Eric Herman and I go way back -- his album Monkey Business was the very first album on I received from a kids' musician for possible review.
Since that time, we've both had our share of success in the kids' music world, though I would defer to Eric in terms of success given the fact that his stone-cold classic song (and video) "The Elephant Song" is approaching 29 million views on YouTube.
Earlier this summer he released Bubble Wrap, an album filled with both humorous songs (as is his wont) but also more serious songs, songs colored by his experience of the death of his wife Roseann, who played a big role in his musical career (and animated the aforementioned video for "The Elephant Song").
Eric answered some questions about the new album, both the serious side (how Roseann's illness and death affected the album) and the not-so-serious side (his favorite comedic bits from Bubble Wrap), plus has some perspective on a kids' music career that's stretched for nearly fifteen years.
What are your first musical memories?
When I was about 4 or 5 I had a cheap little record player and a few 45s of Elvis and Johnny Cash. I had memorized "One Piece at a Time" and would belt out that and "Hound Dog" to anyone who would listen (i.e., my poor sisters and parents). I'm sure my vocal stylings left something to be desired, but the enthusiasm to perform was definitely there.
This was also the heyday of Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Schoolhouse Rock (yes, I'm old), so I have early memories of grooving to that great stuff.
When did you decide you wanted to make music for families?
Back in 2002, several different people encouraged me to do music for kids. It seemed like an odd convergence, so I thought I should at least consider it. At the time I was living in Buffalo and doing a lot of live theater and singer/songwriter shows at coffeehouses, and making a kids' music album was just another thing to do on the side.
If you'd have told me then that I'd be doing nothing but kids/family music for the next 14-15 years, I'd have scoffed. But that kind of took off and felt like a really fun and fulfilling direction to go. When I realized you could write and perform various styles of music and also include a range of ideas from comical to more serious, all within the banner of "children's/kids/kindie/family music," that was very appealing. Also, working with kids entertainment in some way was always a dream of Roseann's, and while she never pushed me in that direction, once I moved that way she was thrilled, and it was a good fit for our fledgling family.