back for their cooperation. We did the Tutti Tah, which really demolishes all sense of decorum. I wasn’t sure what to follow that with, but I figured I should play guitar again, and settled on Down By The Bay. A simple call and response, rhyming, rhyming and rhyming. Lots of spontaneous rhymes which the teachers often grin. As I was playing, I notice I had a short time left and made the song short. Time flies.

I had prepared for the big ending: Jelly in the Dish. I use scarves for this one, and had gotten in a new stash of them so that I could have one for everyone. We used them all. I immediately say, “Let’s hide!” and all put our scarves over our heads. This really centers and quiets the crowd. We then played with unveiling a variety of faces (they get to chose, but I always add “your teacher””). Again, modeling emotions.

I get the kids to spell the alphabet with scarf movement, A, O, Z, and their choices. Then we do the first letter of their name (ownership).  I really love how the room is morphing into a sea of  swirling colors. Psychedelic.

Now it’s time to dance. Jelly in the Dish is a great tune, once a jump-rope rhyme, now transposed to my kitchen. I love playing funky music on my Martin, and the kids get to dance in their own safe and creative space. At the end of the chorus, I say “Jelly in the Dishhhhhhh…..” and ask the kids to toss the scarves in the air, something they usually do on their own, but this creates a controlled splash of color in space. I then ask the kids to trade scarves with a neighbor, and that’s a great social device. (I am so manipulative)

I surrendered to the chaos by having the kids come up and put the scarves back in the bag. The kids get to “break the plane” to enter my performance space. A good choice in the moment. Connection.

I get the kids to sit down and make my final comments: first of all, share something we did with your parents at home, and then asked they liked, getting them to reflect on what just happened, and arming the kids a vocabulary to vocalize. (One kid said she like the microphone.) I then ask some of the teachers what stood out to them: rhyming, movement, coffee, Martin guitar, fun. It’s always informative, and often humorous. It’s also good to acknowledge their input and the kids get to hear adults converse in the room. Community.

I packed up my small gear and wheeled out my stuff to the front of the school, still running on adrenalin. (It does catch up to me later in the next day or so.) I’ll be sending out my kids’ CDs to the music teacher, in spite of the fact that few teachers have players in their classroom. One teacher had primed the kids before hand with my I Like Peanut Butter CD. Always amazing at the life and longevity of my music. That feels good.

There ya go. I was busy.

 

Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

Short RockRoots tour – Part II

Memorial Middle School, Cedar Ridge, NJ

There was  some nasty  weather headed our way on Thursday, for a middle school in Cedar Ridge, NJ. Two show at 9 and 10 am for 225 5th/7th grades and 6th/8th grades. It was a nice move on the principal’s part to mix the classes this way. Some intelligent design.

I didn’t sleep a whole lot the night before (I over-think these things), and hit the road at 6:30. Easy driving and, upon arrival, the staff was great. The one music teacher was a classical guitarist, so we had some great conversations about our reading/ear training difference( I wish I could read, and he wishes he could improvise), the fact we both have over 5 guitars, etc. He particularly loved the show and it’s impact on the kids. Great respect for music teachers.

I’m still dealing with using a stool for the shows, but I really can’t do these gigs standing up these days. I’m dealing with some heart issues/ meds that sap my strength. I working on that stuff as I get older. Still, the show is strong, the band plays well, we engage both students and teachers and the material is well-thought out and intelligently presented.

Amazingly, we still knock it out of the park, even on a rainy Thursday morning somewhere in New Jersey.

Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

Short RockRoots tour at the end of the year – Part I

New Road School, Somerset, NJ

Tuesday’s assembly was at  a special-needs high school in a facility in a industrial park in Somerset, NJ. We were scheduled for an 11 am show for about 75 kids and 30 teachers. We love doing these gigs for many reasons and I’ll chat about that shortly.

It’s actually nice that the facility is in a large, industrial-use building. It was nicely outfitted to suit the situation. The hall that we played in was made to look like a neighborhood street, with various “shops” as classrooms for a whole spread of life-skills centers: beautician, printer shop, etc. Intelligent design.

The staff was welcoming. We set up and did our set. A couple things different. I decided to introduce the band members right away. Good to get to know each other off the bat.

The I Like Peanut Butter set, with four kids on stage was, as always, a high moment for all the kids and teachers, and these kids nailed, complete with shades – a beautiful Teaching Artist tool that I’m proud of.

Why are these shows meaningful?

We create a community event for everyone, kids and teachers and staff. I love being able to watch the kids get up and dance in a safe space. I love to watch the teachers watch the kids having fun. I love to watch the teachers react and move to the music. I love the fact the band gets to experience all this joy. We are making a difference.

It’s an invisible gig for some folks, but it’s worth it all.

Friday, September 30th, 2022

Time Capsule assemblies at Pine Run ES

I returned to Pine Run ES in New Britain, PA for two assemblies on Wednesday morning. I played here a long time ago and as I was welcomed back, one teacher reminded me that I had done a songwriting residency here back in 1996. We had written two songs A Day at Pine Run and Pine Run 2021 and the school had put the cassette of these songs in a time capsule that was opened just last year after 25 years. (They couldn’t find a cassette player to play it…. I said it was like the CD’s I had with me today.)

I had a great chat with the custodian about guitars, etc. (how many custodians I meet are musicians?!) I set up in the gym and waited for the fun to begin. It’s been a while since I’ve done a solo show, so I was scratching my head on what to do, but trusted my instincts.

Both shows went well as I rattled off I Like Peanut Butter, Tutti Tah, We Gave Names, Down By the Bay, Giants and All Around the Kitchen. The response was great.

I brought my mandolin with me on this one and used it to “go mobile” (no mikes and wander the crowd), break the plane, as they say, for Down By the Bay. As we made up rhymes, it was a good device to engage the whole audience (including the 6th graders!). I eventually pit one side of teachers to come up with animals for the other rank of teachers, and the back and forth between them proves to be a gas, with the students invested as well. The process proves to be electric.

It’s always a challenge to engage the older classes and the teacher who booked me made a point of thanking the sixth grade for “modelling” good behavior by staying involved, to make an example for the younger students. I backed her up on that, and the kids actually did it. As I told the custodian as we headed out to my car at the end, I often have a chip on my shoulder when the older kids get an attitude and I react in kind. I recognize this tendency and try to reign myself in, in spite of myself. Today, the good vibes were evident.

As I’m doing these days, at the end of the show, I asked the teachers what they like about the show. This also models for the students positive feedback of what just happened as a community and adults having a conversation. It also reinforces the concepts I foster as a Teaching Artist. Things came up like: rhyming, having fun, dancing as a community, creativity, laughter, and I like to follow up with, how rare these opportunities are for a school community. A very rich moment for us all.

I wonder what those old Pine Run songs sound like? I wish I had a copy of them, twenty five years later.

 

Friday, September 23rd, 2022

RockRoots – Crack o’ Dawn on Friday

We played a religious school this early this morning – Bryn Athyn Church School north of Philly – and we had a strange stipulation: we had to be set up by 8:00 am for an 8:30 show, with a half hour church service in between.

I left 4th Street at 5:45 and traveled the NE Extension down to the Huntington Valley area, a bearable 75 minutes. I made it with my usual hour to make contact, scope out the venue, lug the sound system in and tune up.

Bryn Athyn Church School

Amazingly, the band also got there with time to spare (pros that they are…), set up on stage and the curtain closed in front of us. There were hymns, prayers, invocations, a sermonette on “Walking and The First Commandment”, more prayers and hymns, and then we were introduced, the curtains parted and we launched into the show.

We did a good show and the kids were really responsive. I’m feeling better about this revival of the show, post-Covid, and the band is tight, and my monologue is becoming smoother. I’m still working on remembering some of the expositions, but I’m not as worried about leaving whole sections out earlier in the year. That’s good. I’m getting really good with the pacing of my introductions. Always learning how to do it better.

Somehow, I related Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues” to the preacher/teacher’s homily. Phew…

As with our Catholic school assemblies, the audience (about 240 kids and 25 teachers) runs from K through 8th grade; the show has something for everyone, even if some of the historical observations are at a pretty advanced level. Still, the little ones get to see a live band in a social situation, the older kids get some sophisticated education, and the teachers are engaged to the point of dancing with the kids. The biggest takeaway is it’s great to see the whole community have a great time together. It’s still a pretty powerful presentation, in spite of its somewhat dated material. (We end up at Disco these days. We’ve, thankfully, eliminated the Rap.) Still, it’s a well-oiled and effective Teaching Experience.

I was back home by 11 am. How rock n’ roll is that?

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

Wilmington’s Mack Park on Tuesday

This was the second Wilmington Park gig of the summer for me so I had some peace of mind as to what to expect. Heading out with time to spare, I was surprised when, on the Blue Route south, my GPS’s estimate of arrival time jumped 45 minutes to exactly 11:00 am, my start time. Sure enough, as I got to about 22 miles away, things began to crawl. I called ahead to Sid, my trusted liaison, to let him know I’d be there “nick ‘o time”. Sure enough, I pulled up to the park exactly at 11 am.

Mack Park

Sid had things ready for me to plug in, under a nice tree, while a group of kids and counsellors were gathering not far away. As I was ready to begin, that group got up and walked away towards a different part of the park, leaving me with a dad and his two kids. (They were at the last gig, too. Cool.)

So, I set in with the four of us. Eventually, another group moved into the park and I invited them over but only five or so girls came over from that group. (Apparently, the rest of the group was being disciplined. Sheesh).

It was a scattered beginning to the gig for me, so I opened up the bag, invited the girls to grab and instrument and play. Eventually, I jettisoned the mike and amp and simple worked with the kids in front of me. One particular girl was all in, and was a delight to work with. As I did Jelly in the Dish, she picked up on the idea, and started making it about being on the beach. It was a pretty creative avenue, so we took off on that, making a day on the beach sounds. I could use this down the line.

Things were scattered on my part, and as we neared the end of the hour, a few kids headed off to the water spray part of the park, and I wrapped things up early, not with a bang but a whimper. Sid and I packed our stuff up, as Sid smoked the joint I found next to my amp.

The travel home was quick and direct, but I felt that I hadn’t done my best on this one. I’ll feel better when the pay drops in my bank account mid-month.

Monday, July 25th, 2022

Sayre Child Center on Tuesday

I returned to a nice daycare center on the northside of Bethlehem for three sets: K and 1st, toddlers, and the older kids. Each set provides its own challenges. We were on the lawn on the side of the school, made in the shade on a hot day.

The first set with the K’s and 1st graders is always a gas.  The K’s are still adjusting socially, so they don’t really know how to sing along, but the 1st graders are ready to rock. The toddlers are there to observe, so I play to the teachers, and they get it. The older kids gave me something extra to work on today.

I always learn something from every gig, and I stumbled upon an interesting way to engage the tweeners at a kids’ assembly. The older kids don’t like to be played down to, while the younger kids are ready for anything. Today, I started out not playing guitar and talked about body sounds. I started out with my hands routine, different ways of snapping, rubbing, clapping. I expanded that to knee slaps, mouth music, and others. I then invited one of the older girls to come up and lead the “orchestra” and she launched right in with a great variety of claps, rhythms and more. She took charge and everyone followed along. I asked an older boy to come up, and sure enough, he responded with a great set of sounds and rhythms – mostly call-and-response – including the ole under the arm pit fart sound. Classic!

I took some time to point out what had just happened – the creativity, the spontaneity, the leadership involved. I gave up my role and became a participant. The teachers were surprised as well.

As always, at the end of each session, I asked what the kids liked (Tutti Tah, Peanut Butter, Giants) and then asked the teachers what they like best. Those responses are really enlightening for me and I think valuable for them as well.

Friday, May 27th, 2022

Governor’s Award in Arts Education on Thursday

This was a pretty big deal for me in my strange but not-so-little world as an arts educator. The folk world knows that I been playing for kids for thirty plus years, but few have had the chance to see me do it, nor do they realize the creative challenge of doing what I do. It’s not part of the folk scene, but I play for thousands of people every year and that counts for something. This was one of those moments that counted for me.

I was nominated by my friends at Young Audiences of NJ and E. PA, a booking group I’ve been with since 1991. They were the first to book RockRoots early on, and have been the major consistent source of income for me (and my family) for thirty years, and have been instrumental in my development as a Teaching Artist. Lots of diverse performance possibilities and situations, as well as numerous high-level workshops with fellow TA’s over many years.

I was part of a roster of YANJ awardees, along with fellow TA’s Mary Knysh, Erik James Montgomery, David Gonzalez, booking pro Carol Hunt and a few corporate supporters. Waiting for things to begin, I was able to connect with Mary, a world music specialist from Bloomsburg. We both know Rand Whipple who’s from that town and travelled with me and Touchstone in Mexico in the early 80’s. Deep roots, again.

We finally we allowed in to the hall, and I found that my assigned set was an empty space. That was disconcerting, but didn’t matter a great deal. Lots of seats. I sat next to a principal being honored for Distinguished Service in Theater Education and we struck up another fine conversation about my high school theater experiences, financial support for the arts in schools. She said she had to leave early since the Prom was that night. I said I hope she gets a corsage.

So, the Young Audiences roster came up, and then my name. I hopped up on the stage to make the long walk across and I did a little dance for about four beats and the audience ignited. (not much spontaneity from the awardees so far.) I acknowledged the audiences response, and while getting my photo with the proclamation, I looked at it and said, “Paper,” again tickling the crowd. Curious and spontaneous but I got several compliments from folks later on. How little it takes, and how unconscious I am about being on stage to engage an audience.

The rest of the program featured many very talented high schoolers in Debate, Art, Music, Theater with some very nice short pieces and lots of awards. It was great to see the next generation of performers, and the salute to their talents was fine to see.

I drove off to a YANJ reception at a restaurant near Princeton for some wine and pretty good snacks. As we stood around, I picked up conversations and congratulations with many of the YANJ staff, many of whom I go back decades with. It was cool that when I walked into the small reception room, I got some applause and thanks for my impromptu dance. Funny that it rung a bell with the arts folks.

After an hour of standing around drinking my ginger ale and inhaling the tasty hors d’oeuvres, I headed out home, thanking every one for this honor. I looked forward to a crisp hour and a half drive through the Jersey landscape. It ended up being three hours, with some navigation errors on my part and a large accident on Rt 78. I arrived home after 11:30 exhausted. Still, a great day for me.

 

Saturday, May 21st, 2022

Marvine Climate Change Residency – final day

Bill Christine and students discussing art work.

Bill Christine, Katie Santoro and I came down to the final day to wrap up our Climate Change residency at Marvine. We had to document the project for Doug Roysdon in order to give him the ability to market this process for prospective funding, so we had an hour and a quarter to finish it up.

Painting the cardboard costumes

Doug was able to arrange to have Al Silvestre to bring his camera for stills and video, something I was particularly glad for, since I was prepared to take videos with my own equipment, while trying to interact with the students. Whew!

We decided to break the studio sessions into three pieces. The first manageable slot was to record the kids doing the Who Dat choruses for the four verses. One older girl proved to be a problem, saying that she didn’t want to be in no video. I had to prod her several times, often doing my mean ole grump to convince her to look like she was smiling. (I eventually apologized to her and she eventually relaxed).

Chorus: Who dat?  Who dat? Who dat, you say.

We’re the Brezz Family, here to save the day. 2x

I’m a Wild Fire in the forest, better get out of my way. 2x

I’m Old Man Pollution, making your blues skies grey. 2x

I’m Carbon Dioxide, changing our climate every single day. 2x

We rehearsed and did several takes and managed to get some good footage, but it was an introduction to production for these kids and it took a lot of focus and energy to get through this.

Next up was recording the verses with the kids in the cardboard “costumes”. With the help of Doug and Bill, we were able to put together the kids moving behind the cut outs, adding construction paper props, working on “faces” of the characters, etc. We decided to skip the kids singing and went with my guitar as the sound track, to add the lyrics later. This turned out to be a very successful and rich session.

Working on the lyrics for the song.

With only about fifteen minutes left, I turned to working with a fifth grade boy as the narrator, and have him be the vocal actor doing the verses. We did them out loud and then had him do them solo. That worked really well, and, though the verses were new to him, he was able to pick up on the inflections and delivered nicely, to the delight of everyone listening. He really stepped up. We’ll be able to sync his narration with the guitar sound track from the earlier video. We might be able to pull this off.

I hope that Al does a good job editing his version of the song (we still have to find funding for him) and I plan on working on my version of Who Dat? for my own purposes (and the fun of home productions). Doug hopes to put together a short video of the project in order to find more work for us all.

 

Friday, May 6th, 2022

Amy Forsyth’s Design Class, Mountain Top Campus, Thursday

My friend, Amy Forsyth, runs an instrument design class for Lehigh students, and invites me for the final display and critique of the class’s projects. I did this several years ago in the basement of one of the buildings on campus, but this year, they’ve moved up to a spacious lab on the Mountain Top Campus.

Amy invited my pal Russ Rentler up, to join in on some jamming and commentary. We were out on the lawn this afternoon in temperate climes. As the students demonstrated their works, we talked about what worked and what didn’t, and I was able to add some folk history and context to some similar instruments, noting that colorful instruments helped the joy of community music in many culture.

Students, Russ and myself.

The students’ work was inspired and the fact that Lehigh even has such a course for non-musical students is quite amazing. Amy is amazing as well.

Friday, May 6th, 2022

Marvine ES Climate Change Residency – III and IV

We decided to move to the Art Room for the next couple of sessions so that Bill can lead the way in slinging the paint to move things along. As could be expected, the attendance has shrunk to three or four students, but these kids are charged.

Two weeks ago we used cardboard frames with head cutouts for our three concepts. We worked on the Brezz Family during the first session, selecting colors, transferring characters. We also worked on vocabulary for Wild Fire, and I’ll put something together for the next session.

  1. We live on top of a hill, soaking up the breeze.

Our blades spinning in the air with the greatest of ease.

Taking that wind, put it in a battery.

Turning that wind power into cheap energy.

Chorus: Who dat (Who dat?) Who dat, you say?

We’re the Brezz Family, here to save the day. (2x)

The second session started on Wild Fire and Pollution cardboard characters. I was about 20 minutes late for this one (finishing up with Amy Forsythe’s Lehigh class), and Bill was in production mode with painting Brezz and Wild Fire. I settled in and ran the chords for the song to get it in my head and then joined in with painting the Pollution smoke stack. The kids were listening to some current pop tunes on the computer and goofing about. Bill was cracking the whip, in his friendly way.

With about 15 minutes left, we cleaned up and I introduced the Wild Fire verse. My young friend broke out his trumpet and we worked on a place for him on the Who Dat. The kids are getting into the chorus, the attitude of some of the words, and one older boy, who seems to have a flair for oratory, tried out the verses as an orator. This might be cool.

2. Like a dragon flying through the trees,

I’m a wild fire on the wind with flames in my teeth.

Yellow, Red and Orange in a wild salsa dance,

Leaping through the air from branch to branch.   Chorus...

We’ve got one session left in two weeks, and, gradually, we’re getting there. We talked about why there was such a attrition with the kids, and, we figured that we should have presented a fuller picture of what we were going to do. Part of this process is to develop a template, and, now, we can present a better idea, with photos, song, etc. for the kids and the school. We’re all learning on this one.

 

 

 

Friday, April 22nd, 2022

Marvine Climate Change – Session II

My task was to warm the kids up, and had fun with Tutti Tah, even though the oldest 5th grade girl, new to the class, wondered what was going on. Anyway, the kids were great.

We hoped to revisit our vocabulary list, which Bill did, but, as we figured out later, perhaps, because of lack of information and the reticence of answering questions in class, we didn’t get much out of the kids.

Windy Brezz

I did an exercise with rhythm instruments after dividing the class in two. Amazing that some of the kids had a problem with counting off in twos. (occasional “three”). What worked – we were able to break up the little click of 5th grade girls and spread the kids out. After getting each side to play a beat, and, importantly, our “big endings” (so much fun…), I had each side take one part of each line, with Bill leading the other side.

I’m made of carbon / So are you.

Carbon is in the air / It’s CO2.

Makes a monster hurricane / makes a monster drought.

Makes a monster wild fire / That’s what I thought.

I added: Who dat? Who dat? / Who dat? Who dat? I’m going to follow up with this later.

Mini Brezz

We pulled out wild fire, pollution, hurricane and drought and voted for wild fire and pollution. Since one young girl had already worked up the Wind Power Family, we went with that. Bill then divided up the groups into Wild Power, Wild Fire and Pollution, and introduced the idea of how that group could make costumes for themselves, and gave the kids paper and markers to ideate what that would look like.

As the session came to a close, we shared the pictures with the larger group. Time’s up.

Aliey Brezz

As Katie, Bill and I put our heads together, we figured that the kids should start painting a small model of their project, water-color on cardboard, next week, in preparation for creating a full size, production model. I still have to figure out how to get verses for the three WP, WF and P models. We figured I could frontload the three verses with the first two lines and have the kids finish them.

One boy really relished “scientist”, so we figured that he could read the lyrics as a mad scientist while I play the chords, incorporating the “who dat? into the song. We only have three more sessions so the pressure’s on.

This is hard work.

Saturday, April 9th, 2022

Marvine Residency – Climate Change – Day I

It was a dark and stormy Thursday afternoon, a perfect time to start our Climate Change residency at Marvine with my pal, Bill Christine and Katie Santoro, our teacher/liaison. A good group of about ten 4th and 5th graders (yes, there is a difference) and they seem to be ready to be engaged.

Climate Change. 

I started out with my scarves and the list of potential Climate Change (CC) characters on the board. I got the kids up and dancing, having them interpret the various items like pollution, smog, etc. It was a very good way to start out the session. The kids were moving, dancing, creating before they had a chance to think about it. We then went through the list and voted to start with Wind Power. We then made a vocabulary list on Wind Power on the board.

Bill then led with his graphic exercises by having the kids make four doodles on a page, swapping them with another student, then creating characters from those doodles, and having the character make a statement. Again, Bill creates a creative moment that breaks the inhibition of making self-conscious choices and puts them in the moment, and gets the kids to interact with each other. Wise….

While Bill was working with the kids, I had a chance to write a verse from the vocabulary list, try out some chords (also giving a sound track for the kids as they drew), and start to formulate some musical ideas in my head. I put the verse up on the board.

We gathered again on the floor and shared our favorite pictures/statements. I then tried out my verse with the kids, just to put some air in the song as time grew short. As per usual, I asked the kids (later, Bill and Katie) what they enjoyed doing, trying to crystalize some of what we were doing, and hopefully making it better to communicate with their parents later on.

Now we tackled what our WP creature would look like, and the discussion was lively and engaged as Bill did his stuff on the board. We needed a tall post, wild blowing hair, and an interesting, smiling face (Bill invited one of the kids to draw it on the board). We had to name this creature. I came up with Gusty Breeze, which morphed into Gus T. Breeze. I asked someone to print this on the board under Bill’s caricature and she wrote Gus T. Brezz, which, as it turns out, is even more cartoonlike. A keeper.

Several nice reactions as we dispersed at 5 pm. The smallest girl in the class was knocking off several versions of our Brezz character. Another girl said that she wished she could do this every day. And even one of the 5th grade subdued girls cracked a smile as we fist-bumped on the way out.

It’s a new thing for me to collaborate with another artist, and Bill and I pulled it off with style. We both can lead, support and get out of the way when necessary. Katie helped tremendously by taking part, documenting the lyrics and taking photos. She is a vital part of this process so that Bill and I can focus on the kids.

A great start.