I can't remember when I first realized that producing kids music was a new sub-specialty I wanted to investigate, though it couldn't have been hurt by the kids music production panel at this year's
Kindiefest. But more significantly, it just seemed to me like in the past year, more artists were securing help in recording their albums, and I was curious why that might be happening.
I spoke with a couple of the producers on the panel,
Tor Hyams and
Dean Jones, last month, prior to their panel in Brooklyn about producing albums. Hyams has produced kids albums by Frances England, the Okee Dokee Brothers, Jim Cosgrove, and Lunch Money as well as Milkshake's Grammy-nominated
Great Day and his
A World of Happiness compilation. (He's also produced albums for Lou Rawls and Joan Osborne, among others.) Jones' producing credits include 5 albums for his band Dog on Fleas, 2 solo disk, Uncle Rock's
The Big Picture, and the forthcoming benefit compilation
Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti. He's also done work for various film, stage, and TV projects -- "an awful lot of awful work for awful TV shows," as Jones jokingly puts it. They have as much broad background as any as producing albums for families these days.
Zooglobble: What do you actually do as a producer? Does that differ from project to project?
There is no single answer, and, yes, that varies from project to project. Jones notes that "the term 'producer' is a loose one - I might do exactly the same thing for 2 different artists and be called a producer on one of the records and engineer on the other."
Hyams says,
"I typically do everything from helping to finesse the songwriting, advising on song arrangements, sitting in on band rehearsals to determine sounds and arrangements, booking the recording studio, hiring musicians (if needed), planning out the recording (the order of tracking based on number of days, overdubs, etc). Once in the recording studio, I acquire all the right sounds, from getting the right amp sounds for guitar and bass to choosing the right microphones for acoustic based instruments and vocals. During the actual recording or 'getting takes,' I will often comment and advise on performance (suggest a better or different way to play a part, come up with parts on the spot and work with the musician to execute those parts), all the while making sure the recording is sonicaly rich and, ideally, doesn't sound like anyone else. All in all, I like to help create the sound of a band/artist or, at least, bring something new the the table the artist has not produced before. The ultimate goal of producing for me, though, is to serve the singer and the song, to make the best sounding recording available given the performers.
While Jones' response isn't as technical, he makes the same point -- he serves the artist:
"I think ultimately a producer should have the overall vision of a recording project in mind, and help the artist make a great record. It really can differ from project to project. A producer may be making decisions as to what songs an artist records, or have no say in that at all. Some producers have their own "sound" that they apply to every record they do, and others try to make themselves go unnoticed.
In the producer role, I like to hear what songs an artist wants to record, and try to hone in on an overall mood and sound for the record. Should it sound loose and homey or full and layered with lots of instruments and sounds? I try to find what will make each song reach its full potential."
Hyams notes that because he's been a professional recording artist, he's "been on both sides. Musicians seem to like that I can hear when they play a wrong note or chord or comment on intonation issues (maybe not the tenth time, but certainly at first!).
And Jones' work on compilation disks such as
Many Hands is another beast entirely:"It's more about emailing and waiting for emails than making music. I can see why I don't like very many compilation CDs. It's easy to be lead away from one's original vision. You have very little control. But I must say, with the
Many Hands CD, I held on to a belief that the musicians would come through and be on the mark, and I was pleasantly rewarded!"
Is there a difference between producing kids' albums and albums for adults?
I was in a Chuck E. Cheese's for a party early this fall and while I was absent-mindedly watching the video loop on the TVs next to the giant (and silent) animatronic animals, I was shaken out of my reverie by the appearance of the great video for "$9.99" by Caspar Babypants (AKA Chris Ballew). Hunh? When exactly did Chuck E. Cheese enter the kindie scene?
I sent off an e-mail to Ballew, and he mentioned that he'd licensed the video for use to PlayNetwork, which, among other things, provides in-store background music and video media. Which then led me to John Crooke, Senior Director for Creative Development, who answered some questions about PlayNetwork and what it looks for in music.
Zooglobble: First off, can you briefly explain what PlayNetwork does?
John Crooke: PlayNetwork produces experiences for consumers that are centered around media for retail environments. From music to TV, video and design, we’re telling stories through media and building partnerships with the most talented and creative individuals in those areas. We create, produce and deliver exceptional content and media experiences.
Feeling a little bit pwned, East Coast? 
So a couple months ago I 
Poppink and Mendoza (pictured here with 
I think the first time I became aware of the 
