Stillwater

We had three super-fine shows at the Stillwater library today!

Does this red curtain look familiar?

Does it? That could be because the photo for my latest CD cover ("Let's Get Creative, with Monty Harper and Mr. Billy) was taken on this very same stage!

Lisa finally caught me with my finger in my mouth, teaching the kids how to "pop" for "The Brainiacs."

Evalyn and I did a lot of CD signing and talking with fans after each show.

Enid

I performed today at Enid. People were having trouble finding parking because several streets were closed due to the filming of a Hollywood movie, which was happening right across the street from the program.

Here I am talking with some kids before the show.

Posing with fans afterwards:

Here's a shot Lisa took of the film crew working across the street:

Okeene and Watonga

Two more great groups today. First in Okeene. Here we are shaking our hands like two maracas. Note the fishy mural in the background which the kids helped create!

Evalyn has visited the Watonga library every summer of her life. She says she loves it there because they always go all out with their decorations for the theme. Here she is posing with a giant watercolor set!

Goofing around before the show:

Exchange with a girl of about seven before the show:

She: "You're a dork" Me: "I know you like me" She: "I do like you but you're still a dork"

Singing underwater...

Posing with the kids after the show...

Check out the giant markers, crayons, and pencil!

Lost photos from Cushing, OK and Holton, KS

Just catching up a bit here. I missed posting these photos from a couple of weeks back!

These are from June 8 at Holton, KS. My audience was in two sections, at right angles to each other, so you see about half of them here.

Next are some shots from June 9 in Cushing. The library was built in the late 1930's, and still has many of the original features. The program was in a funky little basement room that we had to ride an elevator up, then a different elevator back down, to get to! One side of the room is dominated by a checker-tiled semi-circular stage area. The colorful frescos on the walls are original, and much of the furniture is original. The folding chairs from the 30's have only recently been replaced with new ones. It was a fun space to perform in.

Hartshorne and Wilburton

Yesterday I had two wonderful shows, at Hartshorn and Wilburton, despite the fact that Lisa and I were operating on practically no sleep, thanks to the dog next door. Evalyn's cousins were in town, so we left her at her grandma's where she could play with them.

Below are a couple of photos from the Hartshorn show. Unfortunately the batteries in the camera died, so we have nothing to show you from Wilburton. There was a family there who have been fans for thirteen years! The dad thanked me for all the pleasure his kids have gotten out of my music. It's nice to get those little reminders of why I do this!

On the way home, Lisa and I (mostly I) were completely silly with exhaustion. We spent much of today - napping! Next shows are Monday at Okeene and Watonga.

Owasso

I did two really great shows in Owasso today; the kids were interacting quite a lot with me and they were fun.

Here's a photo of the first group, watching Evalyn sing "Don't Look, I'm Making a Book."

Posing afterwards with a fan:

Here I am being chased by a "lion" during "Silly Song" in the second show:

A group of kids wanted to be on stage to help me sing "Trick or Treat":

Several kids from the second group wanted to pose for a photo:

Woodward

Lisa and I left Evalyn with her grandma Friday to give her a break, and we capped off a jam-packed week with a fantastic show in Woodward, OK. The kids were just great, and I was able to work their creativity into the show. One highlight was "Silly Song" where an impromptu verse had me being chased around the room by a volunteer "lion" while singing, "Silly silly silly silly..." Another highlight was a new approach to "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud."

Here are a few photos:

"I read the book - ME!"

I put Lisa on the spot and asked her to help me demonstrate the new dance moves for "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud." Here she is dancing like a dinosaur!

And here is a good portion of the audience posing with me after the show. What a good looking group!

P.S. I post small versions of these photos online, but if you would like an original at high resolution, just write to me and I'll send it. (monty at montyharper dot com)

Skiatook, Tulsa

We had quite a tight schedule today, with a program at 1:00 at Skiatook, and another at 3:00 at Schusterman-Benson, in Tulsa. We didn't have time for photos after the Skiatook show, and the second show had a very small audience, so we didn't end up with many photos to share.

Both shows went really really well, though, and were a lot of fun. I got into a big discussion with the kids before the first show about Sponge-Bob Squarepants. (One of the girls had him on her shirt.) The whole room got into it - we were trying to remember the words to the Spongebob song, and then we were trying to figure out whether he actually lives underwater or not. Supposedly he does, but so many things go in in that cartoon that don't make sense underwater, nobody really seems sure. What do you think?

I'm adding a story to this post that I forgot to tell, but this is really wild. At the Schusterman-Benson show I had a pretty young audience, so I decided to do "Big Red Fire Truck." Very visible right outside the large window at the side of the room, there was a maintenance man doing some work on the lawn. Exactly at the part of the song where I sing "See the ladder go up...", the maintenance man lifted a ladder up against the building. Everyone could see him and we all just cracked up. I looked expectantly over on the line "See the people climb down," but nobody climbed down the ladder.

Anyhow, here are a couple of photos from Skiatook, during the show.

Lawton

We were back at the Lawton library today. We'd been there many years in a row, but missed last year. It was good to be back! (I made sure to say hi to the big paper mache dinosaur!)

We had three large groups. Here is from the first performance, "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud":

We were surprised and pleased to see that the program room had been remodeled in our absence. (I'm sure they wanted to impress us for our next visit!) The friends of the library had provided all these colorful carpets for the kids to sit on. Here I am posing with some kids on one of them after the first show.

The third show was the most crowded. Look at this huge group!

Not sure what I'm doing here, but Lisa managed to capture a different gesture than usual.

"Hanging Out With Heroes" (Dr. Seuss version) - and the answer is...

More posing with kids on the carpets:

Atoka and Tishomingo

Two great shows today, in Atoka and Tishomingo. We did the taking suggestions thing during "Silly Song" again in Tishomingo with hilarious results. I'm getting pretty confident at that, though still unsure about doing it with a larger audience.

We had a lot of kids wanting photos at Atoka, so here they are!

I took this shot of Evalyn and Lisa at lunch. We ate at El Adobe in Atoka, which Evalyn later referred to as "El Mud," not because the food was bad - the food was very good - she was just playing with the words.

Evalyn in Evalyn Paradise:

Posing with some fans in Tishomingo. Isn't this a fantastic shot? Lisa rocks!

Healdton and Davis

Shows today in Healdton and Davis, OK! We were up at 4:30 AM in order to get on the road, and we drove under ominous clouds producing pretty impressive lightning. Despite this dark start, the day went wonderfully.

Here I am at Healdton. As usual, Lisa took these great photos for me!

"Don't Look I'm Making a Book" - most photographed moment. Also, most requested song by moms.

"Be Creative" decorations. Lisa was in love with those cats.

Here's the entire audience, after the show, playing their hands like maracas.

Howdy to my Davis audience. They were a bit unresponsive at first, but we got them warmed up soon enough.

Evalyn is learning to "pop" for the "Brainiacs" song.

This is what Evalyn typically does during most of the program:

Dancing like dinosaurs!

Altus and Hollis

Yesterday Lisa and I made the four hour drive to Hollis, OK, leaving home at 5:00 AM. We left Evalyn at her grandma's so she wouldn't have to miss her last swimming lesson.

We had a blast at Hollis and then Altus; both great audiences, both great shows.

This is the Hollis show:

Here's Lisa's favorite shot - me doing the shark grin, with my eyes flashing red. Don't ask me how I do it, I don't know.

Posing with fans:

Westin has my fingers trapped!

Here's the Altus show:

Posing with fans:

McAlester

It's been a busy two weeks! I'm a bit behind in blogging about my gigs, so I'm going to go ahead and do today's and work backwards. That puts things in the wrong order, but oh, well, now you know!

Today we were at McAlester. I've been to the library there many years running, and we always enjoy coming back. Many of the kids hang out between and after the shows, and it's fun to interact with them. My first show was populated mostly by preschoolers, and somehow I actually ended up singing for a full hour!

Anita Ross, the librarian, always goes all out in decorating the room, as you see in these pix:

Dancing "out loud"

"Gimme five!"

Posing with some fans:

Discussing books:

Wellington, KS

Lisa says yesterday's performance at Wellington was my best yet this summer. I'm starting to get all these new songs under my fingers! Here are some photos...

Ballerina mice...

Ready to load the car...

Ada and Coalgate

Today I was at one library that I have visited every summer since we don't remember when, Ada, and one library I've never been to before, Coalgate. The first two pix are from the Ada show, the second two from Coalgate. I'm keeping it short because tomorrow we have another early departure and I need to get to bed!

Hugoton, KS

Lisa and I left Evalyn at her grandma's yesterday so that she could do swimming lessons in the evening, and we drove six hours up through the Oklahoma panhandle to Hugoton, KS. They have a very nice library there, newly renovated with a nice big program room. I had a super audience this morning and Lisa, as always, took some great photos for you. 

"I'm gonna play my ribs like a kalimba!"

Instead of decorating for the "Be Creative" theme, the librarians had covered one wall in the program room in white paper, and after the show, kids were invited to draw something on the wall. I took a turn, as you can see. The finished masterpiece (ha ha) read: "Monty Harper sez READ A BOOK!"

I also got to pose with a few of the kids, next to their creations. A green tornado:

A rockin purple guitar:

Flower, butterfly, turtle, caterpillar, and more.

During the six hour drive home, Lisa helped me write down some notes about the program. We are still trying to figure out the best way to present "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud." 

If you don't know the song (from the new CD), each verse asks kids to dance like a character from a picture book. The four books have one thing in common - they are each about a dancing animal. For example, Dumpy LaRue is a dancing pig.

Kids have a part where they shout "me!" and that works really well, but the dancing aspect needs help. Should we suggest specific moves for each animal, or keep it open to the kids' creativity? Should Evalyn maybe demonstrate some dance moves (when available)? What do you think?

Sand Springs - First Summer Shows!

I did my first two summer shows in Sand Springs today, debuting FIVE new songs from the "Let's Get Creative" CD, and it went very well. I had two fantastic groups of kids, and I learned a lot about how to present the new songs.

Here are some photos from the day. Evalyn sang the chorus on "Don't Look, I'm Making a Book," just like on the CD. 

"Silly Song" continues to amaze us in terms of just how well it works to get the kids loosened up and participating. A simple song, but not simplistic. Here I am grinning like a shark.

Here is a shot from the second show of me and Evalyn together on stage.

"Pop Up Sit Down" always makes for fun photos:

Lisa made me pose for this one, so I might as well share it!

After we got home and had some dinner, Evalyn was off to her first swimming lesson of the summer. Here she is in the pool:

And afterwards, here she is feeding a cracker to a water-monster pipe.

Ev's Creative Corner

My eight-year-old daughter, Evalyn, has started her own blog called "Ev's Creative Corner"! We are all very excited about it around here, because she is so excited. She has already posted an introduction, two book reviews, and an original poem. AND she has way more followers than I do, after less than three days! 

We received a comment from a reader about her writing that says, "Wow, Evalyn, if I hadn't known you were eight I would've thought you were twenty five!"

I just want you to know that although I have given Evalyn some help setting things up, the writing is all her own. Sometimes she types for herself, but mostly at this point I have been taking dictation for her. The spelling and punctuation are me, but the wording, vocabulary, sentence structure, thoughts and ideas are all Evalyn. 

So far she has been highly motivated to post something new every day. Please visit Evalyn's blog and post a comment, click the "follow" link, and take her poll about what to do on a rainy day. This kind of feedback will keep her going strong!

Thanks!

Jiggle Jam

We attended Jiggle Jam in Kansas City this weekend and had a great time. Jiggle Jam is the only major festival focussed exclusively on children's music. It's amazing. We saw Recess Monkey (and got an interview for Lisa's podcast), Trout Fishing in America, Justin Roberts, They Might Be Giants, Brady Rymer, Dan Zanes, and many more. 

Lisa captured Dan Zanes in a signature jump in the photo above. (She posted a bunch of photos from the weekend on facebook.) What a showman. He took requests throughout his show, and got everyone dancing. He and his band paraded through the audience, singing, at the end of the last song, then stood in the sun signing autographs by the sales table.

Most of the bands were very accessible this way, and that made it a lot of fun. Jiggle Jam III is already in the works, so make your plans now!  

Letter from Perkins

I used to get letters from kids quite often, but I rarely do these days. Last week I performed at Perkins Elementary, and the other day I received this letter from one of the students. Isn't this great?