The California Muse

The California Muse is an interesting blog I found when I was searching around for people on Blogger who areinterested in children's music. Here are 6 questions she sent me, and here are my answers:

1. What is your musical training/background? Are you self-trained/did you have formal musical training? I am a self-trained songwriter, but I did have formal training in piano from the time I was ten years old, and I have a degree in music from the University of Maine. I took voice lessons there as well but I wish I hadn't.


2. Why children's music? What draws you to compose and perform music specifically for children?
I began composing songs for children when my first child was born. It was just natural to make up little songs for her. Then I went back to school to become a teacher, and during my field work in classrooms I just began making up songs with the kids. One day the principal of the school where I was working asked me to do an assembly, and the rest is history. I began working professionally as a children's musician in 1996 and I have never looked back. I'd rather sing for kids than any other audience in the world. I'm not an "adult" musician who does music for kids part-time or just to make money. This is truly my purpose in life.



3. What were some of your musical favorites as a child and what were some favorites you played for your own children?
Well, like every kid I loved Disney songs and my first record was an album of songs from Disney movies that my mother got at a gas station, believe it or not! They were selling it as some kind of promotion! I wore that thing out. But I was the youngest of three kids so I got into pop and rock pretty early. I'm a child of the 70's and my favorite music has always been bubblegum pop...and I'm not ashamed to say it! My kids were raised on The Partridge Family, the Carpenters, and lots and lots of oldies. They also really liked Joanie Bartels, any music from Sesame Street and Rory


4. What countries have you traveled to in the world and what were your favorites?
I have been to Canada, Mexico, England and Kenya. My favorite was Kenya because of my experiences there at the orphanage at which I volunteered.

5. What are 10 things you still want to do in this life?
Yikes... that's an interesting question. Let's see....
1. See my song "The House on Christmas Street" actually become a real bonafide seasonal hit that plays on the radio long after I've left this earth
2. Meet John Travolta
3. Win a Grammy
4. Go back to Nyumbani orphanage in Kenya
5. Take my husband to see the Tour de France
6. Buy a small cottage or shack by the sea
7. Visit Japan
8. Write a musical
9. Hold my grandchild in my arms (of course, one has to be born first!)
10. See my daughters happy and successful

6. What are 5 words friends would use to describe you?
I'm not really sure, but I'll take a whack at it...
1. creative
2. funny
3. talkative
4. good mother
5. hard worker

There you go!