Mark Helpsmeet does a fantastic radio interview series called Song of the Soul. I was honored to be a guest on the program a few months ago. It’s worthwhile to checkout all the people he’s interviewed. An amazing cast of characters for those of who love acoustic music infused with soul, spirit, and social change. …
Despite the fact that it’s snowing outside on April 10, spring is here. Two days ago it was 70 degrees. Dodger and I went walking and this song appeared. I sang it the next day at a celebration for Week of the Young Child and the call and response nature of it made it work …
The Atlantic just had an article on touch. In light of Joe Biden and MeToo and numerous other issues/trends/discussions in our world today, it raises some good questions.The article examines the known health benefits of human touch; we all need it. At the same time, it recognizes that touch has other implications according to gender, …
Here are the promised handouts from sessions at the ELSA 2019 conference in March. Please download as you need. Thanks for attending the conference. It was my pleasure to be there. Stuart singing the words handout beyond nice handout tableau handout
Just found this clip of an old song of mine. Tom Pease recorded and probably rescued it, and then the Chenille Sisters did a nice version, and then, I see now, included it in some kind of tv show. I always liked the song, and here it pops up again.
As part of the residency mentioned in my previous post, we’ve now written the words and learned five songs about butterflies. One is Butterfly Wishes by Sarah Pirtle. I’m not including that here. One is adapted from Butterfly Dance by Joanie Calem. The other three are Butterflies, Long Way Down to Mexico, and Changes in …
A great article about what I have seen over and over makes a huge difference for kids. Affection/Relationship/Love
Windsor Elementary School, 5 minutes from where I live, is embarking on an arts integrated residency exploring connections between monarch butterflies, journeys, metamorphosis in all of us, and creativity. My wife Heather Terrill Stotts did the sizable leg work to make this happen. She teaches second grade and is also a driving force in bringing …
Once again singing at the family care center room. Young kids, 1-4. Chaos. A certain amount of stress. I’m singing some, letting kids strum my guitar, telling them to be gentle, passing around rhythm instruments. A song evolves. I’ve known for years how young kids love to play what I call “Sleep, Wake Up!” The …
I was working in a family care room, where grown-ups and kids hang out during the day. I arrived with a bag of simple instruments and my guitar, prepared for uncertainty. The kids came and went, their attention wandering to superhero toys or Lincoln logs, and then coming back to the music. They wanted familiar …