When I went to Austin in March to speak at SXSW, I of course saw literally dozens of performances during the rest of my time there. One of my favorites -- if not the favorite -- was that of Jeremy Messersmith, a Minnesota artist whose set on a chilly night at Central Presbyterian Church managed to both capture that chill and defy it in equal measure. So what does this have to do with this website? Well, Zooglobble has always been a little idiosyncratic in reflecting my tastes (while it may cover a lot of artists it doesn't cover them all), and I've been listening to Messersmith's new album The Reluctant Graveyard (out tomorrow, May 4) a bunch since I was provided a copy of it a few weeks back. It's a great album, and thirteen big hit songs about death - perfect for a kids music website, right? Well, beyond the album's appeal to adults, Messersmith has, for 3 years in a row, played Minnesota's 89.3 (The Current) Rock the Cradle event for kids alongside such artists as Adam Levy and Haley Bonar who've recorded for music for kids. So I thought it might be interesting to get a bit of a perspective on playing music for kids from someone who doesn't do it very often. Read on for Messersmith's thoughts on his musical upbringing, philosophical rambling, and the surprising lack of interest in Kermit the Frog and Spongebob Squarepants. Zooglobble: What were some of your formative musical experiences? Jeremy Messersmith: Well, I started the recorder at 5, maybe? I think "Baa Baa Black Sheep" was my first song. I listened to a lot of church music - hymns, praise songs, and the like. The great thing about all that is that it's participatory. My dad would be in the front row, playing trombone; I was 3 or 4 when I was playing a wood block. They took inspiration from that Biblical text -- "Make a joyful noise" -- and thought everybody should join in. When did you decide to become a songwriter? Pretty late - not until college. But a friend of mine when I was a kid found me and sent me a copy of a song I "scaffolded" when I was 8 - I put new lyrics to an old melody. "A beast, a beast, rising in the east...". I must've been a jackass when I was a kid. So how did Rock the Cradle come about?