Interview: Alison Faith Levy

Alison Faith Levy - credit Danny Plotnick

Many of us in the kids music world first heard Alison Faith Levy as part of the late, great San Francisco kindie band The Sippy Cups, but with two solo albums under her belt, including her most recent album The Start of Things, Levy has carved out an identity in the kids music world entirely her own.

Levy and I chatted by phone a couple weeks ago to talk about she reconciled her love of theatre and of rock and roll, the inspirations behind The Start of Things, and what it's like to parent a musically precocious kid.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Alison Faith Levy: I think the first memory I'm really cognizant of is being little, sitting in the back of the car when I was 3. We were driving through a toll plaza in New York, hearing Simon and Garfunkel, and I was singing along. I always sang along.

At 5, we took a family vacation to Jamaica, and I spent so much time outside singing along to the performers playing steel drums that I got a sunburn. When we got home, I plunked out a tune on the piano. At that point, I start getting lessons.

hen did you decide to become a musician?

I was a child of rock and roll, and a collector of that music, but never saw myself as being able to do that. My heroes were Elton John, David Bowie with that big rock voice, and I was a girl with a showtune-y voice. But about the time I went to college, I started hearing indie bands like R.E.M. and I saw that I could do this.

At the same time, I was at NYU [New York University] for a Theatre degree, and they were very intense. So I switched my major to Philosophy.

Do you use that degree?

When I talk with [my son] Henry. I definitely think that way. Helped when I managed a bookstore. It was an interesting time at school, and I think it fit in with me questing for a bigger picture.

So the Sippy Cups went on hiatus a few years back... what led you to eventually making your first solo album, World of Wonder?

When [the hiatus] happened, I didn't even know if I'd do kids music music again. I was doing adult music, playing in the band McCabe & Mrs. Miller with my friend Victor [Krummenacher]. But I still had all these ideas. I played these Storytime Wednesdays, and they were packed, so I wrote some songs. It was so organic -- half of the songs on [World of Wonder] were those for the kids, and the others were directed more inward, so I would just weave the two together.

Were there any organizing principles behind the next album, The Start of Things?

Hmmm... "Pull Your Weeds" is about being yourself, that's somewhat a theme of the album. It wasn't a conscious idea, but as I wrote songs, it came out. I always loved Cat Stevens and that movie [Harold and Maude] "If You Want To Sing, Sing Out" came from -- it's a perfect kids' song. I'd say it's half and half -- half are more direct with kids. But I tried to give each song some emotional truth. Except for "Froggy Dance"... except that's got an emotional truth for me, because it came straight from the old country.

A lot of your music has a definite '60s influence -- have you always liked that sound?

Yes, but when I write a song and talking with the producer, I have a touchstone, jumping-off point. So for "TLC" on the new album, I told my producer [Allen Clapp] I wanted some early-Get Happy Elvis Costello -- the drum rolls, the Farfisa organ. "Rainbow Tunnel" was total Burt Bacharach, which was great because Allen is a big Bacharach fan. He wrote "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," so it was a great sound for "Rainbow Tunnel," which is a song about driving around.

With "Little Dreamer," I was super-specific with the sounds, wanting it to sound like a John Lennon ballad. I really have an open musical palette -- it's a super nice way to honor my influences -- Beechwood Sparks for "Ballad of Boo Ghosty," or Nina Rota and Fellini for "The Froggy Dance."

I don't usually want to ask musicians about what it's like being a parent, because it's not the purpose of the interview, but your son, Henry Plotnick, is particularly precocious in writing and releasing music, so I wanted to ask... what's it like being one of Henry's parents?

We don't know where Henry's life will take him -- he's very gifted, so people want to release his music, a couple albums so far -- but we're letting him lead. He applied and got into the arts magnet school here in San Francisco, but we really want to let it unfold as it will and not put any expectations on him. The only thing we push is taking classical lessons, so he understands technique, repertoire, and the importance of keeping up with those lessons.

He's getting offers from labels, which... I got my first record deal when I was 30, so for me this is, like, "I don't even know what the music business is." What would a record label offer even look like?

So we just want to make sure he's well-trained in jazz and classical. But he's also talented in science, he writes poetry. A lot of people might think we're pushing, but we're not at all.

From my external perspective, it really doesn't look like that at all.

Oh, good. He's got a balanced life, and a lot of good buddies... When it comes to reviews, he prefers reading the more critical reviews, because those are the ones that just aren't about his age. If that had happened to me, I'd've been a lunatic. But I don't even know if his friends know about all that -- they just play.

What can you tell us about the World of Wonder musical you're working on?

There's some interest on the part of a new local musical theatre company, so we've been doing readings and getting feedback. Based on that, I did a rewrite and wrote a new song.

I'm learning how to get a stage musical on its feet. I don't have a firm commitment [from a company] yet. I'd love to get it onstage now, but doing so needs a lot of people. I've seen the full production in my mind, though, and it's great.

Before I joined the Sippy Cups, I did some work on writing a musical for adults. But this is working backwards from the way it usually works, where the songs move the story forward. Maybe Mamma Mia worked, but mostly it's other way around.

I see how the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" comes down from the ceiling, though. Putting it together is a lot more work, but I want to do it right and more stuff like that in.

Big Time Tot Rock Band - credit Danny Plotnick

I've often thought that Fountains of Wayne songs would make for a great Mamma Mia-like musical...

Yeah... and where's the David Bowie musical?!? C'mon!

I'd love to write something organically from scratch from start fo finish -- that'd be a huge artistic and technical leap.

What's next for you?

A ton of performances -- the live band performances [with the Big Time Tot Rock Band] have really ramped up. Mostly local [gigs], but now I've booked something in New York for October.

Creatively, I want to get that World of Wonder musical up on its feet. And maybe do that Sharon Jones 12-piece soul band. Gotta find the horns for that.... That, and raising a high school kid.

Photo credits: Danny Plotnick

Interview: Adam Levy (Bunny Clogs)

Adam Levy made his first foray into the world of kids music with his band Bunny Clogs way back in late 2008 with the album More! More! More!. (That band name, by the way? It's a pun on Levy's primary musical outlet, his band The Honeydogs.) That debut album had a distinctive, eclectic sound and some out-of-nowhere lyrics and musical tidbits, aided no doubt by the fact that Levy created the album with assistance from his two daughters, grade schoolers at the time.

Fast-forward six years or so. Levy's daughters are in or approaching high school, and the follow-up album I'd never expected would happen showed up. Whales Can't Whistle is maybe a little more streamlined, slightly poppier than its predecessor, but nobody would ever mistake the new album for bland, cookie-cutter music.

Levy recently sent some thoughts via e-mail about the latest album, musical parenting memories, and the good and bad of making an album (and playing live) with your kids.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories (growing up)?

Adam Levy: My parents didn't have a big record collection... but what they had got played a lot. I used to dance/march around the house with a Monkees ukelele guitar, air uke-ing to Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass's "Going Places." My hip Aunt Judy brought Rubber Soul to my folks in 1967. That got major air time for a few years.

What are your first parenting musical memories?

Big sister Esther was breach in her mom's stomach. We put Bach cello preludes on headphones to mom's belly for a few days and she flipped around... the girls' mom and I listened to music constantly. Lots of old funk and soul. I remember my girls going bananas for Fountains of Wayne's "Red Dragon Tattoo."

How did the first Bunny Clogs album come about? What inspired you to make that album?

I had just gotten my first ProTools studio rig set up at home in 2003. Esther would have been about 4 and Ava Bella 2. I would try to entertain the girls as I was figuring out the equipment and would make these danceable, amusing kids' songs. The girls would chime and sing and giggle and I'd record everything and made it a family affair. I kept writing these songs in the midst of, and as a break from, more "serious" musical endeavors. Friends would come over with kids for dinner and I'd play them the songs and folks would laugh and the kids would jump around like little squirmies. After a while I just thought, "maybe I have something" -- the songs were more absurdist, dance-beat and adult-friendly, less acoustic-folky than most kids' music. It alwasy took a back seat to my main songwriting muse, The Honeydogs... but eventually I just resolved to finish it and put it out in 2009.

What led you to make Whales Can't Whistle an animal kingdom-themed album?

We made a food-related record for the first one. I always incorporate the household characters and stories and silly phrases we used into the music. We are very into animals at our house and have been since the girls were small. I find it easier to write when I create some parameters and goals.

Your daughters were actively involved in making this new album -- what was their biggest contribution? Was Isaac's participation anticipated, or more of a surprise?

The girls are singing all over the record. Ava Bella (14) even recorded herself in some cases! She also designed the cover art. Isaac's participation was a necessity. He's 12 and a natural. He plays like an adult. Amazing.

What was it like having your daughters participate so much in what you do as a career? I'm assuming it was lots of fun, but did it also lead to tensions at times?

It's amazing. We've been performing publicly together since they were about 10 (Esther) and 8 (Ava Bella). Sometimes I have to encourage them to perform by increasing pay... sometimes they are not up for it. They tease me a lot. I get back at them by being a complete dork on stage. Ava Bella who is 14 now has expressed more interest in music than her big sister. I have loved watching her do musical things that are not with family.

You wear many different musical hats -- what particular musical itch does Bunny Clogs let you scratch?

Bunny Clogs fills a need to simply have fun making music and sharing it with my own children. Much of my music is conceptual, cerebral and sometimes deals with serious subjects. After I lost my son in 2012, the need to find joy in the midst of great grief and life-reassessment became very necessary. Last summer the girls spent a couple months leisurely making the record. We had so much fun.

What 3 (or 1 or 5) "not-for-kids" albums (from any artist) did your kids absolutely groove to growing up?

As I mentioned, the house the girls grew up in oozed music... all of The Beatles stuff. They have fond memories of Burt Bacharach's Butch Cassidy soundtrack. The Jackson 5.

What's next for Bunny Clogs (and you)?

I'd love to do some kind of animated film [and/or] a book. Depending on the girl's energy, perhaps more touring. As mentioned I'm ready to be Reuben Kincaid to Ava Bella's musical projects.

Photos by Youa Vang.

Interview: Molly Ledford and Billy Kelly

I like to think that Molly Ledford (of Lunch Money) and Billy Kelly (of Billy Kelly) met in the comments section of my NPR piece on Billy Kelly's "People Really Like Milk," but the truth is, they met some time before.

The duo's friendship has produced a wonderful new album, Trees, which will be released next month, on March 20, the first day of spring. They chatted with me last week to talk about their friendship, recording the album, and a little bit, just a little bit, about trees themselves.

Zooglobble: Normally I'd start off an interview with the question, "What are your first musical memories?," but instead, let me ask, "What are your first arboreal memories?"

Billy Kelly (BK): We had a mimosa tree in front of my house growing up. I'd climb my tree, and I remember my grandma sitting in a chair with a white afghan in her lap, saying that I climbed "he's like a little monkey." And then my dad cut it down -- he said mimosa trees were dirty, so he cut it down. Not while I was in it.

Molly Ledford (ML): That's the origin story of why Billy is now very flip.

BK: "They cut down his first tree…"

ML: We had a magnolia tree. I was never a good climber -- I could climb on top a fence nearby, and then get onto a branch, and that was as far as I could climb. So in "Angel Oak," I could climb that tree, but it's illegal [to do so]. The song "By the Roots" my brother and I would roll Matchbox sportscars around with all these exposed roots.

BK: So that's what that song's about! I pictured you crashing an actual Lamborghini into the tree… I remember we also had a big oak tree. I'll tell you at the beginning of the story that Dad cut that one down, too, a couple months ago. It had a big branch that had a horizontal branch that he hung a climbing rope for that. He'd say to us, while we were climbing, "You don't want to fall, right? So you won't." That dispelled fear of heights that I had as a kid. Too much, really. It came back to me when I was 35, and I won't go any higher than a stepladder. So I'd use the tree to hide from people. Somebody would come over who I didn't want to play with, and I'd climb 50 feet in the air while my mom was calling, "Billy, your friends are here…." I should write about that for Trees, Volume 2. She never takes the bait every time I mention it.

ML: Hey, I've already written a couple songs!

How did the two of you meet?

MK: Well, we met because you posted a clip of the video in progress of "People Really Like Milk." I thought, "Hey, that's really cool, I'm going to say 'hi' to that person right now" and I reached out to him and bought his record and he thought of me as a nice, crazy fan until he figured it out and we've been talking shop ever since and enjoying each other's sense of humor.

Fast forward a few years, he said he was writing an album about trees. I've often along the way as work-avoidance behaviors, messed in other people's business instead of doing what I need to be doing. I said, "Here's a trees song" and I wrote "Standing By You, Sapling," and offered it up to him… He said, "Hey, you want to do this with me?" and I said, "Heck, yeah!" Before that we wrote "Pen Pals" together,

BK: I sent some lyrics, then she wrote a verse in about ten minutes. So I asked, "Do you want to record this with me?"

ML: And I was just having fun writing the words, but I said, "Sure!"

BK: Molly bought [Thank You for Joining the] Happy Club and the e-mail came in with the subject "Lunch Money" -- I still have it. That's all it said in the "from" line in the e-mail. It was the first album I ever sold to a stranger. At the time, I thought it was weird. It was an adult e-mailing, buying it and not making any mention of kids and it says "lunch money" for no reason.

ML: It was just the address...

BK: Which I know now as I see about 42 e-mails in my inbox that just say "lunch money." About a week later, I started snooping around and I realized who this was, and I reached out to her… You know, you [Stefan] tried to introduce me once to someone else via e-mail. It didn't work out at all. I think he was too similar to me. Molly knows everybody in the kindie scene For a while, I kind of fancied myself the Howard Hughes of kids music.

What was the genesis of Trees specifically?

BK: I had written the opening song called "Trees." We moved into our new house about 4 years ago and there's this massive, massive tree in our yard, a silver maple. When you walk past the tree -- it reminded me of that big blue whale that's hanging in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. That awe-inspiring feeling you get walking under. So I wrote that song, "Trees," and then I afterward wrote "(It's Just a) Dumb Ol' Stick" and "Bonsai." And that was as far as I got. Molly was so encouraging. I hope I'm encouraging to her, but mainly I hope she's encouraging to me. But I didn't get anywhere . I put "Bonsai" out [on Again!] because I wanted to get it out there. Then Molly wrote "Standing By You, Sapling"… And I said, "We should do this." I should do it with my pal Molly who lives in South Carolina and maybe we'd get to spend time with each other.

ML: There was talk of working with Dean [Jones, producer of Trees]. Normally I'm making records at home with all the other responsibility… Almost like a retreat of song recording sounded like the grand prize.

I've come to decide that a good part of the benefits of vacations -- even working ones where you're just working away from home -- is that you don't have to do all the routine things you'd normally do at home. You don't have to worry about the garbage or the dishes or the laundry or making sure the kids get off to school OK in the morning.

BK: This is why the staycation will never take over the vacation.

How did the recording process for Trees work?

ML: Robert Drake from WXPN and Kids Corner and KindieComm heard we were doing Trees and asked us to do 15 minutes at KindieComm [in 2014]. I went to Lewisburg to practice some songs with him, so it wouldn't be all be new when we got up on stage.

We left the possibility of working together on the songs on the table, but I don't write much with other people. So we were sending stuff back and forth, supporting each other's songs.

When we recorded, we brought people out of their comfort zones. That was where the fact that Dean and Billy are really good musicians helped.

BK: Yeah, that's where the collaboration came in. I'm flip, Molly's emotional. For the song "Here Come the Trees," for example, [there's a spoken-word part, and] they tried to get me to talk in just a normal voice. Molly turned off the light [in the recording studio] and just used a flashlight to help encourage me to be myself. Or on "The Dichotomous Key," which has a really fast, high-pitched part for Molly to sing.

ML: It was like we were all leaning over the same car engine. All three of us are bandleaders of our own projects, so we'd bring in our own ideas on arrangements… It was suggested that everybody should sing together, like at a funeral, for "Count Your Rings." That was weird.

BK: We were literally standing together, like at a funeral. We were so serious.

ML: There were other points where we were dancing around [Billy], on "I, Wood."

BK: While I was doing my Tom Jones impression...

ML: We were feeding off each other.

BK: The whole week was so fun. They'd be dancing around me, trying not to make the floorboards creak. It really was a three-way split.

How much did you know about trees before writing and recording the album? Did you check out a book on California? [That, readers, is a shout-out to "Coniferous Trees."]

BK: Hah! Yes, we checked out some books. Years ago, I was a birdwatcher, and so learned some about trees through that. I had a casual interest in trees, but by no means was I am expert. My songs [on the album] were more info-driven and on things that I didn't know [when I started].

ML: I don't really know much about trees -- I thought I would learn more when I started this project.

It's funny, when we announced the project, we'd get letters or posts from people who, in all seriousness, would say things like, "I'm sure you're going to do the birch."

BK: "The willow!"

ML: So on "Trees," which leads off the album, Billy gave me the more dreamy, less technical lines, which really set up the whole structure of the album… On "Coniferous Tree," his instructions when he gave me the lyrics were that I should make it as difficult as possible for him.

BK: She was supposed to be the Fozzie Bear to my Kermit

ML: So there was the script, and I was really sick that wick. We stayed with Rachel Loshak (singer and wife of Gustafer Yellowgold creator Morgan Taylor), and she took care of me and was such a mom to me and would send me with concoctions. I was in a bit of a daze. I'd kind of lost my place in some of the songs.

BK: I'd get a little frustrated with her interruptions, and then I'd remember that my instructions to her were "Try To Ruin The Song."

ML: I like to think of it as, "That's Molly, daydreaming" and there's Billy, trying to provide real information.

So what from this experience do you take away into the rest of your recording life?

BK: I want to be first and I want to be sincere? Can I? I love my studio here, working with my band, but the experience of this was one in a million. The whole week was great, Dean was on point the whole time. The takeaway was something like this might not happen again -- it was magic and creative. We talk often about working together on other things, but I don't know if we could recapture it. Even if we didn't record anything, the week was worth it.

ML: For me, it's the power of working with other people who are also writers of words, of melodies. It was kind of electric.

It had to happen fast. Sometimes there's the danger of taking a song and everybody knows it so well, it's lost that brand-new magic. I've learned that the first time you sing a song, that's the take you want. Redoing it, you can't recapture the magic, you lose touch with the magic. I'd tell Dean, "This isn't practice… let's record the vocal just in case."

BK: Half the album is probably first takes.

ML: We did one take "Angel Oak," Count Your Rings," "Acorns" -- the first takes had so much of what they had to have. We did those songs live. On "To the Woods," we learned the song together… It was so fun what I want to take away from it in [other] times is to do my best to have that live quality in recording and not get too bogged down in click tracks and having everybody taking their turn.

BK: It was really interesting have three leaders… and no fights.

Photo credits: J.P. Stephens (Lumos Studios)

Interview Sandra Velasquez (Moona Luna)

Up above in the title for this interview, I've written "Moona Luna" after Sandra Velasquez, because if you're reading this website, you're probably most familiar with the New York-based Velasquez as the mastermind behind the bilingual Spanish kindie band.

But like many musicians, Velasquez wears a number of hats, and so it's just as likely that the intrepid Google-r will eventually find their way to this interview because they're fans of Velasquez's band Pistolera, the Spanish-language band she founded in 2005.

Or maybe you grooved to "Cheerleader," the leadoff single from SLV, the band featuring Velasquez and multi-instrumentalist Sean Dixon.

So there are a lot of reasons to listen to Velasquez, and I'm offering you one more -- the interview below, completed while Velasquez was on tour, and in which she talks about starting her musical life as a reluctant keyboardist, the impact of songwriting on her life, and the different audiences she plays to.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Sandra Velasquez: I was forced to play piano as a child. So my earliest musical memories of are being forced to practice and playing piano recitals in lace dresses. I begged my parents to let me quit piano, which they did when I was 13. I bought my first electric guitar and started taking lessons immediately to learn all my favorite Nirvana, Hendrix, and other rock songs. Incidentally, the first band I played in when I was fifteen was as a keyboardist. We mostly practiced instead of gigging. Those were wonderful years because we were so naive in our freedom.

What inspired you to form Pistolera?

I moved to New York City the day after I graduated from music school in 1999 and spent that first summer completely in shock of the lack of Mexican and/or (more importantly) Chicano culture. I always said that I had I stayed in California I would have just played in a rock band. I started Pistolera out of a longing for trucks driving by with accordion melodies blaring out of them, for taco shops with banda music leaking out of the kitchen. But of course being a rocker at heart, Pistolera was always a blend. Latin music with rock attitude.

How did the birth of your daughter inspire Moona Luna?

I could have never started Moona Luna without my daughter. I would not have known what to write about! I am the kind of songwriter that writes from personal experiences. I can't make stuff up.

What have you enjoyed about writing songs for Moona Luna as compared to writing them for Pistolera? What has been more challenging?

Writing for Moona Luna has taught me that at the end of the day I am a songwriter. Not just a songwriter for Pistolera, or for one demographic. I enjoy writing songs. I'm addicted to melodies. Writing a good song can be challenging no matter who you are writing for. Some songs flow out easily and others you have to work on, put aside, and work on some more. I did find that giving myself a theme for the second Moona Luna album (Vamos, Let's Go!) helped me write.

Has your songwriting for families changed as your daughter has grown older? As you've grown older?

Now that I have multiple bands I have found that the songwriting just changes with time regardless. There is a the perception that I as the songwriter change the music, but lately I have been feeling like it's the music that changes me. I grow through the music. It is all equally valid and growth-inducing.

This may be difficult to answer, but are your Moona Luna audiences mostly filled with families for whom English is a second language, or are they more families for whom English is their primary language?

It really depends on the show. We did a residency in Santa Barbara where we played for underprivileged communities and most were bilingual if not mostly Spanish speakers. This may sound sad, but going to concerts at $15 a pop tend to be less accessible financially to families who do not speak English. When we play free city parks concerts in New York City the non-English speakers tend to be the childcare workers. This has been my experience.

Are there gaps that you see (in terms of musical styles, subjects, audiences) that "kindie" doesn't serve well enough?

Kindie audiences, or more specifically, kids, don't tend to favor dark or slow music in a live show scenario. This is just my experience with my own 7-year-old daughter. She likes upbeat music. I do too, but I also love slow, moody, minor and diminished chord music. This is why it's great to have multiple projects because it's hard to satisfy all of my musical cravings with just one band. If I just did Moona Luna I would feel more like an entertainer. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I don't always feel cheery -- do you? It would be unsatisfying for me if my only musical experience was to put on a happy face and dance. I have many moods and thankfully, three bands to express them all.

You recently released a song -- "Together" -- with Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Are there other musicians you and Moona Luna would love to work with?

I loved collaborating with Skidoo. I heard his voice in my head when I wrote the song so I was pretty happy that he agreed to do it. I really love Lori Henriques' new album. She would be fun to collaborate with.

You have lots of ongoing projects going on -- Moona Luna, Pistolera, your solo album -- what's next?

At the moment I am really focused on SLV, which in the beginning was billed as my "solo project" but it's not really that, though the band name is my initials! It's really a new band and an equal collaboration with my drummer Sean Dixon, who is the drummer for the experimental electronic band Zammuto. (Check them out!). Since we recorded and released an EP with Meshell Ndegeocello in 2013, we have been working on our debut album. It's been over a year and I'm happy to say it's done and the first music video is filmed. It will come out this spring and you can expect to see us on tour this summer. I've started a new Moona Luna album too and hope to escape the cold of NYC and finish the songwriting part of it in February somewhere warm.

Photo credits: Shervin Lainez (Sandra Velasquez), M. Sharkey (Moona Luna)

Interview - Suz Slezak

Suz Slezak may be best known as an integral part of the indie-rock-folk band David Wax Museum with her husband David Wax, but with the solo release next month of Watching the Nighttime Come, the singer and fiddler steps out into a new role, that of gentle lullaby artist.

Watching the Nighttime Come successfully balances many challenges with lullaby albums -- sonically interesting without being distracting, making old songs sound new (and vice versa). Slezak, who's handling preorders for the album via PledgeMusic, chatted via e-mail about her musical upbringing, creating an integrated musical and family life as a musician, and all you really need to have when touring with a baby.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Suz Slezak: It's hard to say what my first musical memories are since music has been so integrated into my life since such an early age. Here are a few: demanding piano lessons at age three when I found out my brother was going to start taking them; listening to my favorite record, "Seven Little Rabbits," on the record player; playing the piano with a pacifier in my mouth; singing rounds in the car with my whole family; hearing fiddles and banjos through the walls of a tent while camping out at an annual old time festival down the road from my house in Central Virginia.

What made you want to make music for a living?

Honestly I was well into my twenties before I thought making music for a living was a real possibility. I knew I wanted a life that was interconnected -- I wanted my kids and my partner and my work to all be intertwined. I also wanted a creative job that included travel and community. So I feel very lucky that through playing music, all those things have become a reality.

Your new album grew out of a collection of lullabies you'd recorded for friends who were having babies -- what were some of the songs on those handmade CDs and how did you record those?

That first collection was made in one evening in a tiny studio in Somerville, Massachusetts. I recorded everything myself: the vocals, the fiddle, the harmonies, the fiddle harmonies, and a simple guitar part too. Some of the songs included "Tender Shepherd," a favorite childhood round; "Ubi Caritas," a chant from the ecumenical community in France called Taize where we visited as kids; some of my favorite fiddle waltzes; and "Say Darlin' Say," a traditional song recorded with my first old time band, Mill Pond Nine.

Besides recording it in a studio, how did writing and recording Watching the Nighttime Come differ from those early lo-fi recordings?

The main difference is that this new record was really a collaboration between myself and two amazing producers, Josh Kaufman and Nate Martinez. The first recordings were really just me, my fiddle, my guitar and an engineer pressing play. Watching the Nighttime Come has textured electric guitar and synth sounds, ambiance from a simple percussion set up, and playful woodwinds and harmonica. It's got David's voice in there plus gorgeous harmony vocals by Lauren Balthrop. And half of these songs are written by me, so it's exciting to have them come alive.

How did becoming a mother yourself affect the recording?

Oh gosh. Well, being pregnant was one of the reasons I finally hunkered down and made this happen. I knew my time would become less my own once the baby was born, so there was a pressure of getting it done before she arrived. However, after the first session in the studio when I was six months pregnant, we realized we were getting into a bigger project than we'd originally thought and knew we needed more time to work. So when our daughter was just a few months old we traveled by train back to Brooklyn and, between naps and nursing breaks, finished the record. I think becoming a mother also puts a new spin on the significance of making music, especially recordings. I love that my daughter and maybe even her children and grandchildren will be able to listen to them one day and imagine me singing to them -- which I am!

Your PledgeMusic video shows you giving a video tour of the David Wax Museum's touring van. Did you pick up pointers from touring with a child before starting the fall 2014 tour? What did you learn while on the tour?

We are so lucky to know a small but growing posse of touring moms. The person we owe a great deal to, however, is Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She has been an inspiration to me for several years, not only traveling with two kids, but even using cloth diapers on the road! She taught us that you really only need two things: diapers and the carrier. The rest you can do without. Coincidentally, Rhiannon is releasing her own solo album (with the renowned producer T Bone Burnett) on the same day (February 10).

Anais Mitchell is another touring mom who advised me before Calliope was born and reminded me how flexible little ones actually are. And I'll never forget an article I read about Ani DiFranco who said touring was actually easier in many ways than being at home since you have a whole host of helping hands when you're on the road. And I've found that same thing to be true. Not only does the baby nap well in the car, but there are plenty of loving arms to hold and entertain her any time of the day or night. We call the band members her Runcles (Road Uncles) and they've been a big part of her life.

And of course we couldn't do this without the amazing help of my dad who retired last year and comes on most of our tours to watch the baby. He's named himself Nanno (a male nanny) and puts up with smelly green rooms, late nights, and long, long drives for the good of the family band.

What's your favorite song (or two or three favorite songs) to sing to your daughter?

You know, I end up humming to her more often than actually singing, which means I'm making up new tunes each night. But one of my favorite songs is "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" that Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris made famous in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. It's got such a great soothing, rocking rhythm to it. The words are a little sad though, so I've been making up my own more baby-friendly lyrics.

What's next for you?

Well, my main project, David Wax Museum, is putting out a new album later in 2015, so we're gearing up for another couple years of touring with that record. So that's the realistic next step. But we're often fantasizing about ways to spend more time in L.A. and Mexico. And I'm always trying to figure out how to make more fiber art. But for now, I'm looking forward to my "Sweet Love and Lullabies" tour to release Watching the Nighttime Come. We'll be playing shows in New York, Boston and Northampton on Valentine's Day weekend.

Photo credits: Jo Chattman

Macaroni and Cruise: A Chat with the Mad Scientists Behind Kindie's First Family Cruise

When I first heard about Macaroni and Cruise, the concept, a small part of me was jealous I hadn't thought of it first. There are an increasing number of musicians that have taken to the high seas to play gigs for their most devoted fans over the past few years, while family cruising remains popular as well. Put them together, and it's like macaroni and cheese.

Or cruise.

In any case, it was man-of-many-kindie-hats Bill Childs who did come up with the idea first, curse and bless him. He's working with Jonathan Coulton and Paul Sabourin and Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo (aka musical comedy duo Paul and Storm), whose fifth edition of the JoCo Cruise Crazy sets at the end of January, to develop a kid-friendly musical (and geeky) cruise for the whole family.

The inaugural Macaroni and Cruise sets sail on Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Sky liner from Miami on August 3, 2015, returning to port August 7 while stopping at Grand Bahama Island, Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay along the way. And while you're onboard, your family can enjoy music from Tim and the Space Cadets, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, plus kindie-allegiant acts like Jonathan Coulton and the Doubleclicks, not to mention Lego activities featuring master builder Nathan Sawaya.

There is still an early booking discount available -- it's for the first 50 cabins and worth $200 per person, which'll go a long way towards offsetting any additional travel costs your family might incur in getting to Miami. Click here if that appeals to you (it probably should).

I sent off some questions to Bill, and he, Paul, and Storm gave some further details behind the Macaroni and Cruise origin story and planning process, so enough of my yapping…

Zooglobble: How did the idea for Macaroni and Cruise (the cruise, not the name) originate?

Bill Childs: I (Bill) had read about the JoCo Cruise over the years and thought something like that might work for family music. I knew Jonathan through Many Hands and KindieFest, and he was kind enough to walk me through the basics. Independently, we came to the realization that maybe it would make sense to work together on it, since he and his partners have so much expertise on the cruise side of things, and on making an event like this into a community, not just a vacation. We’ve built up the rest of it together.

What were you looking for in choosing acts for the cruise?

Bill, Paul Sabourin, Greg "Storm" DiConstanzo: Smart folks who appeal to kids and their grownups. A mix of acts that directly orient themselves towards kids and families, and "regular" acts that they'll love. Basically, when we think about who to bring, we're figuring families who come on this cruise aren't looking for ordinary entertainment -GiantMegaEntertainmentCorp Consolidated can provide that. We're here for something different.

What is the biggest misconception people have when they think about going on a cruise versus the reality of going on a cruise?

Bill, Paul, Storm: There are so many types of cruises, and people sometimes take the worst things they hear and attribute it to all of them—especially if they’ve never been on one before. Our team has extensive experience with cruise lines and ships across the spectrum, and we can say with a lot of confidence that sailing with us on the Norwegian Sky will be terrific - there are many more young and active people than what people sometimes expect when you say “cruise”! But beyond the mechanics of being on a ship for vacation, people may also be surprised at how much community can be built during those days. JoCo Cruise has fostered a lot of year-round friendships, and part of our evil plan with Macaroni and Cruise is to help forge similar, positive life-altering friendships.

Besides performances, what other activities are you planning for attendees?

Bill, Paul, Storm: We're still in the process of planning the "only on Macaroni and Cruise" activities beyond the music—but we can promise fun hands-on experiences that go beyond what you'd expect from either a music festival or a cruise. For example, we're going to have world-renowned lego brick artist Nathan Sawaya onboard to do some fun sessions with the kids. We're also planning to have tabletop gaming, dance parties, and more unique stuff that everyone will love. (And it's also worth mentioning that we'll have at least one parents-only performance with Jonathan and others, where the swears will come out.)

What's been the biggest surprise for you, Bill, as you've learned about the cruise industry from the booking side?

Bill: I've never been on a ship bigger than the pretend paddlewheel boat that hosted my high school reunion this summer, so it's pretty much all new to me. I had a general idea that the ships were pretty elaborate, but I really didn't know the extent. The other thing that's been great to learn more about is the terrific community that can form on a cruise when the right ingredients are there - that's clear from the JoCo Cruise, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that happen with this. (As an aside, I promise there will be far less Bon Jovi on this ship than on my high school reunion’s.)

What are you most looking forward to on the cruise?

Bill: A lot of what I've done in the family music world has been around building communities, and I cannot wait to see how the families on board form a community and, hopefully, lifelong friendships. I'm also excited to check out those islands! Paul & Storm sent some pictures from them and they look pretend, they're so gorgeous. (The islands, not Paul & Storm.)

Paul: Expanding on what Bill said: while we have many fun activities and events planned, one of the most fun aspects of working on the JoCo Cruise has been watching how the attendees have actively shaped the overall tenor and "feel" of the event. I look forward to seeing how the Macaroni and Cruise attendees similarly evolve and shape the event to make it uniquely their own.

Storm: Agreed with all that—it’ll be amazing to be there when everyone is meeting one another on the ship. Though to Bill’s last point, I like to think that Paul and I are at least a little bit gorgeous.