Interview: Keller Williams

72 DPI Keller Williams with Tiny Guitar lowres.jpg

Virginia musician Keller Williams has a couple feet's worth of toes in a wide variety of musical ponds -- bluegrass, jamband, jazz, folk, to name a few -- and he's just added family music to that list with the release of Kids. Williams chatted by phone last month about Hee Haw, the unplanned appearance of his daughter on the new album, and the relative merits of being a musician versus doing temporary construction work. Zooglobble: What are your musical memories growing up? Keller Williams: There are many... the first real musical memory was watching Hee Haw. You know, I get asked that by college papers and I tell them that and they've never heard of it. Really? Yeah... Twenty-something, it's frustrating trying to explain to them, it had Buck Owens, Roy Clark... Anyway, by the age of 3, I'd convinced my parents to buy me a guitar. Then it was Kiss -- I used a hockey stick in lieu of an electric guitar. I remember listening to 8-track tapes of John Denver, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, driving around with my parents. I sang in church choir, the Fredricksburg Children's Theatre, high school choir, but by tenth grade, when I was 15 or 16, I was playing guitar a lot. I got paid for the first time at age 17, playing in the backyard of a restaurant. When did you decide you wanted to make music for a living? When I tried to get jobs when I was 15, 16, 17 years old. The minimum wage was $3.50. I did a little temporary construction work where I mostly would sweep or scrape mortar out of cinder block cracks for 40 hours a week. I realized that I could get a day's pay for 3 hours work, sit while I was doing it, and maybe even get a date out of it. What led you to making this album for families, Kids?

Interview: Darren Critz (Symphony Space)

Darren Critz is the Director of Performing Arts at New York City's Symphony Space. Their 2010-2011 "Just Kidding" season kicks off this weekend with "The Story Pirates," and it certainly doesn't end there -- it's a full season of kids music and entertainment. Because it's such a comprehensive season and because it's in New York City (a place where a lot of acts not from NYC still would like to play), I thought it'd be interesting to talk with Critz about the series, his goals for it, and what he looks for in acts. Even if you live far away from Manhattan, read on for the secret power of Alan Alda, what attracts Critz's ears, and how you hear Symphony Space shows... What are your musical memories from childhood? I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and got to see Ella Jenkins perform pretty regularly at our public library throughout the '70s. My mom adored her and was always on the lookout for her performances, so we were always at our library or any venue she played within a 50-mile radius. We were sort of to Ella Jenkins, what Dead Heads were to the Grateful Dead, with a Chevy Nova in place of the VW van (and without the psychedelics of course). “Did You Milk My Cow?” is still the greatest call-and-response song ever! And at the risk of sounding incredibly square, Alan Alda singing “William Wants a Doll” off the Free to Be You and Me soundtrack was my favorite song as a kid, and dominated a good year and a half of my life. I’m thinking there are only a handful of people out there who list Alan Alda as a major musical influence. How did you get into concert booking? It was something I stumbled into. I come from a theatrical background, originally as an actor (soon realizing I had neither the love nor talent for it), then as a producer, which I was much better at. I came to Symphony Space to produce our theatre events, in addition to the music, dance, and family programs. Having a young daughter, I attend a really large number of kids’ music events both here at Symphony Space and everywhere else you can imagine. As with anything else, the more you involve yourself in any given thing, the more you learn about it; the more you learn about it, the more you appreciate those things, and the more you appreciate them, the more you want to share that appreciation with others. I’m lucky that I get to do that in this role. Symphony Space has always had a few family shows -- what spurred the increase in frequency?

Interview: Haley Bonar

Haley Bonar's late 2009 kids' EP Sing With Me was one of the most surprising and gratifying (and too brief) releases of the year, heartfelt and featuring Bonar's clear and beautiful voice. It's a combination that worked just as well on her most recent album for adults, 2008's Big Star. I'm always interested in getting a wide range of perspectives on the family music scene, from those who have been in it for many years to those who've only peered in the window just a little bit. I also like talking with cool musicians. So this interview meets both those standards. Bonar talked with me a couple weeks ago as she was on the road, moving back to Minneapolis from Portland, Oregon, sharing with me musical stories of growing up, life sharing music as a nanny, and the beauty of awkward dancing. Zooglobble: What are your musical memories growing up? Haley Bonar: I conducted a lot of plays. We had a Schoenhut piano. I would make my mom play while I danced in a circle. We weren't super-musical, but we listened to it a lot. I never shut up. When did you decide to become a musician, to make it a career? Hmmm.... I didn't really know that it was a real career. A career means making money and I don't make money. Of course, now I'm super-rich [chuckles]. No, there wasn't a single defining moment. You worked as a nanny -- how would you work music into your daily life?

Interview: Nerissa Nields (The Nields)

The Massachusetts-based sisters Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the driving force behind the band named after the them, have been making music for a living for about two decades now, but have been singing for most of their lives. The centrality of music to their lives growing up is obvious on their two fine albums for families, All Together Singing in the Kitchen and Rock All Day Rock All Night. They also lead HooteNanny, a music class for preschoolers and their parents and have just released their first DVD, Organic Farm. Nerissa answered a few questions in the not-too-distant past about some of her musical memories, the good and bad parts about recording music with your relatives, and suggestions for raising a musical household... Zooglobble: I realize you've discussed this a little more than most folks (since you did an entire album with your father), but what are your musical memories growing up? Nerissa Nields: SO many wonderful memories, but I'll share this one. I was sick with the chicken pox, and it was the worst day of the itching, fever, etc. I was seven years old, lying in bed, moaning. My father came in with his guitar to cheer me up and started playing "The Streets of Laredo," which is a very sad song and involves a dying cowboy. When he got to the end of it, I moaned, "No! That's too sad!" So he said, "OK. How's this?" and made up these words on the spot: I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy You can see by my outfit that I'm a cowboy too You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys Get yourself an outfit and be a cowboy too! When did you decide you wanted to become a musician? When I was seven years old I learned "I Know A Heartache When I See One" off the AM Country radio station my parents listened to, and my mother was so impressed with my singing that she commented on it. I decided then and there to be a singer. What are the good parts about recording music with family members? What are the not-so-good parts?

Interview: Key Wilde (Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke)

For being such a big fan of Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke, I'm a bit ashamed to say that I just unearthed this interview I did with Key Wilde a few months back. I could've sworn I published this just after the release of the excellent debut record Rise and Shine. Man, it's been a hectic three months. (In related news, apparently the Saints won the Super Bowl?) Oh, well, better late than never in that the interview below gives you, dear reader, more info on the past, present, and future of one half of one of my favorite kids music bands. Zooglobble: What are your earliest musical memories? Key Wilde: We were always singing together as a family. Constantly. We used to drive from Texas to North Carolina every summer and I remember all of us singing in the car the entire way. My dad and his two brothers sang barbershop harmonies together and as a little kid I was always trying to find a part and sing along with them. They knew hundreds of songs – bawdy college tunes, wacky folk songs, obscure standards – songs that made you laugh. It was always a joy to sing them over and over again and I still remember them all. We have a large extended family and to this day every family gathering culminates in a big songfest – a wonderful tradition I’m happy to pass along to my own kids. My dad played piano and insisted that the kids take formal lessons. We all rebelled at the time but are now grateful for the experience. How did you get into being an illustrator for a living? I studied fine arts – painting – at Parsons in New York and when I graduated I really didn’t want to do any commercial illustration at all. I found a great loft in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) a few years before the massive migration and undertook all sorts of ridiculous part time work in order to make the rent and carve out time for painting. I never promoted myself as an illustrator but eagerly accepted any assignments that came my way. Over the years my “survival” work has evolved from teaching, bartending and running a muffin store among other things to art direction, design and illustration – all things that I really love doing. And I’ve continued to develop as a “fine artist” on the side which has always been a deep-rooted goal. And of course the music has always been a constant distraction. How did you meet and start making music with Mr. Clarke?

Interview: Jim Cosgrove (Mr. Stinky Feet) on Crowdfunding

A couple days ago, Jim "Mr. Stinky Feet" Cosgrove sent out his latest newsletter with a most interesting proposition -- please help fund his next CD:

As some of you may know, the landscape of the music industry has changed dramatically over the past five years. As the giant labels have faltered or collapsed with the rapid decline of retail album sales, independent artists have emerged as the leaders of the changing tide. Where some see a shriveled industry on life support, I see opportunity and challenge. And I love challenges. So, I'm asking you to join me as we embark on an adventure into new territory. I have a goal of raising enough money to pay for outstanding musicians, promotion, production, and a Grammy-nominated producer for my new record. Please help me make this dream a reality. You've already been a big part of my success, so please consider taking part in the production of this project. You'd buy the new CD anyway, right? So, consider this a pre-purchase plan.

His specific funding levels start at $20 (get an autographed copy of the album), move up to $50 (autographed CD, t-shirt, and bonus CD), and go up from there -- my favorite title is the $150 "Now You're Just Showing Off". (Go here for the complete list and/or to make a contribution.) While this sort of "crowdfunding" has been around for awhile (I wasn't the only one for whom Kickstarter came immediately to mind), it's the first time it's been explicitly used in the kids music scene. (The closest Kickstarter project was this successful project which sought funding to make a soundtrack by a tween indie rock band to accompany a tween indie rock novel.) So when I got the newsletter I immediately shot off some questions to Jim, whose answers I think are pretty much required reading for artists (and probably family music fans in general), regardless of whether or not they want to follow Cosgrove on this particular path. Zooglobble: Aside from the general upheaval in the music industry, what specifically led you to crowdfund your next CD? Jim Cosgrove: Challenging times call for creative solutions. So, rather than putting the whole thing on credit, we looked at other models and found that many bands in other genres have been successful in getting their fans directly involved. I meet parents all the time who thank me for my music and for the fun we bring to families, and they ask me if there is anything they can do to help. Now, I'm calling in those offers. And I really think people want to help and like to help and want to be part of something that is fun and positive. Is there a particular dollar amount you have in mind?