Andover and Andale, KS

(Repairing original post from 6/22/14) Here are photos from our trip to Andover and Andale, Kansas last week. Thanks to Evalyn for taking photos during the shows! My reminder to take out the trash popped up over the slideshow in the middle of the Andover program! Thank you Apple IOS for syncing reminders to all my devices without me even having to ask. Other than that we had two great shows!

Coming up next - Wilburton and McAlester.

Andover Children's Area

Kicking off the show in Andover, KS

Ready to be dinosaurs in Andover, KS

Outside the Andale Library

Bat Man at Andale, KS

Wind Energy at Andale, KS

That's Lisa in front, operating the slide show.

Derby, KS

(Repairing original post from 6/18/14) Great day yesterday in Derby, KS!

We saw this driving through town! A TARDIS mailbox in somebody's front yard. I'll bet they get the most interesting mail.

My first audience - it was a packed house!

"Bat Man"

"Roundy Round" during the second show. We had a great group of kids and parents and I was able to do a lot more interacting with the kids!

"Roundy Round" with a partner.

In the afternoon I did a songwriting workshop with teens.

A quick example to show how to take an idea and turn it into "song language" while avoiding the dreaded rhyme trap.

Ada

I performed in Ada Thursday. We've lost count of how many summers in a row I've been part of Ada's program. At least 15! I so appreciate having places like this where we feel right at home!

Evalyn and Lisa came with me. This is one of the libraries Evalyn looks forward to visiting each year. Lisa was busy advancing slides during the show, and running the sales table after, so Evalyn came over and took some pics of me with the kids afterward. 

Then we went over to check out the Blue Moon Cafe for lunch, and had some delicious fried green tomatoes! 

This week - three libraries in Kansas: Derby, Andover, and Andale. 

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Blue Moon Cafe

Mustang, Duncan, Perkins, Meeker

Our first four programs of the summer have already come and gone! The rest of my summer schedule is here: http://www.montyharper.com/Schedule.html

I went to Mustang on my own last Thursday the 29th and helped kick their summer program off with the Sugar Free All-Stars! Lisa and Evalyn travelled with me to Duncan on the 5th for a jam-packed performance and a songwriting workshop that afternoon with the teens. Today Lisa and I visited Perkins and Meeker for two more jam-packed shows!

The theme this summer is science! I'm pleased to be able to present my "Songs From the Science Frontier" program at the libraries! The songs were inspired by conversations with scientists about their research, and I present them along with a slideshow that allows me to introduce the kids to the scientists and their work and lets the audience follow along with lyrics on screen. So far I've had a great response. It's going to be a fun summer!!

Lisa has been advancing the slides when she can be with me, so her photo-taking opportunities are limited. Still she's done a fantastic job grabbing some memorable moments with the camera. Enjoy!

Great crowd at Duncan!

An audience member at Duncan helps demonstrate the moves for "Bat Man." 

"Roundy Round" in Duncan.

Posing after the workshop in Duncan. The pirate costume was from a recent trip to Disney!

Snap those toothy jaws in Perkins!

Roundy Round in Perkins

Doing the Stegasaur Swing, Perkins.

"Let me hear you roar!" Perkins.

Seizmosaur Stomp, Perkins.

"Spring those sharpened claws" in Meeker

Healthy Living

Fourth and fifth graders at Will Rogers Elementary wrote these songs with help from Monty Harper during a recent residency, made possible by the Oklahoma Arts Council. The songs were inspired by the City of Stillwater's Healthy Living campaign.

Please listen and vote for your favorite below! The class who wrote the winning song will get to make their song into a video!

You can see last year's winning song video here!

Want to support my songwriting with kids and help me provide extras like this for all the kids I work with? Become a Patron!

Click a triangle to listen. Click a song title to open a page with lyrics.

Vote below. Vote for as many songs as you like. Vote up to one time per day. Tell your friends! Deadline: Friday April 18 at midnight Central time.

First Unitarian Church Fall Fair, OKC

Last Saturday I had a fun time performing outdoors for the First Unitarian Church in Oklahoma City. It was chilly in the shade so we set up in the last sunny spot as the sun went down behind the building. All other activities, games, and bounce house paused so people could gather for the show (which I very much appreciate!) I sang an impromptu song about a penguin on the refrigerator as suggested by one young audience member who came up between songs to make his request. I don't know if he had an existing song in mind - if so, now there are two! It was nice to have Lisa and Evalyn along; they don't always get to come with me during the school year. Lisa took some great photos. Here they are...

Roundy Round

 

I'm gonna play my nose like a kazoo!

Lisa loves to capture me with a goofy look on my face while I'm singing.

 

See what I mean?

New Science CD Underway

I've started working on my next CD! It will be a follow-up to Songs From the Science Frontier.

Right now I'm making demo recordings of the songs and starting to raise funds for the studio recording and manufacturing. The general plan is to try and raise $2,000 or so for manufacturing through sales of my current CDs between now and December. (So please buy CDs for your friends and family - they make great Christmas gifts!)

Sometime around October/November we'll run a Kickstarter-type campaign to raise the money needed for studio recording. We're planning a lot of fun stuff in the meantime, and would love for you to be involved!

What kinds of prizes / rewards would you like have a chance to earn? Please take this very quick and fun survey, or post a comment. Thanks!

Wiggle Out Loud

Oklahoma's first ever day-long kindie music event, Wiggle Out Loud, was a sensation! I was given the honor of kicking the whole thing off and I had a nice little crowd to sing for. Thanks everyone who came out to see me!!!!

Kudos to Chris Wiser of the Sugar Free Allstars, the driving force behind the event! He introduced me as the "Grandfather of Children's Music in Oklahoma." Later he claimed that he meant to say "Godfather." I'm not sure how much difference there is. Point being, I was doing children's music before any of these other upstarts!

The most amazing meeting occurred just before my program. A dad and daughter whom I had never met before came up to say hi. As it turns out, I had heard the girl Willow's voice calling in a question on a podcast just the day before. The podcast is produced in California, so I never expected to meet anyone connected with it at a show in Oklahoma! But what's more, she was having a similar experience, because my voice was also in that very same podcast episode! I'm talking about Aaron's World Episode 35 - Meridian. Willow asked for her favorite of my songs, "Acrocanthosaurs!" Of course I played it for her and she joined me on stage. Very cool!

Lisa and I spent the rest of the day watching our vocational grandchildren show off their musical prowess. Children's music sure has come a long way! Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and his daughter MC Fireworks blew me away with their smart and meaningful children's rap. And the Verve Pipe were just flat-out awesome!

All the acts did a great job, of course, and the audiences were fantastic. It was amazing to play at a festival where the people came to hear great family music. (As opposed to being an add-on to whatever the main idea is, which is the usual festival situation.) 

Lisa took some photos, below - I guess she has a natural bias toward photos of me! Who can blame her? I did take one shot myself of the Verve Pipe drummer. They let kids come up on stage and beat on the drum kit during the last song. When I approached the stage to take a photo I wasn't sure if I'd get a clear shot, there was such a huge crowd of photographers already there. I guess it's just not something you see at every concert!  

Oh, and the last photo is me with ten-year-old Elvis impersonator Brady Shattan! Yes, you read right. The kid is a ball of fire! He wants to be a children's musician when he grows up. Ha, ha - me too!

On Stage

Big Red Fire Truck

"Spring Your Sharpened Claw"

Roundy Round

Fans

Verve Pipe drummer surrounded by kids, all bashing his drums during the last song of their set, "I'm a Believer"

With Brady Shattan, aka "Mini Elvis"

Name-Your-Price Downloads for my Birthday!

It's my birthday!

I'm celebrating with name-your-own-price downloads for 48 hours on my BandCamp page! 

The music you'll find there includes:

• Songs From the Science Frontier + two additional science songs
• Halloween Madness
• Reading Songs Volume I + additional reading songs
• Talk Like a Pirate Day
• All my residency songs, written with 4th and 5th graders

Proceeds will kick off the fund for recording my next science CD!!

Please download some free music - I want you to! - and share with your friends. Thanks!!

(Sale ends Aug 23 at 10 AM CST)