ABCs of kids music - Letter C (and a giveaway!)

You may have heard me mention this kooky cat before, but he was on the charts long before he started writing music for the preschool set.   Chris Ballew is lead singer of the wild, rockin’ Presidents of the United States of America, also known as PUSA, and churned out memorable tunes like Lump and Peaches.  Ah, those bring back some good memories. 

But back to the fun I want to tell you about – our letter C choice is none other than Caspar Babypants, the alter ego of Chris Ballew.   I’ve written about him before here but let me tell you that there’s some new Caspar to share!  There’s a great new album (Sing Along) and it’s more catchy hooks and quirky fun.  Plus, it's got some rootsy traditional songs that are given new life through the eyes of Caspar.  My kids have taken to this new album just like they’ve done with the other Caspar tunes – they sing along like nobody’s business.
 

Check out some of Caspar’s recent goodness:

(click here if you can't see that embedded vid)

I had the chance to ask Chris a few questions about all this fun stuff a short time ago and you can find that conversation at the end of the post.  But I can’t let you go without first telling you about the cool books that he’s been creating with his wife, Kate Endle, who brings the visual art to this supercharged package of sweetness.   

Kate designs the album covers for Caspar but their books are also a real treat. 

Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight is a board book for the littlest readers and if you think it reads like a song, you’re on the right track.  You can download the MP3 of the song from their site (for free!) and follow right along with the book.  Simple, wonderful and the perfect ‘ease into bedtime’ routine.

My Woodland Wish has the same gorgeous artwork, same sensibilities and same singsong-y flow so wouldn’t you know, it’s a song, too!  It’s a longer tale of woodland creatures and even my 9 year old still loves snuggling in when we read this one.  

And wouldn’t you know, Chris has given me an extra copy to give away to one of you lucky readers!  This is just such a sweet book, you don’t want to miss the chance for copy of your own.  Just post a comment at the bottom of this post and tell me your favourite woodland creature.  Enter once a day, tweet once per day for an extra entry!  I’ll choose a winner on Monday, October 10^th at 9pm since it’s Canadian Thanksgiving and we’ll be celebrating out in the woodlands of cottage country ourselves.  Oh, and it's open to anyone in the world because I've got the book in my hot little hands to send you and I will send it anywhere!

Now without further ado, here’s a quick Q & A with Caspar Babypants!

CC: You note there was an initial influence on the album’s creation from listening to African folk melodies and work songs from early American history.  Can you talk more about those influences and how they found their way into your creative process for this CD?

CB: I started listening to old work songs and call and response songs and loved how they felt like an invitation to sing and be involved in the song even if I had never heard the song before. I love that and feel like it is right in line with my purpose of helping families sing together and giving them music that they can enjoy together. The early recordings of Ella Jenkins were the most stark and simple examples of interpretations of old call and response tunes and she was the most influential artist I found in that style. I have way more songs written in that style that didn't make it on to this latest record so the future albums will have that vibe as well.

 

CC: I love that you’ve got a bunch of unique and fantastic guests on the album.  What’s the best part about having other musicians get involved with your work?

CB: I love getting BOTH kids musicians and regular style grownups involved in the albums. The best thing about it is when they really surprise me with great parts. "Weird Al" Yancovic played an accordion solo that literally blew my socks off and Frances England added such a cool harmony to Sun Go that I never would have thought of.

CC: Kate’s cover artwork is lovely!  It’s wonderful to see artistic projects that are family affairs. Tell me a little about the books you have written and what’s in store there. 

CB: Kate and I have written three books that will be published by Sasquatch Publishing here in Seattle. The first two called "Woodland Wish" and "Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight" will be out on 9/14/11 and the third book called "Augustus to Zebra" will be out in the spring. I would not be making music for kids if it were not for Kate's art and her general innocent mischievous sense of fun. I looked at her work when we met and I felt like I had to make music that sounded like her art looked and that is what brought us closer together and created the whole Caspar Babypants thing. She was my spark!

CC: Has Caspar Babypants been your main musical adventure these past years or are you still engaged in other projects?   In addition to the wonderful Caspar albums that we enjoy as families, what can us grown-ups (who were fans of PUSA!) also look forward to in your musical future?

CB: My energy and artistic efforts and overall inspiration is absolutely in the Caspar Babypants thing for the foreseeable future. I still play occasionally with the Presidents and I score video games and TV shows and license a ton of music to television and commercials. I honestly feel like I am through writing songs for grownups! I just feel so comfortable in the innocent, folksy, rootsy, simple and sustainable world of kids music. It just feels relaxing and like something I could do for the rest of my life.