. . . .started laughing every time I sang that line. When
I finally asked them what was so funny I found out that they thought I
was singing "Don't forget the donut!" We've been singing it that way
ever since.
RI: That's great! Sort of like one of my favourite old pop songs, "Bad Moon Rising." The tag line in that song is actually "There's a bad moon on the rise." But I always thought they were singing "There's the bathroom on the right."
Anyway, I know you've been playing family music and performing for kids
and their families for a long time. How did you get started in this
racket? Er, I mean career?
WP: My mother was a folk singer and ran a nursery school when I was a kid. I
worked there for a couple of summers as a camp counselor and led the
sing-a-longs. During college in Boston I volunteered to sing songs at a
local day care center, which I loved. After college I had the
opportunity to fill in as a singer for a party at a nursery school whose
regular music teacher was sick. A few weeks later the school asked me to
come once a week to do music with the children, and the staff was very
encouraging. I picked up more schools over time and started doing
parties and shows. Parents and teachers urged me to record my material.
RI: Who were some of the people who were most influential in your life?
WP: Well of course my Mom and Dad, and mostly my older brother Michael who
LOVES music. Folk singer Pete Seeger was an enormous influence on me,
from his awesome music to his personal involvement in making the world a
better place. The Beatles were a big influence musically and
production-wise too. My fourth grade music teacher Mrs. Clark had me
read about the life of Beethoven, which hooked me.
RI: Wayne, tell us where you're from and a little bit about your
childhood! Were you always musically inclined? Did you have a dog,
perhaps?
WP: I grew up outside New York City, in a suburban town. My mom taught me
to play guitar when I was five or six. Even before then I used to set up
a little record player I had and listen to music for hours. My dad ran a
hat factory in Manhattan. I played in a couple of band with my friends.
We had lots of animals as pets when we were growing up- two sheep dogs
named Cupid and Psyche, monkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, rabbits, a skunk
named Stinky, turtles, and birds. When I was sixteen we moved to a
rural farm in Pennsylvania where we raised sheep for wool, goats for
milk, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, and cats. We also had a several
dogs. Nowadays we have two cats, a rabbit, and Freddy the fish.
RI: Your CDs really sound great––the playing is very professional, the
singing is fun and always in tune! How'd you learn all that, anyway?
They don't teach all that in schools, do they?
WP: I'm so glad to hear you comment on the sound of the CD! I did graduate
from Berklee College of Music in Boston which is a fantastic place to
become a professional musician. I learned how to record in the studio,
how to write better songs and arrange them, how to play better guitar,
singing, and work well with other musicians. I worked as a
producer/recording engineer at Heart Punch Studio in Boston where I
learned a lot, too. The children I see weekly at schools around Boston
have also been a huge help. I learned from them that the secret of
sharing the love of music that I have, is by having a lot of fun with the
music myself. You can't fake that.
RI: Tell us something about your group, The Music Fun Band. Who are those
guys and where did you meet them?
WP: The Music Fun Band are very close friends of mine who also happen to be
fine musicians. When we get together to practice we have a great time
laughing, eating, telling stories, playing baseball in the backyard, and
most certainly playing music. My drummer Bryn Carlson is a very funny
guy who played with me back in my rock and roll days. We met through a
mutual drummer friend in Boston. Paul Sedgwick is my camping buddy. He
was a new drama teacher at a school where I was giving guitar lessons.
He barged in my room one day, interrupting a lesson with his banjo
strapped on, and he started the playing the famous introduction from
"Dueling Banjos". Naturally, I had to answer each banjo riff on my
guitar. We played through the whole song, much to the surprise of my
student who thought we were crazy. Paul was so good I asked him to join
my group. He makes his own instruments including didgeridoos; he's very
artsy. Our bass guitar player is John Wiesner, the son of the director
at one of the schools I play at. John is a great player, fun to have
around, and is pretty good with a baseball too. He's a very talented
music teacher.
RI: You seem to keep a very heavy performing schedule. Tell us what you
like about performing and why you do so much of it.
WP: I love the reaction of the audience to our music. There's a kind of
magic that sometimes happens between the band and the audience that is
really thrilling. The guys in the band know me really well and will
follow me musically no matter what I do. We have a good time when we
play, and I think that's why the audience has so much fun. I play lots
of solo shows as well, and I enjoy the privilege of spending fun, quality
time with children and families. I am so fortunate to be able to make a
living playing music, something I love to do.
RI: If you couldn't be a musician what would your second choice career be?
WP: That's a tough one, Roof-less. I used to want to be an animal doctor because I
love animals, but after working with children for so long I'd want to do
something to help children in need. My wife Sherrill is a physical
therapist who works with very young special needs children who need help
learning to walk and function doing things we all take for granted. I
really admire that.
RI: What's your favourite song to perform live in concert?
WP: "Wiggly Tooth" is my favourite right now. It's a gentle song that my
audiences relate to and sing along to, even though they've never heard it
before. I had a wonderful kindergarten class not too long ago. They
were all losing they're baby teeth and were begging me to write a song
about it; it makes me think of them too.
RI: Picture yourself now on another planet somewhere far away from Earth.
You're responsible for setting up a new society on this distant
planet. What are you going to do that's different from what we've
done here on Earth to make life there better for everyone?
WP: This is a pretty heavy question. With all the problems here on Earth it
feels tempting to want to go to another planet and start over. I'm a big
fan of the seven principles of Universal-Unitarianism which include the
inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and
compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another and
encouragement to spiritual growth; a free and responsible search for
truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic
process; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for
all and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we
are a part.
I don't think I could come up with a better set of
guidelines for day to day living.
Maybe free music lessons for all!
RI: What a great vision! And we sure couldn't argue with free music lessons. Thanks Wayne!<\i>
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