The Papa SNow Project...
It began very organically when Michael Snow, a 49-year veteran of the music business, became a grandfather. One grandchild, Evie, was living in Nashville, TN, and the other, Julian, in Austin TX. He could sing for one up close, but not the other. His first foray into the children's music arena was limited to improvisation on Mother Goose verses against a simple bluesy acoustic guitar, played live to granddaughter Evie, which she seemed to like. In order to not leave Julian out, Michael went into the studio with his son (and Evie’s dad) Stirling Snow, a first-rate drummer and percussionist, and the result “Blue Mother Goose" came out rootsy and rocking. Next came “Brand New Alphabet“,based upon the characters in a tapestry that had been sewn by Michael’s mother-in-law for his daughter Celeste when she was a baby growing up in England, and which was now displayed on Julian’s wall in Austin.
It probably wouldn’t have gone any farther than that except that Michael played these two pieces for a gathering of music business friends who were either parents or grandparents and the response was immediate and very strong, which set Michael to thinking.
People of grandparent vintage had come of age with the explosive sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues, and to their children the same music was only a short journey back in time. Nowadays, however that stirring music had a much lower profile. However, it seemed as though little kids reacted to the beat instinctively and enthusiastically. Furthermore, son Stirling, who had honed his drumming skills in jazz-rock bands in the Bay Area after college before returning home to Nashville, had never had the chance to experience playing those great grooves first-hand, so the endeavor would be a musical education for the players and the listeners.
The idea crystallized quickly after Michael began researching the canon of children's music. Why not take well known pieces, add freshly written material as needed, compose some new songs and then invoke a series of distinct classic rock ‘n’ roll and R&B styles via arrangement and performance. Having been steeped in those styles since his professional debut in the Liverpool of the early 60's, and having an encyclopedic knowledge of the genres, coupled with his arranging and recording skills, he was happy to jump into the process with enthusiasm.
It became a full friend and family affair when the vocal skills of daughter Celeste Shepherd, daughter-in-law Janin Otwell and good buddy Ritchie Routledge (another alumnus of the Liverpool scene) were added. Michael was also able to tap into a talent pool that included Strawbs lead guitarist Brian Willoughby, blues harp wailer Reckless Johnny Wales, cornetist Brent Moyer and the rockin’9th Street Horns.
The results will hopefully appeal to doting grandparents, the pixies, their parents (who barely missed the big beat the first time around) and anyone who's ready for a rockin' good time...
And there’s more where that came from!
It probably wouldn’t have gone any farther than that except that Michael played these two pieces for a gathering of music business friends who were either parents or grandparents and the response was immediate and very strong, which set Michael to thinking.
People of grandparent vintage had come of age with the explosive sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm & blues, and to their children the same music was only a short journey back in time. Nowadays, however that stirring music had a much lower profile. However, it seemed as though little kids reacted to the beat instinctively and enthusiastically. Furthermore, son Stirling, who had honed his drumming skills in jazz-rock bands in the Bay Area after college before returning home to Nashville, had never had the chance to experience playing those great grooves first-hand, so the endeavor would be a musical education for the players and the listeners.
The idea crystallized quickly after Michael began researching the canon of children's music. Why not take well known pieces, add freshly written material as needed, compose some new songs and then invoke a series of distinct classic rock ‘n’ roll and R&B styles via arrangement and performance. Having been steeped in those styles since his professional debut in the Liverpool of the early 60's, and having an encyclopedic knowledge of the genres, coupled with his arranging and recording skills, he was happy to jump into the process with enthusiasm.
It became a full friend and family affair when the vocal skills of daughter Celeste Shepherd, daughter-in-law Janin Otwell and good buddy Ritchie Routledge (another alumnus of the Liverpool scene) were added. Michael was also able to tap into a talent pool that included Strawbs lead guitarist Brian Willoughby, blues harp wailer Reckless Johnny Wales, cornetist Brent Moyer and the rockin’9th Street Horns.
The results will hopefully appeal to doting grandparents, the pixies, their parents (who barely missed the big beat the first time around) and anyone who's ready for a rockin' good time...
And there’s more where that came from!
LEARN MORE ABOUT MICHAEL SNOW AT WWW.MICHAELSNOWPRESENTS.COM