Zooglobble/SAShepherd
A number of months ago, someone e-mailed me and suggested I check out the kids music of Boston-area musician Wayne Potash. She said that he was (and I'm quoting here), "completely lacking in hip-ness... His band is called 'The Music Fun Band' which is one of the stupidest names I’ve ever heard of, and Wayne looks like a hippie freak wearing a fish hat. However, if you can get past that, he’s an amazing musician for little kids."
Well, those of you who have read me for any length of time know that those are exactly the kinds of things I can get past. (I don't think I ever had a fish hat, but did have a bag that looked like a trout, so there you go.)
And if you can get past those things (and the not-terribly-inspiring album cover, too), his 2005 album Don't Forget the Donut! might just be up your alley. From goofy little songs like "Stunt Car" and "Wiggly Tooth" to breezy reworkings of classics like "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along" and "The Frim Fram Sauce," Potash has a relaxed attitude that serves the music well. He's not trying to remake children's music, he's just having some fun.
Not that the music isn't well-played. Potash mixes some jazz (the classic tracks above) with some bluegrass ("Hot Corn, Cold Corn", "Cindy") along with some poppier originals like the groovy "Lobster Dance." His duet with Suzanne Clark on "Down in the Valley" is -- dare I say it? -- better than Dan Zanes. I liked Potash most in his quieter, folkier moments, such as on "Street Sweeper," as opposed to the more '70s guitar-oriented stuff at the end of the album (it's about 8-10 minutes too long), but it's all done without pretension. (Proof of that is the ended-by-laughter version of "Haul Away Joe.")
Kids ages 3 through 7 will enjoy these songs the most. You can hear samples of all the tracks at the 48-minute album's CDBaby page. Yes, the album is 3 years old at this point, but he's also working on a new CD.
Wayne Potash isn't trying to set the kids music world on fire, he's just covering some good traditional and classic songs and writing decent original music. Don't Forget the Donut! might not become your family's most favorite album, but I can see it lasting in the CD player long after other CDs have worn out their welcome. As my original e-mail tipster said, "he doesn’t rock, exactly. He’s extremely uncool. And yet, he’s pretty amazing, either despite those things or perhaps because of them ." I think those of you out there know if that applies to your family. Recommended.
What fun! And what good listening for kids or anyone! While this is the fifth album from Boston area singer-songwriter Wayne Potash, it was our first exposure to this master of kids’ music. Arrangements are widely varied, tight, and nicely voiced with a range of instrumental combinations including guitar, banjo, bass guitar, drums, harmonica, fiddle, horns, accordion, piano, pennywhistle and children’s chorus.
Normally a primary pleasure in children’s albums is the original material — seeing how successfully the performer has identified and touched upon the joys and fears within their young audiences. Often the standards and traditional songs are fillers. But here the arrangements are often sweet, as with Tad Hitchcock’s lead guitar on “When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin’ Along.” Similarly welcome are the contributions of the Boston Children’s School Children’s Chorus on five songs; they have the vocal texture of the enthusiastic young children, but with no distracting stray or sour voices.
Of the six songs by Potash, at least two will be keepers for teachers and others who sing with children. “Wiggly Tooth,” here nicely accompanied with guitar and pennywhistle, has a simple repeated eponymous refrain for sing-a-longs; with his “Lobster Dance” it’s easy to imagine the pleasure of children playing the roles of lobster, crab, and shark. Teachers may also want to consider the traditional “March of the Leprechauns” as another song for upon-their-feet fun.
Ironically, the one song that common sense would have suggested dropping — a weak a cappella version of “Haul Away Joe” which quickly dissolves into laughter — has survived repeated listenings and still brings a smile.
— FL/SL Sing Out! Vol. 50 #2 Summer 2006
Wayne Potash is a man who knows how to play to his audience. More importantly, he's not afraid to play with them. Don't Forget the Donut is a children's album in more than its choice of music. Potash performs 19 of the most memorable melodies in American music with bright, understated guitar playing and a friendly vocal delivery that positively begs the audience to sing along.
by Sarah Meador, Rambles.NET, 13 May 2006
Singer songwriter Wayne Potash delivers an energetic mix of traditional tunes, old favorites, and kid-friendly originals in this collection that leans heavily toward songs about life on the go. Parents and kids will enjoy his versions of “When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along,” “I've Been Everywhere Man,” and “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” as well as pop-influenced turns on traditional songs like “Cindy” and “Down in the Valley.” Potash's original songs are the real standouts here, especially the surprisingly poetic “Streetsweeper,” which elegantly captures the starry-eyed relationship between preschoolers and big machines. With titles like “Wiggly Tooth” and “Look at My New Shoes,” Potash's original songs highlight important details of a child's world.
–School Library Journal, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
"If James Taylor had chops like Johnny Cash, he'd be Wayne Potash. Wayne's an exceptional children's music artist." -Kimberly Robasky, Kids Music Web
