Mister Cooper's Blog & Website

I dream. You dream. We all dream ’bout ice cream. And on Saturday, August 28, The Loose Acoustic Trio will be performing our unique brand of “good time music” for one and all at Fairytale Town for an event called the “Crystal Ice Cream Dream: How the West Was Fun.” The party goes from 6 pm until 10 pm, but if you get there early, we’ll be singing songs for everyone waiting in line. There’s all-you-can-eat ice cream (while supplies last – get there early), food, music, and more. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for kids age 3 to 12 yrs., and free for kids 2 yrs. and under. Click here to order. It’s Fairytale Town’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Join your friends and neighbors for this happy hoedown hootenanny. Ummm, ice cream…

The “Growing Veggie Soup” CD is being released today to everyone everywhere around the world. Here is the official statement from the good people at Recess Music:

Recess Music is proud to present Growing Veggie Soup, the second installment of the Celebrate Earth music series. The thirteen songs on the disc were picked for their focus on educating kids about gardening and sustainable farming practices. Like the first disc, Growing Veggie Soup is sure to entertain and educate kids of all ages. Put Growing Veggie Soup in your computer to access exclusive content, including a digital sing-a-long booklet, artist bios, a recipe for veggie soup, and more!

Here’s the good part. A portion of the proceeds of this product will go to the America’s Grow A Row, a program that provides food for the hungry and teaches children about gardening and its impact on hunger and nutrition. It’s a fine organization and worthy of your support. I am honored and grateful to be a part of this project.

If you’d like to read a nice review from the Marin Mommies website, click here.

On Sunday, July 25, the second edition of the Music In The Park concert series takes place at the north end of Curtis Park. Anyone who visits this website on a regular basis knows I can go on and on about how much I enjoy these fabulous neighborhood gatherings.

Come and catch up with freinds and families you haven’t seen in a while, relax beside the shady trees, listen to the tunes, and enjoy the scenery of beautiful Curtis Park. I would go and have fun even if I wasn’t singing songs and playing music for everyone. Joining in the festivities as the headline musical act this time will be Los Angeles based singer/songwriter, Kevin Sandbloom. Hopefully, the temperature will be slightly less that the 102 degrees it was for the June show.

The theme for this month’s concert is “Health and Wellness.” The list of sponsors continues to grow. Of course, the Heede family from RE/MAX GOLD Realty will be there. So will Lauren Hammond, SMAC, SMUD, the Natural Foods Co-op, and plenty others, all making sure the entire evening will be a pleasant one. The music will start shortly after 6:00 pm. So pack up the family and make it over to Music In The Park. I’ll see you there…

Just a quick reminder that the Summer Sing-Along Club starts this Thursday, July 15, begining at 10:30 am, and continues every Thursday morning until Labor Day (Sept. 2). Miss Christie has invited me back to the newly improved Belle Cooledge Library and I am so glad she did. We can sing some songs that you already know and maybe a few new ones, as well. Then top it off with a little freeze dance for dessert. Wow! So, tell your friends and neighbors. Let’s all get together and have a summer sing-along party!

Here is some very exciting news!! On July 27, Recess Music in association with Big Round Records will release a CD titled “Growing Veggie Soup” to the world at large. The 9th track on this CD is “Farmers Market” by Mister Cooper. I am so grateful to be included on the 2nd disc of the Celebrate Earth Music Series. What an honor. Here is a short blurb about the project…

July 27, 2010
Growing Veggie Soup
Recess Music
(Big Round Records)
Recess Music is proud to present Growing Veggie Soup, the next installment in the Celebrate Earth Music Series. The thirteen songs were picked for their focus on educating kids about gardening and sustainable farming practices.

This song was originally recorded and released on my “This World” CD for kids. Nancy Doan, of Recess Music, heard the song and asked if it could be included on the “Growing Veggie Soup” CD. And in 3 weeks, it will be available to everyone everywhere. Amazing.

C’mon, C’mon, C’mon everybody
Come to the Farmers Market
Get your fruit and veggie
C’mon, C’mon, C’mon everybody
Come to the Farmers Market
It’s time to eat more healthy

© 2010 Hot Biscuits Music (BMI)

On Saturday, July 10th, Belle Cooledge Library will re-open its doors after many weeks of renovation. A big day of fun activities is planned. There will be face painting, juggling, music, balloons, refreshments, and who knows what else! For more information and a map, click here.

I am also very happy to announce that on Thursday, July 15th, from 10:30 – 11:00 am,
The Sing-A-Long Club will also begin again. This music program is designed for youngsters (age 3-7) and their families to come sing, learn and do the freeze dance. I am so excited to be playing music for my neighborhood friends at my local library. Here are the dates for the rest of the summer:
July 15, 22, 28
August 5, 12, 17, 26
September 2
All Thursday sessions start at 10: 30 am.

So, please come and sing along with me on Thursday mornings. It will be nice to see you all again. And I can’t wait to check out the changes at Belle Cooledge. I’ve heard that even the fish have a new home. It’s going to be great. Happy 4th of July, everybody.
Stay cool.

Do yourself a big favor and please mark your calendars now. The date is Sunday, June 27. The time is 6:00 pm. The place is Curtis Park in Sacramento. The event is the June edition of the Music In The Park 2010 summer concert series. And the best part is… it’s FREE.

Every summer, the fine folks at the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association present a series of concerts called Music In The Park. On the last Sunday of each month (June 27, July 25, August 29), families, neighbors, and friends get together at the north end of Curtis Park to enjoy a variety of music in a beautiful outdoor setting. So bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets. Come and relax among the trees in one of the prettiest parks in Sacramento. You don’t want to miss it. But, wait… there’s more.

Your ol’ buddy, Mister Cooper, will once again play music for kids of all ages to open the show and then in between sets by the featured band for the June concert, Blvd Park. Meg, Michael and Melissa Heede of RE/MAX Gold will be offering free hot dogs and water to everyone in attendence. And look for lots of new surprises this year, as well. In my humble opinion, it’s simply the best.

I tell anyone and everyone who will listen that the Music In The Park shows are my favorite gigs of the summer. This will be my 5th season performing at this wonderful event in my neighborhood. And did I mention it’s FREE? You better be there…

This time of year has always been a difficult one for me. It’s not the last week of school. It’s the week before the last week of school. Let me explain…

The last week of school is filled with parties, picnics, barbeques, promotion ceremonies, and lots of fun end-of-year activities. Kids are always smiling because the learning is over and it’s time to have one more big celebration before summer vacation begins. The smiles are contagious and the potluck food is always delicious.

But this is the week before the festivities begin. This is the week when I look around and see students I won’t be singing with again during the next school year. The kindergarten kids at Bret Harte will all be moving on to first grade and I don’t sing with the first graders there. The same goes for the first graders at Hollywood Park, Crocker-Riverside and John Cabrillo schools. They’ll be second graders in the fall. Likewise for the second graders at Sutterville. Wow. They will be grown up third graders. Each of the classes I visit and the kids that fill them have become so special to me over the past school year. Every group has its own personality. One class will have favorite songs, while another likes singing completely different tunes. Some sit quietly to sing, while others can’t stay still for two minutes. I will miss them all, all summer long.

Luckily for me, there will be a new crop of kindergartners starting school in September. The class sizes will grow a little bigger and some of my favorite teachers will be teaching a different grade level. But, hopefully, I’ll be asked back to all of the places where I sing now. Then the joy I feel teaching and singing with children will return once more in a fresh and special way. Maybe I’ll even get a surprise and see a few kids that I already know from one of the pre-schools I sing with. That’s the best.

So have a good summer, my little friends. I look forward to singing with you again in the fall. And if you’ve moved on to a class that I don’t visit each week, come and see me at Belle Cooledge or Valley Hi Library. I’ll be back at both libraries starting in September. We can sing some songs you already know and maybe even do a little Freeze Dance. It will be great seeing you once again.

I was having a nice conversation with a few families after a show last week and the topic of children’s music came up. The kids all had their favorite CDs and the parents had some favorites, too. Since my son is now a sophomore in college, everyone was surprised that I still listen to children’s music and have a few favorites of my own. Here they are in no particular order. Take a listen if you’re looking for something new…

Pete Seeger – “Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes Little & Big: Animal Folk Songs” : In 1955, Pete recorded two fabulous albums of songs about animals that have now been reissued on one CD. Just Pete, solo and acoustic. A true classic.

Wee Hairy Beasties – “Animal Crackers” : Recorded by a group of Chicago’s best alt.country musicians (John Langford, Kelly Hogan, Sally Timms, and Devil in a Woodpile), there is something for everyone here. Up-tempo acoustic blues, folk, country, and more songs about animals.

Dan Zanes – “Parades and Panoramas” : I used to listen to Dan Zanes when his band, the Del Fuegos, were rocking out in the ‘80s. Now he records kids music. I like all of his CDs, but this one is especially good. It’s filled with 25 songs from Carl Sanburg’s “The American Songbag.” A wide variety of sounds and subject matter.

Natalie Merchant – “Leave Your Sleep” : This is a brand new CD but one I can’t stop listening to. Natalie adapted 26 children’s poems and recorded them using chamber orchestras, bluegrass pickers, Cajun musicians, even a reggae band. And that’s just for starters.

I’ve recently begun working on my next Mister Cooper CD. I’m really excited about the songs I have ready to go. Hopefully, I’ll be able to add it to the list. Thanks for stopping by. See you soon.

One of my favorite music activities during the school year is the Sing-A-Long Club with Mister Cooper. It’s an after-school program for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders who get together each week to sing songs that don’t quite fit in with the curriculum based material we sing in the classroom. It’s a 5 week program that ends with a big concert for families and friends. Kids think the best part is when I break out the kazoos to play. A kazoo is a plastic submarine-shaped instrument that buzzes when you hum into it. The intention is to make it sound more like music and less like a swarm of bees. Imagine the chorus of the Beatles song “Yellow Submarine” played on a yellow kazoo. Yikes! Maybe I should rename it the Kazoo-A-Long Club.

Happy Earth Day, Mother Earth! You are the most beautiful world in the world.