We love our shoes

To my readers: I wrote this piece purely for your amusement. In no way is it meant to diminish the gravity of world events. Sometimes, when I have a lot on my mind, I deal with it by putting on puppet-shows and writing about small things.

Dear Dan Zanes,

I love your work. You've had many a mention on my blog even before you won the Grammy. Therefore, please understand that I have all our best interests at heart when I ask you please to stop talking about how you aren't interested in singing songs about tying your shoes or using a fork. Here are some examples of theme and variation:

*Dan Zanes is the big daddy of family music, by Chad Berndtson, Taunton Daily Gazette (exact quote also found in a Washington Post article) :

“It’s great to be able to do what I love and get attention for it,” Zanes said. “The landscape has definitely changed since I started doing this around 2000. I remember, there were a number of people who actually felt sorry for me singing songs about using a fork and learning to tie your shoes and stuff like that.”

*Dan Zanes wants parents to get with the music, by Stephanie Dunnewind, Seattle Times:

"I've been eating with a fork for almost 40 years now, so it's not something I'm going to become emotional about," [Zanes] said. "And it's not easy for kids to relate to romantic love. But somewhere in between learning to tie your shoes and songs about my old girlfriend is a huge range of subject matter. Almost anything is fair game once you get away from the two extremes."

*All in the family: Dan Zanes makes music for young and old, by Greg Glasgow, Daily Camera:

"I wanted songs that I could connect to emotionally and that my daughter would be excited about," says Zanes, 45, who started playing family music 12 years ago, when his daughter was born. "Songs about learning to tie your shoes or eat with a fork didn't really fit into that, because I've been eating with a fork for a long time. It doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

*Dan Zanes rocks for little kids, by By Maja Beckstrom, Portsmouth Herald

"I didn’t realize the world of children’s entertainment would be as segregated as it is," he says. "Kids can’t understand adult music because it’s largely about romance or sexual love, and grown-ups can’t understand kids’ music because they’ve already learned to use their fork and tie their shoes."

Mr. Zanes, you make it sound as if there is an abundance of songs about the subjects you eschew. I figured some preliminary research was in order. As I was looking through my music collection for songs about shoes, I came up with a few: "Blue Suede Shoes," written by Carl Perkins and performed by Elvis Presley, "Boogie Shoes" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band (yes, I own the "Staying Alive" soundtrack), Cyndi Lauper's "Put on Your Green Shoes" (which is about saving the environment), and "I Love My Shoes," by Eric Ode. Yes, Ode's song is geared for children, but we know very well that some grownups kvell over footwear, and if you tell them to hold back on shoe-purchases, they will get emotional.

So... I couldn't find any songs in my music library that covered tying shoes (although here's a nifty link if you're looking for rhymes) or using a fork.* That doesn't mean they don't exist, but I do listen to a lot of music. So, with all due respect, Mr. Zanes, it's time to put to rest your quotes about the two subjects you don't find interesting, because hardly anyone else is singing about them anyway.**

Thank you.

*Did you know that over 2/3 of the world uses either fingers or chopsticks when eating? Verify this fact and more in the book What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks and Chopsticks, by Patricia Lauber.

**("Yeah, Alkelda, but what about this musician?" Fine, Smarty! You've got me there.)

Dan Zanes on the CBS Early Show

Dan Zanes was on the June 17 CBS Early Show. After the commercials, you can see a little interview and listen to the band perform "Colas" here. For some reason, I can't link the actual concert, so you'll have to type "Dan Zanes" into the site's search function to bring it up. The beginning lyrics for "Colas" translate thus:

When I had money, they all called me "Mr. Nicolas"
Now that I don't have it they just call me "Colas."

Colas, Colas, Colas and Nicolas
I give you so much love and get so little back
If you want, if you can, if not you will see
How beautiful dances the girlfriend of Nicolas!

Dan Zanes Interview on PlumTV

This is a pretty good interview with Dan Zanes on PlumTV, intersperced with recent concert footage:




You'll note the part in the Dan Zanes interview where DZ recommends you don't invite a stranger into your house to perform for your kids' birthdays, but have friends work on three songs and perform them at the party as a birthday present. In general, that's good advice. Specifically, though, that might put me out of a job, so please, take his words with a grain of salt (or a savory spice). In other words, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain on the tv!"

We've seen a real revival in children's music, and music that appeals to children. While there is still a lot of drek out there for children and grownups, the time has come to stop qualifying our children's music lists as "songs adults won't hate" or "music that won't make grownups sick." These days, you don't have to look hard for good children's music beyond Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins, and Woody Guthrie. Cool Tunes for Kids, Children's Music That Rocks, and Zooglobble are three reputable children's music resources on the internet. Want more? Check out their blogrolls.

Dan Zanes in 2008

Blurry photo taken with Bede's phone as we didn't want to carry around the old clunker

Dan Zanes and Friends opened with Water for the Elephants:

"Circus came to town and to the circus I went
Didn't have a ticket didn't have a cent,
Circus man said, "To see the show without a cent,
You gotta carry water for the elephants."

Of DZAF, Colin Brooks, the drummer, was the only original member on stage. Barbara Brousel has a young daughter she probably didn't want to leave behind in Brooklyn, and Father Goose was not on the scene. The new musicians are lovely, though. You can find their bios here. The special guests this time were local South African and drummer and singer Siya Manyakanyaka-Kelley (who performed last year as well) and tap-dancer Derick Grant.

Dan Zanes is returning to Seattle in early December to preview a holiday show that will officially debut on Broadway. We're going!

Song of the Week: Hey Little Red Bird

Dan Zanes is returning to Seattle, and once more, we're going to see him. Last year, it was as much fun watching Lucia dance with the other children as it was to listen to the music taking place on-stage. In honor of the concert, this Song of the Week is an original composition by Dan Zanes called "Hey Little Red Bird." The song is in the key of F, and silly man, Zanes has the chords actually written out in the key of F. That's all very well for violinists (like Philip the Pun) and cellists (like my cousin), but what guitarist likes to play in the key of F unless s/he has nimble fingers for all of those barred chords? Lady K might be up for it, but not I! So, I have transposed the song to the key of E. Slap a capo on the first fret, and you're good to go. The "B" chord is now a B7. It sounds jazzy that way, and if you do an alternating bass line (move your middle finger from the 5th string to the 6th string, same fret), you'll evoke the sound of the tuba harmony.


Click on the image to enlarge it

Speaking of red birds, do you know The Lion and the Little Red Bird, by Eliza Klevin? It's a good storytime selection for when you want to show how people can be friends even when they don't speak each other's languages.

Dan Zane drinks beer...

... or at least, he used to. Back when Dan Zanes was in The Del Fuegos, the band made a commercial for Miller beer. The most prophetic quote comes at the end, when Zanes says, "Rock and roll's folk music pretty much...'cos it's for folks!" Did he have any idea that when his Grammy arrived, it would be for a children's music album? Probably not.



The Del Fuegos videos on YouTube:
Don't Run Wild
I Still Want You
Long Slide (For An Out)

Song of the Week: All Around the Kitchen

Today's post shall be brief, as we're all busy reading MotherReader's Carnival of Children's Literature: the Tips Edition. Therefore, it's fitting that today's song of the week only requires one chord: A minor. You could throw in another chord if you liked (C chord), but if you're a new guitarist who wants to march your storytime audience around the room with much singing and dancing, then grab your guitar-strap, play your A minor chord, and start singing "All Around the Kitchen." For the video of Dan Zanes singing "All Around the Kitchen," click here. The basic lyrics are thus:

Chorus
All around the kitchen
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo
All around the kitchen
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo
All around the kitchen
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo
All around the kitchen
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo

Verse
Well you stop right there
(cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo)
Put your hands in the air
(cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo)
Then you jump up and down
(cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo)
And you turn all around
(cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo)

All around the kitchen...

When I play the song, I strum for "All around the kitchen..." and then during the verses that I make up, I drum on my guitar. As the chorus starts up again, I resume strumming. However, you do what works for you. Play it in E minor instead of A minor if that's easier. This is the perfect song for beginning guitarists. TadMack and Adrienne, I'm looking at you (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo). My daughter loves to dance to this song and gets furious with me when I stop.

Next Dan Zanes project

I just got word that Dan Zanes and Rankin Don a.k.a. Father Goose are working on an album they hope to release on October 23, 2007. I'm happy. I'm looking forward to Alabama 3's new release this fall, too. I know that in many ways the two groups appear to be on opposite ends of the spectrum (i.e. one band is okay to play in front of my child and the other band I don't even play in front of my friends), but really, they have more in common than one would think. Um, just give me some time to think of what the common ground might be (besides the fact that I enjoy their music).

Dan Zanes and Fans

Dan Zanes and the Gleefuls

We had front row center seats at the Dan Zanes concert yesterday, but Lucia did not sit in her seat at all. She was one of the first of the children to head toward the mosh pit. We enjoyed watching all the children dancing, holding hands, twirling each other, and making a human-train (hands on shoulders) for "Catch That Train!" After the last song ("Sweet Rosyanne"), Lucia cried because she wanted more music. Later, she told us,"We're going to see Dan Zanes again tomorrow."

Lucia among her fellow dancers

Dan's the Man

Artwork by Donald Saaf

Tomorrow, Bede, Lucia and I will attend the 1 pm show of Dan Zanes and Friends. We have front row seats. Maybe we'll see you locals in the mosh pit? Children's mosh pits tend to be slightly less dangerous than grown-up mosh-pits. There's usually no body-slamming or stage-diving. When we saw Captain Bogg & Salty in January, the moshers had strict instructions from Mr. Bogg himself only to jump up and down, not side-to-side or headlong into one's neighbors. At the end of "Nellie the Elephant," Captain Bogg made motions to dive into the audience, but Buckle held him back and said, "No no no!"

For a snippet of Dan in concert, check out "Polly Wolly Doodle."

Dan Zanes wins Grammy

Dan Zanes and Father Goose
Photo by REUTERS/Mike Blake


"Catch That Train!" by Dan Zanes and Friends won the 2007 Grammy award for Best Musical Album for Children. Huzzah, huzzah! Bede, Lucia and I are going to one of the Dan Zanes concerts in April, and we've got front row tickets. It'll be Lucia's first time in the mosh pit.

During his acceptance speech, Dan Zanes said, "We have such power in the creative community. And I just hope that when we got back to our homes that we will sing some songs together. The more songs we sing together the better chance we have for a peaceful America, and an America where everyone feels accepted."
Source: The Bellingham Herald

Storyteller Bill Harley won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children with Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates & Dogs. I haven't heard the album, but I've seen Bill Harley do storytelling (with guitar), I've retold some of his stories, and I'm pleased for Bill Harley as well.

Not nominated but fully deserving: Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are My Little Bird. This album is my birthday present of choice to give to the under-5 set.

The Ukulele revolution starts in the home

The new DZ Flea ukulele arrived today. After some initial protestation over the necessity of tuning the wee instrument, Lucia started to strum "Polly Wolly Doodle" and strike dramatic ukulele-player poses. Now she's doing windmills to "Cape Cod Girls" and other rollicking sea shanties. I can't keep up.


Psssst... what isn't pictured here:

Lucia: You don't play the ukulele!
Alkelda: Fine, you play the ukulele, and I'll play the guitar.
Lucia: You don't play the guitar!
Alkelda: That's not fair. You don't get to tell me I can't play the guitar. That's like me telling you that you can't play with your dollies.
Lucia: You don't play! You don't! (Bawl, screech, wail)
Alkelda: Bede, please come home. My daughter is oppressing me.

I'm not kidding. Sometimes Lucia says, "You don't sing it! You don't dance." I feel as if I'm in the middle of the film "Footloose" and Lucia is the character played by John Lithgow. There was a time when we sat next to each other and made music.

Play on a Snow Day

Snow days and sick days have kept Lucia out of school for a week. She is too young and I am too old to enjoy time off from school. Despite trips out into the snow, we were both restless. Yesterday, I brought out the Playmobil playground set pieces I'd been collecting over the past while, and sewed a playmat to bring it all together. Sewing the playmat was a pleasant diversion from potty-training. To date, potty-training is the most tedious part of parenting for me. Dan Zanes said, “I can't get too emotional about songs about learning to eat with a fork or tie my shoe." I'm guessing that Zanes is in no hurry to compose a learn-to-use-the-potty song. Neither am I, but if I do become inspired, I'll let you know. The lyrics will be to the tune of "Going to the Zoo."

Catch that Flea

Happy New Year!

Here is the 2007 Grammy nominees list for Best Musical Album for Children:

"Baby Einstein Meet The Orchestra"-- Various Artists
"Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing Along Symphonies"-- Beethoven's Wig
"Catch That Train!"-- Dan Zanes And Friends
"My Best Day"--Trout Fishing In America
"The Sunny Side Of The Street"--John Lithgow

To celebrate, Dan Zanes is giving me (and a few others, for a price) a Flea ukulele:

Social Music

Dan Zanes with his daughter Anna
Photo by Anna Williams
Pomegranate Arts Project gallery

Back in October, Dan Zanes recorded a "Nodcast Podcast." It's a free download, and is under 20 minutes long. After listening to the interview and music, I'm convinced even more that Lucia needs a ukulele.

If that isn't enough for you, here's a National Public Radio interview from 2003:

Christian Bordal on Music: 'House Party' from Dan Zanes. You'll need Windows Media or RealPlayer to listen to the interview.

I was already taking guitar lessons when I first heard Dan Zanes. However, it was Dan Zanes who inspired me to work on playing the guitar in local social settings. In college, I attended lots of musical coffee-houses on campus, and wished that I could be one of the performers myself. Instead, I wrote a radio-play version of Daniel M. Pinkwater's Guys From Space* and had friends act it out.

I plan to take voice lessons starting in 2007. I plan to be comfortable with the guitar in front of other people by this time next year. Rather, I am comfortable in front of other people now when playing guitar, but I hope actually to hit the right notes most of the time!

*My motto is from the book is, "We are space-guys. We know what we are doing."

Poetry Friday: "Hey, Little Red Bird"

"Hey Little Red Bird" is an original song by Dan Zanes. Zanes has the song chords published in the key of F, with regular A flats and B flats. No thank you! I like to listen to those chords, but I don't like to play them. I've transposed the song into the key of D. There's still a pesky F chord in the song, but playing it is much more managable now.

Hey, little red bird
Hey, little red bird gone again
Up into the clouds you're gone again
You sang a beautiful song but you're gone, gone, gone,
I'll catch up somehow...

I asked a fortune teller dragonfly
Who just happened to be passing by
She said it wouldn't be long for that song, that song
And I believed her somehow
--Dan Zanes

For complete lyrics and a song sample, click here.

I'm off to my guitar lesson, now.

Laugh, kookaburra (grumble, camel)

I've been working on "Water for the Elephants," my song for Sunday's Coffee Shop Jam. Here is my version, with some different animal sounds:


WATER FOR THE ELEPHANTS
(Played in the key of E, but capoed up to G)

Circus came to town and to the circus I went
Didn't have a ticket, didn't have a cent
The circus man said, “To see the show without a cent
You've got to carry water for the elephants.”

So I carried water for the elephants
Back and forth to the well I went
My feet got sore and my back got bent
But I couldn't fill up the elephants.

I said to that man with the standing up collar
“I bet two bits the elephants are hollow,”
The circus man said, “Well, first you'll see
The animals in the menagerie.”

First saw the lion and the lion he roared (roar)
Saw the wild duck and the wild duck quacked (quack)
Saw the wild cats, and the wild cats meowed (meow)
Saw the wild cow and the wild cow mooed (moo)
Saw Mister Possum sitting on a limb
Two fruit-bats sitting next to him
Saw the wild python like in the zoo
Wild rooster said, “Cock-a-doodle--doo.”

Saw the wild birds and the birds sang sweet (too-wheet)
Saw the wild dogs and the wild dogs barked (ruff ruff)
Saw the kookaburra and the kookaburra laughed (ho ho ho ha ha ha)
Saw the wild camel and the camel complained (grrr-um, grrr-um)
Saw the hippopotamus splash in the water
Trying to flirt with the crocodile's daughter
Saw the giraffe and a big kangaroo
Wild horned owl hollered, “Hoo hoo hoo.”

I went down to the circus tent
Sure am doggone glad I went
Saw the whole show, it didn't cost a cent
Because I carried water for the elephants.

Some of the animal noises are standard, while some of them are a bit more uncommon for storytime singing. My guitar teacher and I were working on animal sounds this morning. His kookaburra sound was akin to the Tarzan monkey cry, whereas my rendition was "something funny from a cartoon, but definitely not a kookaburra." There are a number of renditions of kookaburra sound files, but I'm aiming for the one featured in Common Birds of the Australian National Botanic Gardens and camel sound number 5 on this Free Safari Sounds page.

So far, my two main challenges with this song are:
1) Plucking the 5th string on the B7 chord without looking at the guitar
2)Keeping from laughing while I make the camel sound

Waltzing Matilda

Lucia came into the bedroom early this morning, dragging the tray from her old high-chair. We had brought up the high-chair because of a recent visit from a baby (with the baby’s parents, of course) and hadn’t yet gotten around to bringing it back to the basement. I thought Lucia was trying to make an emphatic point that she was hungry, but no, she wanted us to sing “Waltzing Matilda” to her. I didn’t know many of the words, but I did have a copy of Rise Up Singing by my bed, so I looked up the words and sang it to her. I was groggy and hoarse, but Lucia was satisfied with my rendition. As she left the bedroom, still carrying the high-chair tray, it occurred to me that much of my life has a surreal quality about it that I just take for granted.

Anyway...

Here are the first verses of "Waltzing Matilda."

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"

"Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"

Along came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me!"

"Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me?"
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me!"


Back of the centennial coin commemorating the song.


I was going to look up all the words that are potentially unfamiliar to people outside of Australia (I'm one of them, as I thought the song was evocative of Edward Lear's poetry). However, Wikipedia has already done the job. Go ahead, follow the link. How can you go another day without satisfying your curiosity about billabongs and swagmen? You can hear a snippet of Dan Zanes' version here.



This is not Waltzing Matilda.

I like Dan Zanes (and you will too)

Yesterday evening, I informed Bede that Dan Zanes was my new non-romantic crush. I taped on our refrigerator a small photo of Dan Zanes wearing a green suit and a pink shirt. I like Dan Zanes' original songs, like "Thrift Shop" and "Moonlit Town." I like his interpretations of Leadbelly staples, such as "Grey Goose" and "Rock Island Line" (music samples available at the sites of the usual suspects).

I like Dan Zanes' voice: it's a bit scratchy in a comfortable way. If Arlo Guthrie and Tom Petty took out most of the nasal twang out of their voices, but left a bit of the zing, they might sound like Dan Zanes. But don't take my word for it. Listen for yourselves:

Video links
All Around the Kitchen
Jump Up
Polly-Wolly Doodle


As a side-note: I'm a particular fan of "All Around the Kitchen" because I can play it using only one chord. My uncle points out that there are a few more chords than the one I demonstrated during the East Coast visit, but seriously, all you need is one chord, plus lots of enthusiasm for jumping up and down, making your arms into trees, walking and wobbling your knees, all while strumming that one chord.

Other things I like about Dan Zanes:
His bed-head hair
His friends (who help out on many of the songs)
His fashion sense
His inclusion of chords and lyrics on his albums
His taste in music
His crinkly eyes


Really, what's not to like? I know that there is some fear from the fans that commercial success from television appearances will make Dan Zanes too popular and we'll have to fight for concert tickets. Fortunately, Dan Zanes is not The Wiggles. His music is targeted for children, but enjoyable for all ages. I listen to Dan Zanes even when Lucia isn't around.

In case you're still not convinced, here's a recent article about Dan Zanes in the Village Voice. It looks as if I just missed him in New York. So it goes.

What a cutie!

Hem hem.

The King of France Needs Fancy Pants*

I'm doing some young toddler (12-24 months old) programs tomorrow and next Tuesday. It's been awhile since I've actively worked in my chosen profession for actual pay, but I'm more worried about the commute than I am about the storytimes. Some people get stage fright. I get road jitters. The drive is always much better than I anticipate, but even after 5 years' driving experience I can still give myself goosebumps imagining horrid things that might happen along the way. Maybe my new trousers will inspire confidence:



Note: The shirt is tucked in for illustrative purposes only! That way, you can see the draw-string with the star buttons attached:


I was going to wear these trousers on Mother's Day, but I didn't even get them finished until last night. Now, I'm so pleased with them that I need to sing a happy little song:

Thrift Shop, by Dan Zanes.

I plan to learn the chords to this song, even though the F# is intimidating. Still, it's not as intimidating as the interstate highway.