Jambase
The Rockin' Chair: Sugar Free & Fun For All
November 28, 2007
Music means many things. At its best, it's a pure artistic expression - a language that existed before we had the capacity to form words, a common way to speak to universal truths that bind humanity together. Music provides the essential connective tissue of our collective consciousness and serves an exalted place in our societies as a function of ceremony, military precision and artistic expression. But, what really makes it the best, what makes it so enjoyable to play, to dance to, to listen to and talk about is that it's just plain fun.
Nobody knows this more than Oklahoma's Sugar Free Allstars . This two-man soul rock outfit has been making groove-heavy but light-hearted music since their self-titled debut album in 2001. With 2004's Dos Machos! , the band had solidified their lineup as Chris Wiser on Hammond B3 organ and saxophone and Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin on drums. That was all they needed.
Their music is firmly entrenched in the Memphis soul sounds of folks like Booker T and the MGs, enhanced with a rock sensibility. But, their lyrics are derived as much from Sesame Street as McLemore Avenue. At first listen, their quirky verses just seem downright silly. Upon closer inspection, they are also witty and satirical. Sugar Free pokes fun at well-known archetypes - we all know the "Buddhist In A Beemer" Chris Wiser lampoons - while at the same time goofing off with romps like "Great Big Car." All of this is indicative of an attitude that music is primarily for dancing and laughing and having fun.
With all this unabashed giddiness in their DNA, it makes perfect sense that these dudes would make a children's record because who likes acting silly and laughing more than kids? Who dances like no one is watching? Toddlers have it down pat. Along with Return of Dos Machos , their "adult" album, they've simultaneously released Dos Ninos , an album specifically intended for tykes. The kid's album contains slightly sillier tunes, and the adult album contains a guest appearance by Little Feat 's Fred Tackett . The truth is, each record is equally appealing to little and big kids alike.
According to Wiser, the process of writing the songs is the same. "It's just a slight lyrical twist," he says. "Music-wise, it's the exact same. And really even lyrically it's not any different. I'll just think of a funny idea for a song and I'll think it'd be good as a kid's song and then the process is the exact same."
Perhaps because of the vast void of quality heartfelt and groove-heavy music in the children's music world, it was the kid's album that gained the most notice, garnering them their biggest radio airplay ever as "Bathtub Boy," an irresistible little ditty about, yes, taking a bath, shot up the charts to number one on XM Radio's kid's channel. There's no reason that the little tykes shouldn't enjoy good music too. We're born with ears after all.
"Before they can understand words, kids get the beat," says Wiser. "We're finding, after learning about the kids' music world, that there's really nobody doing the style of music that we do for kids. It seems weird to me because the beat is the very first thing kids respond to. Just our regular stuff is quirky. Some of the subject matter is off-kilter and not so serious. It's more lighthearted, and kids like that."
After all, kids ought not be saddled with crap by a purple dinosaur, the Doodle-Bops or whatever else is coming through the boob tube. So, by happenstance, the Sugar Free Allstars find themselves in the world of kid's music. They came by it almost accidentally.
"Even when our first album came out, people with children would come up to us and tell us that their kids loved our songs," says Wiser. "Then one day we got a call from the Library System in Oklahoma City and they wanted us to play a bunch of shows for kids."
SFA join a long line of musicians who've taken it upon themselves to play real music for kids. As a new parent, I've been engaging in a crash course in so-called Kid's Music (nevermind that I usually listen to it when my son is asleep or with my headphones on). Yes, the tried and true copy of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman 's Not For Kids Only has been getting lots of play lately. There's also The Johnny Cash Children's Album , Shake Sugaree: Taj Mahal Sings And Plays For Children and all kinds of good music intended for kids that's just as enjoyable to adults. To be honest, I think young Jack likes Thelonious Monk and Wilco just as much as any of the above-mentioned albums, so maybe the kid's albums are for me.
You don't have to be a kid to dig kid's music and you don't have to be an adult to like Monk, but the fun factor is raised a little bit by a silly lyric from Dos Ninos like "I love my Poppy and Mee-Maw/ they like cornbread and Hee-Haw/ when I was little they would put me on the see-saw." So, don't be afraid to put on a so-called kids record and dance along. Even if it just gives you an excuse to bust out laughing at the word "stinky," that's okay. It's all in good fun.
-Tom Speed
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