Shattuck, OK

We did two more great shows yesterday on the way home from the panhandle. First we were in Shattuck. "Tropeo the Pirate, Terror of the Seas - Arrr!"

"Won't that be a big surprise?"

Here I am signing cards after the show. We have new cards that remind kids to visit calendarsongs.blogspot.com for a free song! Check out the ocean scene in the background. That huge colorful mural was used for the Shattuck prom this year, then loaned to the library for their summer program.

Here's another piece from the prom decor - a sunken ship. It was nice of Evalyn to take a break from her reading so she could pose for a photo with me. Oh, well it was nice of her to pose for a photo with me!

Beaver, OK

It's been a few years since we visited the panhandle. At one time it was a yearly destination for us, so Lisa and I were excited to go back, and Evalyn was excited to see it for the first time (She's been, but was too small to remember). 

If I had to pick one word to describe the day, it would be: "Windblown." If Oklahoma seems windy to most people, the panhandle seems windy to most Oklahomans. The land is flat on a large scale. There are lots of small hills and ravines, but you can see for miles across the land, and there are very few trees, so the wind has nothing to slow it down. The trees you do see are short and all lean in one direction. You can guess why. We also saw groups of cows in one case and horses in another, lined up along their fences, all facing into the wind, the horses with their manes whipping out behind them.

We saw a tumble weed or two, and in one case a tumble cow - that is, the cow was rolling across the prairie, blown off its feet by the wind. Now if you believe that one, I have a few more stories to tell you. We didn't really see a tumble cow, but we did keep our eyes peeled for one because you never know.

Here I am being introduced at the Beaver library, plus a couple of shots of me performing:

Tomorrow: Shattuck and Woodward!

Cushing

On the 7th Evalyn and I went to Cushing. Evalyn took all the photos, except the ones of the audience. Check out my eye on this one. No, I'm not going to tell you how I did that:

Arr!

Where'd my cheer go? This group was pretty quiet, but we had fun. I wouldn't let them get away with a wimpy cheer on "Grandma's House!"

After the last song, everyone stayed seated for a while, which seemed pretty unusual, so I took the opportunity to photograph my audience. Here there are, left and right halves:

Posing with some fans afterward:

Next destinations: Beaver, Shattuck, and Woodward.

Meeker Library

On June 2 we were at Meeker, OK. We set up in a long narrow space between the wall and the shelves. The librarian kept the kids focused with a pirate book while they came in and found their seats.

Ack! Get that sea star off my face! The kids were fantastic, especially considering how tightly packed they were - like sardines! (To stick with the theme.)

I got out the concertina to perform "Library Bookaneers."

One of the daycare groups stayed after the show to ask me questions and strum my guitar.

Evalyn and I couldn't resist posing for photos as a little pirate. Lisa insisted I make a mean face. I'm not really that mean. Really. I'm not.

Summer Reading Kickoff - Wilburton and Hartshorne

How does the summer get here so fast! We are one week into and I'm already playing catch-up. Here are a couple of photos from our first two library programs, on June 1. 

Here I'm showing the Wilburton crowd how to swing their sabers for "Tropeo the Pirate."

Evalyn is giving us her fish-face, posing underwater in the Wilburton children's section.

Evalyn at Hartshorne, posing in front of the waterfall.

Have you guessed? We have a water theme this summer. More photos on the way...

Please Vote for My Science Festival Jingle!!

This is so exciting! My song is one of seven finalists in the USA Science and Engineering Festival theme song competition!

You can hear all the finalists, and vote for your favorite one on the USASEF website.

The festival takes place this October in Washington, D.C. - and I'll be there performing my new science songs! Won't it be cool if I can tell everyone that I wrote the theme song they've been hearing?

Please take a listen and vote for your favorite!

Calendar Song of the Week Podcast - 52 free songs!

Lisa and I are launching a brand new podcast today, AND we'll be giving away fifty two free songs to anybody who wants them!

Here's what it's all about:
"Every Monday, hosts Monty and Lisa discuss calendar observances that celebrate reading, science, creativity, seasons, and family. Each week they feature a free fun song connected with an upcoming date of significance. It's something to share with your kids; it's a song you can use with your students; it's a smile for your Monday morning!"

For my fans, you may already have many of the songs, but some of them are not widely available, and a few may be brand new. We'll also feature a couple of guest artists, so although most of the songs are mine, some will come from my musical friends. And of course many of the calendar observances are cool days or weeks that maybe you've never heard of. It'll give us a chance to talk about lots of fun, important topics of interest to kids, parents, teachers, and librarians.

Lisa and I sometimes have a habit of biting off more than we can chew. But with this podcast we've been very careful to plan a sustainable amount of work into it. We already have fifty two episodes planned out! Still, your encouragement will help us immensely with the follow-through. Please check it out and let us know what you think! And please tell your friends and family and help spread the word!

The first episode is available now. May is "Get Caught Reading Month" and the free song is "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud." You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes. You can get the free song on the Calendar Song of the Week blog.

One more thing - each song is only available as a free download for one week. So the sooner you tell your friends, the more songs they can get. And hey, as an original listener, you will be one of the lucky few to collect all fifty two songs!

We hope the new podcast will at least give you a smile every Monday morning! Thanks for checking it out!

OKC Festival of the Arts

This Sunday I sang at the OKC Festival of the Arts. We had a great little crowd - we filled the shade seats to capacity! It's great having my family with me, especially at places where they can have fun, too. After the show we checked out a couple of other bands and we took a tour of the Crystal Bridge botanical gardens. Here are some photos Lisa and Evalyn took during the show!

Rock On, Byars Elementary!

Last week I did my first two "Say It in a Song" programs, one in Byars, OK, and the other in Minco, OK. This program was developed in partnership with the Oklahoma Arts Council, which provides funding to bring it to small schools in the state. It involves a school-wide concert plus workshops for up to thirty 3rd-5th graders.

All the photos are from Byars because my camera battery was dead when I got to Minco!

Here I am on stage in the kindergarten classroom for the morning performance.

Here's my audience. About half the school is pictured here. The older kids were in rows of chairs in the back.

Blah blah blah - me talking about songwriting! I could talk about it all day.

The workshop got exciting when we started writing.

I didn't get my guitar out until we had a verse to sing.

More writing!

We shared our song with the rest of the school a few grades at a time in the hallway.

Now I'll share it with you:

Rock on, Seasons!

Rock on Springtime!

Rock on Springtime!

April showers, pretty flowers

Springtime is here!

Rock on Summertime!

Rock on Summertime!

Swimming in the pool, and we're out of school

Summertime is here!

Rock on Autumn!

Rock on Autumn!

Leaves are falling, Dad's footballing

Autumn time is here!

Rock on Wintertime!

Rock on Wintertime!

Making snowmen, going sledding

Winter is here!

Rock on seasons!

Rock on seasons!

Spring and Summer, Autumn, Winter

Take us through the year!

Museum of the Red River

This Saturday I performed at the Museum of the Red River for "Acrofest," their yearly celebration of Fran the Acrocanthosaurus. The Acro is Oklahoma's state dinosaur!

We had two great shows! We broadcast the morning show via UStream. You can see it online here: The Saturday Show.

See below for photos from the afternoon show, as well as Lisa's great photos of Fran herself!

New Monty Harper / Mr. Billy Video Made by Teachers!

Check out this video of our song, "Reading Makes Me Want to Dance Out Loud!" This is a lot of fun with teachers acting goofy and dancing to our music to inspire their kids to read! What could be better! The ending cracks me up. I think we need a new DWR law (Driving While Reading)!

Say It In a Song!

I was selected by the Oklahoma Arts Council to help pilot a new program called Performing Arts Corps (PAC). The program puts artists into small schools to work with kids in their art form. Three other artists are involved: DWe Williams (storytelling), Perpetual Motion (modern dance), and Sugar Free Allstars (music). Of course I'll be teaching songwriting.

We are booking programs now for April and May. Here's the description of my program:

Songwriting is a great motivational tool to help students process and communicate new ideas!

Overview
This is a new elementary school program on songwriting, developed in cooperation with the Oklahoma Arts Council for their Performing Arts Corps grant. The program includes a performance for the entire school, plus workshops for a small group of 4th and/or 5th graders. After the OAC grant refund, the cost for qualifying small schools is only $125.

Assembly
Monty performs his award-winning "Wacky Witty Way-Out Songs" for your entire school (Prek-6th) in an interactive assembly program. Students will enjoy a live concert experience while learning a few basics of songwriting. Monty encourages students to develop their own creativite talents.

Workshops
Workshop students will create lyrics and music on the spot while exploring the ins and outs of songwriting. Monty will stretch students' creative and cooperative muscles while helping them develop new language and analytical skills.

Teachers
Teachers are provided an extensive guide to help them further develop student skills (no musical ability required!), after Monty's visit. Correlation to relevant PASS standards is included. An original student song adds pizzazz to any school project!

USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C.

I'm scheduled to perform on the National Lawn in Washington, D.C. October 23 and 24 for the first USA Science and Engineering Festival!

Can you find me on the list? It's kind of like playing Where's Waldo, there's so much going on! It'll be a scientastic good time!

Lisa and I are also working on booking a tour on the way out and back. If you know of any science museums or schools who might be interested, please let us know!

My program is called "Songs From the Science Frontier." Here's a description:

Dance like a dinosaur, spin like a planet, sing like an electricity-generating wind rotor blade! Children's singer/songwriter Monty Harper celebrates the wonder and joy of the scientific process with this interactive multimedia show for 1st-5th grade. Monty's lyrics amplify the cool factor in current scientific research, and many of the songs feature specific Oklahoma connections. Whether it's bat taxonomy, phototaxic bacterium, wheat genomics, or x-ray crystallography, Monty's enthusiasm for the topic will have your students itching to explore further on the science frontier!

Roundy Round Video

Check out this amazing fan-made video of my song, "Roundy Round"!

Here's the story behind it, from my friend Laurie: "I've been volunteering at my daughter's school, teaching science lessons. I want to expose her classmates to "Roundy Round," and I mentioned it to my husband, and lamented that I didn't have anything to show them while they are listening to it. So, my talented husband made a video with all sorts of video clips of planets and things going roundy round to the music. It is awesome."

I'll say! Check it out! Pass it on!