Last month the energetic
Putumayo Kids label released its latest globally-flavored CD,
European Playground. Last week we
chatted with Farmer Jason about life as a North American artist breaking into the European kids music scene. This week I thought it would be interesting to get a more European perspective on the kids music scene, so I talked with Teresa Georgi, who's the manager for Putumayo Kids Europe. She was born in America but has lived in Europe for a number of years now. Read on to find out the good parts about the kids music scene, the bad parts, and about the
next Putumayo disk.
Zooglobble: What music did you listen to growing up?
Teresa Georgi: My mother loves the blues so we grew up listening to Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker… When she wasn’t playing the blues we listened to the Stones, Bob Dylan, Al Green and Janis Joplin – I was lucky; there was always great music at our house.
My first 45 was "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary. My mother finally had to take it away from me though as the lyrics always made me cry. My next 45 was "‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ by the Beatles (I think "Can’t Buy Me Love" was on the flip side) and as far as I was concerned this was music nirvana. I couldn’t wait until I was a teenager! I was about 5 at the time.
How did you end up working for Putumayo in Amsterdam?
I’ve known the founder and CEO, Dan Storper, for over 20 years. In 2005 we met in a restaurant in Amsterdam by chance (the European headquarters are in Holland) and started talking and sharing ideas; when he told me about the fledgling kids division it immediately captured my imagination.
I’ve always loved the brand and its socially-conscious profile and jumped at the opportunity to help grow the kids market in Europe. I really believe that our CDs are exceptional, not only are they fun and engaging but music helps children express themselves, and our music helps make children aware that there’s a whole world of kids out there that are fundamentally just like them. It’s a unique concept that takes children and their families on a journey around the world and helps them to become global citizens.
There's obviously been a resurgence of interest in family music from both the public and musicians here in the States. What's the status of the genre in Europe?
Debbie Cavalier leads a double life -- not only is she behind Debbie and Friends, which offers a bunch of songs (and animation) squarely aimed at preschoolers (and maybe their older siblings), she's also the Dean of Continuing Education at Berklee College of Music's online division. So she's got a pretty broad perspective on life as a musician, educator, and entrepreneur. (She's also a really nice person.) Read on for her inspiration for Debbie and Friends, some music education tips, and the worst part about playing keyboards.
Zooglobble: What music did you listen to growing up?
Debbie Cavalier: My mom always played a lot of Tom Jones and Neil Diamond in the house when I was a kid. She also played my grandfather records a lot: The Marty Gold Orchestra. My grandfather has been a huge influence on my musical life. I just wrote a blog post about this.
Upon getting my own record player in elementary school in the mid 70s, my favorites rotations up were Elton John, Carole King, Billy Joel, the Bee Gees, Carly Simon, and Bruce Springsteen. Elton John definitely got more airplay in my room than anyone else.
What was the path that led you to your current job at Berklee and what does that job entail?
When 
Earlier this week I noted that the 
