It’s a constant challenge trying to find children’s music that both Ari and I like. One fateful day in 2009, Ari and I found our favorite band, Recess Monkey! We’ve been in love ever since. Recess Monkey consists of three teachers, who also happen to be amazing musicians, from Seattle.
Jack Forman (who plays Bass and does vocals) and I kept in touch over time. I even made some silly videos of Ari with Recess Monkey playing in the background.
Here’s Ari dancing to “My Favorite Book” one of the new tracks on their new album “Flying.”
I was psyched when I got an email from Elizabeth, Recess Monkey’s PR manager, with the news that “Flying” was available for review. I knew Ari would be pleased too.
Recess Monkey’s “Flying” is a lot of fun, just like the rest of their albums. One of my favorite tracks from “Flying” is called “Invisible Friend.” The song is a dialogue between a child and his imaginary friend. It’s such a common childhood theme, and is so well illustrated in this track.
One of the best things about Recess Monkey’s music is how danceable it is. You put their music on and you (and your kids for that matter) want to bust a move. Check out Ari (when he was 18 months old) dancing to their song “Fort.”
The tracks on “Flying” are so much fun! They make you want to move your body. Another one of my favorites is “Bunk Bed.” It’s a doo-wop 50′s-esque tune about sharing a bunk bed with a sibling; another common childhood theme, and brilliantly done musically.
Today is a particularly exciting day, because we are off to see Recess Monkey live! Stay tuned for pictures of the event.
“Flying” will be released on June 21, 2011. Buy it here on CD Baby!
Over the summer, I had the pleasure of attending a free concert at the Brooklyn Public Library. The band I saw was none other than Seattle’s Recess Monkey, creators of unique and fun children’s music. The attendees of the concert were as follows: Me, Ari, my mom, my niece (Francesca- age 8), my great friend Josina and her son Nelson.
Josina and I were reflecting the other day on what an amazing time we all had. Recess Monkey had all the children dancing around the BPL auditorium in a conga line! And it was a such a culturally diverse crowd, there were kids from every nationality you could think of there.
One of the things I love about Recess Monkey is that they really get kids. All the band members are teachers, so they are constantly surrounded by children and use their daily interactions with kids as inspiration for their music.
After the concert, I purchased “Field Trip“, Recess Monkey’s latest album. I’ve used the music from “Field Trip” in the classroom when I play freeze dance with grades ranging from Pre K- 3rd, and at home when Ari requests a “CD” he is referring to “Field Trip.” He loves to dance to “Fort.”
I exchanged emails with Jack Forman, Vocals and Bass. Jack is such a cool guy! I occasionally send him videos of Ari rocking out to Recess Monkey and he always responds! Jack, being the awesome guy that he is, agreed to be interviewed about Recess Monkey for OS/NS Mom. Here’s what he had to say:
1. Who are the members of Recess Monkey and what instruments do you eachplay?
Drew Holloway (Vocals, Guitar)
Daron Henry (Drums, Vocals)
Jack Forman (Bass, Vocals)
Recess Monkey Left to Right: Drew, Jack, Daron
Photo By Kevin Fry
2. How was Recess Monkey formed?
We all met not as musicians but as fellow teachers- we taught all together for three or four years at University Child Development School before we started to experiment with music. After a few special events at school, we started demoing songs under another band name: The Waiting Room. That band name was pretty apt, actually- it was the way that we prepared for Recess Monkey! It really takes a while to get to know someone else musically- a lot of experiments with songs and conversations and you eventually start to almost read each other’s minds.
Once we starting making kids music, we never looked back. I think The Waiting Room played about 6 shows, and Recess Monkey just hit 250. We had talked about kids music for a while, but the main impetus was Drew’s: he wrote an album’s worth of songs based on the pre-k class that he and another teacher were teaching. We recorded those songs over a few months and started playing shows at tiny coffee shops and bookstores. Over time, the shows increased in size and frequency- and fun!
3. You’re all teachers right? What do you teach?
Drew and Jack still teach at University Child Development School- Jack teaches first and second grade and Drew teaches in the full day program, pre-k and Kindergarten. Daron teaches at Spruce Street School.
4. What’s the funniest thing a kid has ever said to you in the classroom?
Oh man, this is hard to nail down! Instead of one of the funniest things, can I say one of the weirdest things? A couple of weeks ago a kid in my class said that she and her dad sat in their minivan in the driveway of their house and listened to our hourlong live show on SiriusXM in its entirety. It apparently was just starting as they pulled in and they just sat and listened. Really: it’s a total honor to get to make music for kids but never, EVER did we think that our music might delay dinnertime over a national broadcast! Totally unreal!
5. What inspires you to write your songs?
We think of our classrooms as focus groups for what’s on kids’ minds. It’s crazy how many ideas come up over the course of a day that could make great songs. Luckily all Daron and I have to do is tell Drew what we’ve heard and he takes care of the rest- he’s an amazing and PROLIFIC songwriter! Tons of ideas have come up about losing teeth, getting a new backpack, going on field trips and so many more… We like to wordsmith and are bigtime pun fans: on our upcoming space-themed album “The Final Funktier” there’s a song about how a booster seat is like a booster rocket. The only thing limiting our output at this point is time
6. What do you enjoy the most about making music?
We talk a lot about how much fun it is to get to play live shows- there’s such a real energy at our shows that totally undercuts the caricature that Seattle doesn’t know how to dance. We see ourselves as just a piece of that puzzle- the energy that kids bring to our shows encourages us to try even harder. I really feel like the laws of gravity change when you get a group of 200 kids dancing!
It’s also really fun just to get into a space where you can exchange musical ideas with your bandmates- you start to speak in a different language!
7. What’s the coolest thing about Seattle?
Too many things to mention, but it IS worth mentioning that there are an absolute TON of great kids bands in Seattle right now. We’re talking with as many of them as we can to think of new ways to collaborate and make this city bounce. This list is just a part of the local scene here and still completely earth shattering: Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its, Johnny Bregar, Brian Vogan, The Brian Waite Band, Board of Education, Eric Ode, Eric Herman, Linda Severt, The Harmonica Pocket and more. People are going crazy for all of these bands and people in other cities are starting to notice that “there’s something in the water!”
8. If a child told you he/she wanted to become a rockstar what would you say?
There’s that old joke about the guy who asks how to get to Carnegie Hall and the answer is “Practice, practice, practice!” But it’s totally true! A friend of ours said the most important thing a few years ago: the best way to get better as a musician is to join a band full of people who are way better than you (it’s worked for me!). There is absolutely nothing stopping elementary aged kids from forming their own bands with friends (other than bedtimes) and I’ve seen some amazing things happen when kids do that. Last year at UCDS a pair of kids rocked out to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and it absolutely rocked! There are a number of great kids’ music teachers in Seattle who create opportunities for kids to gig in a real way. One of our great friends Rob Hampton who’s a really great guitar teacher does this a few times of year at local theaters: kids take the stage with supporting musicians and show their stuff. The other question I hear a lot is about what instrument kids should start on. I don’t know if there’s a magic formula for musical success, but piano and cello got me off on the right foot. Truly, an instrument you love to play and want to work hard at is waaay better than something that you get no joy out of. My mom says that when I was 4, whenever my cello teacher turned her back, I’d put my little 1/2 sized cello on my knee and play it like a guitar… kind of telling, huh?
Thanks Jack, you rock! And now, my favorite Recess Monkey Song, “Haven’t Got A Pet Yet”
You all know how much I love Canada. Here is one more reason to love Canada, Bobs and Lolo. They are a fantastic two woman team that creates brilliant children’s music.
To hear Bobs and Lolo’s melodious and meaningful music, click here
I had the opportunity to ask Bobs and Lolo about themselves and their music. Here’s what they had to say:
1. What are your real names?
Our real names are Robyn Hardy (Bobs) and Lorraine Pond (Lolo).
2. What made you adopt “Bobs” and “Lolo”?
Bobs & Lolo were actually our nicknames in high school. Our friends and family called us ‘Bobs & Lolo’ long before the kidlets did! When we started writing and performing children’s music, our nicknames seemed more “kid-friendly” and a lot more fun than our given names. Now it feels weird to be called ‘Robyn’ and ‘Lorraine’ - even business associates (who don’t have kids!) refer to us as B&L!
3. How did you meet?
We first connected at a Girl Guide camp on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada) when we were both around 8 years old. After a fun-filled weekend of campfire sing-alongs, silliness and laughter, our friendship was sealed! While we attended different elementary schools, we ended up filtering into the same high school (Dover Bay Secondary) in grade 9. Our friendship continued to grow from there and we began to singing together in the school choir as well as studying piano with the same music teacher. We also hit the courts together as power forward (Bobs) and shooting guard (Lolo) on the Dover Bay girls’ basketball team. Go Dolphins Go!
4. What inspired you to make music, and (more specifically) children’s music?
The Bobs & Lolo project really grew out of our friendship and a mutual passion for music and working with kids. Before we started our musical adventures, Robyn (Bobs) was teaching grades 4 and 5. Prior to teaching, Robyn completed a degree in linguistics at the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Education at University of British Columbia (UBC). Lorraine (Lolo) previously worked in the fields of environmental education and non-profit fund development. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Human Kinetics (Exercise Science) from UBC. As kids, we had both been involved in music and the arts, and it was something that we both value greatly in education. In fact, our first try at songwriting came out of a casual chat we shared about the value of using music as a teaching tool. We started brainstorming about what sort of themes and topics were important for today’s kids and “building connections to the natural world” was at the top of our list. We both had an interest in the environment and conservation and set a goal to figure out a way to inspire kids to care about the world around them through music, movement and make-believe. We haven’t looked back since!
5. How much do you love Canada?
We absolutely adore our home country of Canada - and it’s not just because of all the Olympic hype in our home city right now! We feel fortunate that our musical adventures have given us the opportunity to explore so much of our country…which happens to be a rather big piece of land! We’ve traveled through small towns on the west coast of BC - Bella Coola, Atlin and the Queen Charlotte Islands to name a few - to large cities like Toronto and all the way across to the province of Prince Edward Island on the east coast. We’ve also gone north into the Yukon Territories along with numerous stops in between, around and under. In the last year, the music videos featured on our On Your Feet DVD began airing on Treehouse TV, Canada’s only national television network completely dedicated to preschoolers. While the partnership with Treehouse is still relatively new, the TV exposure has already opened up new performance opportunities for us, and we’ve been able to slowly build our CD and DVD distribution beyond Western Canada. We’re hoping this is just the start, and we’ll be able to keep things go, go, growing in the upcoming years. We would love to perform in the US too. We’ve done a few shows in the Seattle area, but our travel south of the border has been quite limited to date. Fingers crossed that this will change as more opportunities come up down the road!
In the meantime, the great thing about the digital era is that we’re connecting with new families all around the world every day! Our music is available on Itunes and through various online retail partners and we’ve even posted some of our videos on YouTube. We’re also very active on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, and we regularly blog about our travel adventures and noteworthy news items or fun finds. We definitely invite kids and parents to connect with us online through one (or more!) of these social media sites - we love the personal connection and it’s an extra treat when families send photos or share stories on how they are connecting with our music.
For information on how to reach Bobs and Lolo, their live show schedule, music and more, please visit www.bobsandlolo.com
I was perusing the Brooklyn Public library’s website for children’s events, and I came upon a free children’s music concert. The band playing was called “Recess Monkey.” BPL described the event as: “a fun concert of goofy original and educational songs for children.” Sounded good to me!
I forwarded the event on to Josina and Nelson. They wanted to come too! I managed to drag both my parents and my niece too. We didn’t know what to expect, but once the concert started all attendees were groovin’ to the music.
Recess Monkey is composed of three band members, Andrew, Daron and Jack. All the guys are school teachers from Seattle and their songs are inspired from their work with children. Their songs are goofy and esoteric with titles like “Marshmallow Farm” and “Bubble Factory.”
I particularly loved their song “Haven’t Got a Pet Yet.” Jack began the song by asking the audience:
“So, I have a question for you guys: who here doesn’t have a pet but really wants one?”
Several of the kids in the audience screamed affirmative answers. “This song is for you guys!”
Then they busted into song: “Susie’s got a pet, Johnny’s got a pet, but I haven’t got a pet yet!”
The concert was great! Nelson was bouncing and grooving out to the music. Ari, my son, loved the music too, but unfortunately he missed his afternoon nap so by the end of the show he was a bit cranky.
Recess Monkey’s music is fun and engaging for both children and adults. They have a straight up rock-n-roll style that makes you want to dance and sing out loud.
As soon as the concert ended, Josina and I ran up to the guys and thanked them for the show. We took a few pictures with them; but alas my mom’s camera phone failed me and the pictures all came out blurry.
After the photo shoot, Nelson ran the length of the auditorium with Josina in tow, and I promptly purchased Recess Monkey’s CD. I actually asked Daron which CD he recommended I start out with. He recommended: “Field Trip.”
All in all everyone had a great time; it was an awesome show. For more information on Recess Monkey, visit their website here.
Sarah Fader is a parenting blogger. In addition to OS/NS Mom, she blogs for The Huffington Post. She was featured on HuffPost Live talking about her viral article 3-Year-Olds are Assholes. Look out for her upcoming book on the topic!
She's been blogging since 2009. She has two beautiful children, Ari, 5 and Samara, 3. She was born and raised in New York City is a graduate of F.H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as well as New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she studied theater and philosophy.
She has a background in vocational rehabilitation counseling. Sarah was raised reformed Jewish and is still searching for her true Jewish identity. Currently, Sarah writes full time and is a professional transcriber for reality television. She resides in Brooklyn with her kids and two cats.
