Rudy Trubitt answers the question: what if Chicken Weebus decided to open up for Supertramp during their late '70s heyday?
I mean, I'm pretty sure that nobody's ever asked that question, but "Little Chicken" answers it anyway. (And it's good to hear new music from the San Francisco-based Trubitt.)
Rudy Trubitt - "Little Chicken" [Soundcloud] [CD Baby]
Alison Faith Levy - credit Danny Plotnick
Many of us in the kids music world first heard Alison Faith Levy as part of the late, great San Francisco kindie band The Sippy Cups, but with two solo albums under her belt, including her most recent album The Start of Things, Levy has carved out an identity in the kids music world entirely her own.
Levy and I chatted by phone a couple weeks ago to talk about she reconciled her love of theatre and of rock and roll, the inspirations behind The Start of Things, and what it's like to parent a musically precocious kid.
Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?
Alison Faith Levy: I think the first memory I'm really cognizant of is being little, sitting in the back of the car when I was 3. We were driving through a toll plaza in New York, hearing Simon and Garfunkel, and I was singing along. I always sang along.
At 5, we took a family vacation to Jamaica, and I spent so much time outside singing along to the performers playing steel drums that I got a sunburn. When we got home, I plunked out a tune on the piano. At that point, I start getting lessons.
hen did you decide to become a musician?
I was a child of rock and roll, and a collector of that music, but never saw myself as being able to do that. My heroes were Elton John, David Bowie with that big rock voice, and I was a girl with a showtune-y voice. But about the time I went to college, I started hearing indie bands like R.E.M. and I saw that I could do this.
At the same time, I was at NYU [New York University] for a Theatre degree, and they were very intense. So I switched my major to Philosophy.
Do you use that degree?
When I talk with [my son] Henry. I definitely think that way. Helped when I managed a bookstore. It was an interesting time at school, and I think it fit in with me questing for a bigger picture.
So the Sippy Cups went on hiatus a few years back... what led you to eventually making your first solo album, World of Wonder?
When [the hiatus] happened, I didn't even know if I'd do kids music music again. I was doing adult music, playing in the band McCabe & Mrs. Miller with my friend Victor [Krummenacher]. But I still had all these ideas. I played these Storytime Wednesdays, and they were packed, so I wrote some songs. It was so organic -- half of the songs on [World of Wonder] were those for the kids, and the others were directed more inward, so I would just weave the two together.
The Start of Things album cover
Were there any organizing principles behind the next album, The Start of Things?
Hmmm... "Pull Your Weeds" is about being yourself, that's somewhat a theme of the album. It wasn't a conscious idea, but as I wrote songs, it came out. I always loved Cat Stevens and that movie [Harold and Maude] "If You Want To Sing, Sing Out" came from -- it's a perfect kids' song. I'd say it's half and half -- half are more direct with kids. But I tried to give each song some emotional truth. Except for "Froggy Dance"... except that's got an emotional truth for me, because it came straight from the old country.
A lot of your music has a definite '60s influence -- have you always liked that sound?
Yes, but when I write a song and talking with the producer, I have a touchstone, jumping-off point. So for "TLC" on the new album, I told my producer [Allen Clapp] I wanted some early-Get Happy Elvis Costello -- the drum rolls, the Farfisa organ. "Rainbow Tunnel" was total Burt Bacharach, which was great because Allen is a big Bacharach fan. He wrote "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," so it was a great sound for "Rainbow Tunnel," which is a song about driving around.
With "Little Dreamer," I was super-specific with the sounds, wanting it to sound like a John Lennon ballad. I really have an open musical palette -- it's a super nice way to honor my influences -- Beechwood Sparks for "Ballad of Boo Ghosty," or Nina Rota and Fellini for "The Froggy Dance."
I don't usually want to ask musicians about what it's like being a parent, because it's not the purpose of the interview, but your son, Henry Plotnick, is particularly precocious in writing and releasing music, so I wanted to ask... what's it like being one of Henry's parents?
We don't know where Henry's life will take him -- he's very gifted, so people want to release his music, a couple albums so far -- but we're letting him lead. He applied and got into the arts magnet school here in San Francisco, but we really want to let it unfold as it will and not put any expectations on him. The only thing we push is taking classical lessons, so he understands technique, repertoire, and the importance of keeping up with those lessons.
He's getting offers from labels, which... I got my first record deal when I was 30, so for me this is, like, "I don't even know what the music business is." What would a record label offer even look like?
So we just want to make sure he's well-trained in jazz and classical. But he's also talented in science, he writes poetry. A lot of people might think we're pushing, but we're not at all.
From my external perspective, it really doesn't look like that at all.
Oh, good. He's got a balanced life, and a lot of good buddies... When it comes to reviews, he prefers reading the more critical reviews, because those are the ones that just aren't about his age. If that had happened to me, I'd've been a lunatic. But I don't even know if his friends know about all that -- they just play.
What can you tell us about the World of Wonder musical you're working on?
There's some interest on the part of a new local musical theatre company, so we've been doing readings and getting feedback. Based on that, I did a rewrite and wrote a new song.
I'm learning how to get a stage musical on its feet. I don't have a firm commitment [from a company] yet. I'd love to get it onstage now, but doing so needs a lot of people. I've seen the full production in my mind, though, and it's great.
Before I joined the Sippy Cups, I did some work on writing a musical for adults. But this is working backwards from the way it usually works, where the songs move the story forward. Maybe Mamma Mia worked, but mostly it's other way around.
I see how the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" comes down from the ceiling, though. Putting it together is a lot more work, but I want to do it right and more stuff like that in.
Big Time Tot Rock Band - credit Danny Plotnick
I've often thought that Fountains of Wayne songs would make for a great Mamma Mia-like musical...
Yeah... and where's the David Bowie musical?!? C'mon!
I'd love to write something organically from scratch from start fo finish -- that'd be a huge artistic and technical leap.
What's next for you?
A ton of performances -- the live band performances [with the Big Time Tot Rock Band] have really ramped up. Mostly local [gigs], but now I've booked something in New York for October.
Creatively, I want to get that World of Wonder musical up on its feet. And maybe do that Sharon Jones 12-piece soul band. Gotta find the horns for that.... That, and raising a high school kid.
Photo credits: Danny Plotnick
The Start of Things cover
Kids' music in the 1960s -- that is to say, kids' music before there was even a name for it -- basically took the folk music path that was one of the dominant musical strains of the era. For Pete Seeger and Ella Jenkins, there was some distinction between folk music for adults and that for kids, but it was a distinction more of presentation than of subject matter. And that folk music orientation was basically the default kids' music option through the '80s if not the '90s until the kindie wave swept through at the start of the 21st century.
Imagine, however, if other musical strains of the decade -- psychedelic pop, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production -- also found themselves working their way into kids' music with songs for the youngest listener. Were that to have been the case, Alison Faith Levy's brand-new album The Start of Things would be a stellar example of that alternate reality rather than sounding so unique in today's kindie landscape.
Levy first came to the attention of the kids' music world as a member of the Bay Area band The Sippy Cups, which started out as a kid-friendly cover band for the music of the '60s and '70s before gradually becoming a band which wrote its own psychedelic-inspired kindie pop. The band had been on hiatus for several years before Levy released her first solo album, World of Wonder, in 2012. While there were echoes of the Sippy Cups' psychedelic and Wall of Sound production on that first solo album, it's much more pronounced on The Start of Things. The opening title track features a groovy organ, horns, and the theme of how it's OK to be nervous when tackling a new project (first day of school, opening night of a play, etc.). It's my favorite track on the album, just a great pop song for kids that a lot of adults might sneak into their own playlists.
The track "Pull Your Weeds" envisions a friendship between Cinderella and Snow White and the empowering lyric (printed on the inside of the CD package, so clearly resonant with Levy) "Do your thing / Love what you do / Appreciate your beauty / Pull your weeds and / Stand your ground / And the world will come around." While "The Start of Things," Pull Your Weeds," and songs like "Rainbow Tunnel" and "Little Dreamer" sound like they could easily be part of a musical Levy is working on based on World of Wonder.
Other songs, however, are rooted more in interactivity -- the raucous "Are You Happy?" runs through a series of emotions that the kid-listeners are encouraged to mimic. The "Ballad of Boo Ghosty" is a silly little story about a ghostly friend, while "The Froggy Dance" is a nonsense poem. Given these tracks, the 32-minute album will be most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 6, though some of the songs mentioned earlier in the review have a slightly older age range.
The Start of Things has a '60s-inspired sound, but it still sounds fresh. That colorful and rainbow-adorned album cover nails the vibe of Levy's bright and empowered songs. Definitely recommended.
Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.
I'm looking forward to hearing Alison Faith Levy's brand new album The Start of Things, which gets a release on April 21. While a lot of Levy's kids music (both solo and with The Sippy Cups) has a big Wall of Sound, er, sound, the first song from the new album to get a video comes from a very different musical place.
"The Froggy Dance" is based on a nonsense poem handed down through generations and set to music by Levy. Levy turned to animator Maddie Loftesnes to bring to (visual) life the silly animals Levy sings about like the frog-bird. It's handmade and silly and fun.
Alison Faith Levy - "The Froggy Dance" [YouTube]
Alison Faith Levy first came to attention of the kids music world as one of the members of the Bay Area band The Sippy Cups, which started out as a '60s-inspired band and eventually incorporated that sound into a big circus-like stage show and pulling in inspirations from the '70s and even the '80s.
The Sippys are on hiatus, but Levy has started her own solo kids music career, releasing the fine debut World of Wonder a couple years ago. Now she's working on a stage musical based on the album, a musical she hopes will be ready for the world next year.
So perhaps it's fitting that for Levy's entry in my "How I Got Here" series, in which kindie artists talk about albums that influenced them as musicians, she talks about The Who's Tommy, which could be considered the first "rock opera." The double album was eventually presented on stage and screen (and then stage again, this time on Broadway). I'm guessing that Levy's light show won't be as impressive as that Broadway production from 20 years ago, but you never know...
When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to have access to an incredible record collection – my parents’. They were still in college when I was born, and were always very progressive, artsy and culturally curious– my dad played piano and had been a radio DJ, my mom was an artist. They were, and still are, huge influences in my creative life and very cool people.
Their album collection was a treasure trove of '60s and '70s gems, which they played around the house all the time. The Beatles, Moody Blues, Donovan, Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel… but the first album that I remember becoming completely obsessed with was Tommy by The Who. This was the original studio album, not the movie soundtrack, and once I found this on my parents’ record shelf, my life would never be the same.
Although I had always loved music and been captivated by everything I heard on the radio and around the house, Tommy hit me in a way that I had never experienced before. I must have been in 4th or 5th grade when I found it (the album had been out for many years), and when I discovered it I was completely obsessed.
It was the first time I had heard something that was a complete piece, from start to finish – like a Broadway show, but with the visceral intensity of rock n’ roll. I could not get enough of it. The music was so complicated and beautiful, the feelings so intense – it bowled me over. I would come home from school and listen to it from start to finish, over and over, obsessing over the spooky cover with the blue latticework design and weird surreal photo collage art in the booklet. I would pore over the lyrics, trying to make sense of it and put the story together. I would bring my friends over after school to listen to it with me, and try to explain what was going on, even though the lyrical content and sophisticated subject matter were clearly beyond my scope of understanding. When it became clear that my friends would rather play with Barbies or watch TV, I got the hint that maybe this was a little beyond what they could handle. I then knew this would be the story of my life.
During this time, I would sing and act out songs from Tommy to entertain myself and my friends. I remember clearly that at one lunch recess, I jumped up on a bench on the playground at school and sang “Acid Queen” from start to finish for my bewildered classmates. They must have thought I was insane. I didn’t even know what it meant – I just thought the dramatic nature of the song was so amazing I couldn’t contain myself!
When I finally saw the movie, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. It didn’t sound right to me, the music had changed, different people were singing the songs besides my beloved Roger and Pete (and a little bit of Keith). But I grew to appreciate some aspects of it, especially Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, who was my other big hero at the time.
Tommy ignited in me a lifelong love of the concept album. From there it was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Dark Side of the Moon, and Born to Run. Then moving forward into artists like David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Elvis Costello – artists with albums that felt like complete works – that take you on a journey and pull you under their spell. I have always tried to create that in my work, even as a children’s artist – to take the listener somewhere that feels intentional, and meaningful, and dreamlike. So I have Pete, Roger, John and Keith to thank for that. The Sippy Cups even performed “Christmas” from Tommy in one of our winter spectaculars several years ago, complete with a snow machine – that was a pretty amazing moment for me. Tommy still gives me goosebumps whenever I hear anything from it, and that’s how an album should be.
San Francisco's Sippy Cups were one of the first new (21st-century) acts to attract a lot of attention in the wake of the kids music explosion of circa 2006. They had a big, '60s-inspired sound and look (though they weren't limited by that era), and despite their large size, toured quite a bit. The band is on hiatus - maybe permanently - but some of the members of the band are making music for kids again.
One of those members, Alison Faith Levy, has a new album, World of Wonder, which will please fans of the Sippies and their psychedelic sounds. It's targeted more at the preschool demographic that the band had somewhat moved past by the time they went on hiatus, but the sounds are classic Sippy Cup. The Wall-of-Sound production on "Itsy Bitsy Spider" drew the attention of Greil Marcus, but will still draw in the youngster set. "Like a Spinning Top" is an energetic movement song that will sound just fine even if you're buckled into a car seat. And I must admit to adoring the goofy "Baby Anteater" almost as much the song's narrator adores its subject.
Levy's powerful voice and Allen Clapp's production give the "big" songs the oomph they need while giving each song their own personality. While the sounds and some of the songs (like the title track) may target older kids, the album's greatest appeal is to kids ages 2 through 6. You can listen to some tracks here.
With World of Wonder, Alison Faith Levy gives her Sippy Cups fans -- and new ones -- a solid collection of songs that will definitely please preschoolers without being too cutesy for those preschoolers' older siblings. I miss the Sippy Cups, but this will do quite nicely. Recommended.
Zooglobble
Zooglobble helps you find kindie music -- news, videos, mp3s, reviews -- for your whole family.
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