Dance!!
Award-winning kids recording artist Brady Rymer explains why his music allows parents and kids to have fun together!
Commitment: Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band that Could was nominated for a Grammy Award, and received the Parent's Choice Gold Award and the NAPPA Gold Award! What makes this album so special?
Brady Rymer: A few things: it was written and recorded with a whole lot of positive spirit. I was havin' so much fun writing these songs - they felt new, different, honest, mysterious, alive & full of energy. I wrote the songs with the whole band in mind, and I was really looking forward to recording with everyone. This is the first CD that we recorded as the whole band start to finish, and that also makes it special - after a few years of playing together and becoming closer I think the spirit of a band working together & having fun really comes across to the listener.
I also think the CD represents what Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could is all about - fun, positive music that all generations can enjoy together, heartfelt, honest songs that really matter to us. I think that commitment to the music translates to the audience.
And then - honestly, I just write 'em and play 'em the best I can. When that's all done, you hope that your work affects your listeners in some positive way - and it seems like this CD and this group of songs has done that.
Commitment: The tunes to your songs are songs are sophisticated, while the lyrics are kid-friendly. Was your intent to have these songs appeal to both children and adults?
Brady: Yes, that's always been my intent as a family artist. I see that the whole family is involved in listening to music at my live shows - you can't just play to the kids and ignore the adults. I have also seen that when moms & dads & kids enjoy the music together it makes for a stronger experience for all. I love it when everyone can dance, sing & rock out together - that's definitely the most rewarding!
I also love being a dad, and my songs come from seeing a child's world, but also being a parent - I'm not a kid anymore, ya know - but I can observe things that happen in their world & mine. The things that are striking to me I feel like writing about - and I think naturally they are things that grownups can relate to as well. And the music just comes out like it does. I don't try to make the music sophisticated or simple; I try to follow the song wherever it wants to go, and hopefully in the end there is a compatible marriage of lyrics and melody.
Commitment: Several of your songs have a Country-Western feel. Do you have a background in Country-Western music?
Brady: I was born in Ohio, lived in Nebraska & Illinois before settling on the East Coast - my family comes from the hills of West Virginia, my Grandma played spirituals on her little red piano - so I don't have a background in country specifically, but I do have a strong love of American roots music - Simple music that turned into bluegrass, country/western, folk, gospel, R&B - artists like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry…
Commitment: You have an entire song devoted to pies! What inspired "Pie"?
Brady: There is a fantastic pie shop about 20 minutes away from our house. In the summer time we eat a lot of their pies and my kids, especially my daughter, love their pies. So sometimes we'll have a few pies hangin' around, and my kids like to eat them for breakfast, maybe after lunch for a snack and then for dessert after dinner. So I guess it was just one of those nights after a whole day or two of watching my kids eatin' pie that that song came poppin' out! I remember working on it in the living room as my daughter was in the kitchen havin' a slice of peach/raspberry!
Commitment: When did you start writing music for children?
Brady: When my wife was pregnant with our first child - 1996. So much was changing and so much was brand new that I found myself writing about it. At first I had no idea what I was writing about - I mean lyrics like, "nest", "father", "home", "utero" was not my typical lyrical ideas…so as they came out & I worked on them I realized I was writing about this new time & it just kinda snowballed from there.
Commitment: You sing with your "Little Band that Could." When did you form this band?
Brady: We formed slowly & in stages - I met Claudia, who plays accordion & sings, down at the playground when both of our kids were very young. We got to talkin' & she mentioned that she sings & so we got together for little jam sessions in each others' kitchens & she sang on my 2nd CD. I then met Liz & Seth at my kids' preschool - they sing, play mandolin & keyboards. Their son was going there as well. So when I was working on I Found It, my third CD, I was hearing some classic Motown-esque backup vocals & decided to introduce Claudia to Liz! It worked out great & Liz mentioned that Seth played keyboards if I ever needed anyone. When it was time to release the CD & put a show together it all kinda came together then - and I realized that I was right back where I started many years ago - in a cool rock n roll band only this time playing music for families!
Commitment: How has parenthood influenced your music?
Brady: It has giving me a never ending stream of things to write about! Things that are very personal but hopefully universal to all parents & kids. It has certain given me an opportunity to write about very unique things - My love & concern for my family is a very strong thing to pull from when working on tunes - it really doesn't get any stronger than that - writing about also helps me figure some things out I guess & it always keeps me active in my kids' world - every new stage brings many new ideas.
Commitment: Before becoming a leading children's recording artist you toured and recorded with a band that opened for Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Has the music of these rock icons influenced your own music?
Brady: Sure - I'm like a sponge that way. I love soaking up many many different types of music. And these artists are examples of ones who do the same - It was also very important for me to see how they work - day to day, you know, what the different processes are for putting on a show and touring successfully. It has helped me figure out the best way for me to go about it -
Commitment: Your songs - both tunes and lyrics - show a clear understanding of what it's like to be a kid! How has your own childhood influenced your music?
Brady: It was a happy childhood - so that I think is the biggest influence and natural spirit that I share. It was also a rambunctious childhood - we had a fun, funny household - spunky, I guess. & I think my music encompasses that - it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's not trivial at the same time. I was also shown a great deal of love as a kid. And hopefully our music passes that love along - I certainly don't try to be a kid - 'cause I'm not one now - I just try to be myself!
Commitment: Where can we learn more about what's next for Brady Rymer?
Brady: Keep up tp date with the website ww.bradyrymer.com, get on our mailing list (you can do that on our site!) and keep comin' out to shows. We have a bunch of new songs that we've been tryin' out at concerts and maybe we'll be posting them on our site as well. That's' a good question. Maybe we need to let people know more about what's cookin' around here…. Somedays we don't know what's goin' on ourselves!!!
To purchase Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band that Could, click here.
