Prague Elementary

I had a fun day performing at Prague Elementary! The kids were fantastic. I can't believe what super audiences I had. Both the PreK - 1st grade group and the 2nd and 3rd grade group were enthusiastic participators and singers, yet at the same time they became quiet and attentive after each song without my having to say anything. That kind of cooperation always brings out my best performance, and I just really enjoyed singing for these kids today! It's great to have days like this that remind me why I do what I do!

Thanks to my wonderful host, Karen Taylor, for taking these photos!

Broken Arrow Library

Lisa and Evalyn came with me this evening for a 7:00 PM program at the Broken Arrow Library. It was an interesting show. The Tulsa library series I'm doing this week and next is to help publicize the bilingual theater production of "Tomás and the Library Lady" presented by the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust as part of the Imagination Series on Nov. 9. (For ticket information, call the PAC at 596-7911.) The play is based on a picture book called Tomás and the Library Lady by Pat Mora. So I chose songs to go with the book, and also read the book to the audience.

We had a very small group - mostly a single family (see the photo). But the kids were great and we had fun.

Tomorrow I get up early and drive to Prague, OK for two Oklahoma CenTUNEial shows at Prague elementary school.

The next Tulsa library show is Tuesday at 3:00 in Collinsville. I hope to see you there!

OSU Homecoming

OSU Homecoming was last weekend. Lisa and I took Evalyn and our neighbor to the walk-around Friday and to the parade Saturday morning.

As we were reminded constantly by the house decoration soundtracks, OSU's homecoming is the biggest in the country.

Evalyn and Janay had fun at the walk-around, but Lisa and I were alarmed by the unbelievable crowds. At one point we had to traverse a street that was jam packed with a sea of people. It took us ten minutes or so to walk one block. We had to carry the girls for fear of their getting trampled, and I accidentally stepped on a dog!

Later we got separated heading in to see one of the displays. By the time Evalyn and I made our way to the other end of the crowd, Lisa and Janay were nowhere to be seen. Thank goodness for cell phones!

Our favorite decoration was the Alice in Wonderland one. You can see in the photo above a giant Pistol Pete with his head, arms and feet sticking out of a campus building (Old Central?). This one also included fountains, which were flooding the nearby street corner!

Anyhow, the house decorations are fun, but I'm not at all sure they're worth the effort of dealing with those enormous crowds!

Tomorrow evening, I'll be performing at the library in Broken Arrow, at 7:00pm. More Tulsa area library shows are coming up over the following week as well. See you soon, I hope!

Eliot Elementary, Tulsa OK

I was up rather early, driving through the rain in the dark to an 8:00 AM program at Eliot Elementary School in Tulsa this morning. This was my third visit to Eliot, although it was their first time to see the "Oklahoma CenTUNEial" program. The kids were great (as always), and afterwards I got to meet and greet some students in the library for CD sales (see the photo).

More Tulsa shows are coming up at several library branches. The next is this Thursday at Broken Arrow at 7:00 PM. Check out my schedule for more dates, and I'll see you at the library!

Songbook, Bicentennial, and Broken G-String

Congratulate me - this is my 200th post to this blog! Man, I ramble prolifically.

Today I visited Evalyn's classroom and sang three and a half songs. The half because my last song was interrupted when one of my guitar strings broke. That's only the second time it's happened to me while performing, and the first in probably fifteen years! I'm just glad it wasn't during a show.

I've spent a lot of time over the past few days updating my online songbook. That's where I post the lyrics to all my songs. It isn't perfect yet, but it does list a lot more songs than it used to - I'm up to 107 songs now, organized by title, recording, and topic. Check it out!

St. Mary's in Edmond

I did my "Oklahoma CenTUNEial Celebration" program for St. Mary's Episcopal School in Edmond, OK this morning. The kids were wonderful! Thanks to Cathy Pugsley for this photo!

We watched the big centennial parade on TV yesterday. It's getting pretty exciting - only 32 days to go to November 16. Happy 100th birthday, Oklahoma!

New Schedule

Wow, when it rains it pours, and it's been raining gigs around here. I've spent much of this week settling details and sending out contracts for upcoming shows. (Is it Friday already?)

Here are some highlights of my upcoming schedule:

- Oklahoma CenTUNEial Celebration shows at schools in OKC, Tulsa, Prague, Broken Arrow, Eufaula, Moore, Geary, Duncan, Cordell, Edmond, Piedmont, El Reno, and Seminole.

- Reading Celebration shows in Tulsa (at five branch libraries) and in Pretty Prairy, KS.

- Breakfast With Santa at the Ft. Smith Convention Center in Ft. Smith, AR, Nov 17.

Get the details here: Monty's Schedule.

Podcast Announcement

This is just a quick announcement about my new podcast, which you already know about, being such a faithful reader! I'm posting it here so that iTunes subscribers will know how to find the new podcast. You can listen if you want (by clicking the title above), but I warn you that it's dreadfully dull.

Hilltown Family Variety Show

Meet Persephone. She is the Kindergarten co-host of a radio show in Northampton, MA, called "The Hilltown Family Variety Show." Persephone usually hosts the show with her mom, Sienna, but recently, I was privileged to sit in with her as the guest host!

We met up on Sunday September 30, after the Children's Music Network national conference. Lisa, Evalyn, and I got away from the conference a bit late, and then we managed to drive in a big circle on the New York turnpike before finally pointing ourselves out of Albany and towards Northampton.

So we rushed into the studio late to record. The original plan was to have Evalyn help out, but she was too tired to take any interest. And Persephone, having never had a chance to see me perform, wasn't quite sure who I was. On our first attempt she was pretty quiet and I was pretty frazzled. But as you'll hear, it didn't take long for us both to relax into it, and Sienna did a fantastic job editing the show.

Thank you to Sienna and Persephone for sharing your program with me and giving me a chance to play some of my favorite children's music! It was a lot of fun!

Listen to the show now at the Hilltown Families blog. Enjoy!

P.S. Visit the link above and leave a comment for a chance to win a Sugar Free All-Stars CD. Then leave a comment here for a chance to win an additional CD.

Electronic Playdate

We've been traveling! Lisa, Evalyn and I went to Albany, NY for the Children's Music Network national conference. We were gone most of two weeks and are just now getting back into the swing of things at home. I'll post lots of photos from the trip over the next week or so.

One of the best things about this trip was that we hooked up with our friend Mr. Billy and his kids, Taelor and Will. It was the first time our kids met, and Evalyn and Taelor became fast friends. They've been missing one another since we parted ways at the end of the conference last Sunday.

So yesterday we set up the computer for a video conference, and Evalyn and Taelor had an electronic playdate! They drew pictures of one another and played with their Littlest Pet Shop play sets, comparing and contrasting their pets via the video screen.

The top photo above shows Ev and Tae from our point of view; below that is a shot Mr. Billy took from his house. Mr. Billy and I marveled together about how their generation sees nothing remarkable in such wondrous modes of communication. The girls seemed to have a great time, playing together almost as if they were in the same room.