MR. DAVID’S ROCK’N MUSIC FOR KIDS

MR. DAVID’S CD RELEASE PARTY: JUMP IN THE JUMPY HOUSE

September 10, 2007 on 1:49 pm | In Mr. David, family music, live events, Concerts, Jump in the Jumpy House | No Comments

Okay, sometimes we feel like real dead-beats here at Mr. David Musicworks. The CD Release Party for Jump in the Jumpy House was more than a week ago (by far the most successful concert we’ve EVER! had), and we still haven’t posted any pictures. There’s no excuse. The simple matter is that we need more bodies to help us do all the things that need to get done. Nevertheless, we do eventually get around to these things.

As for the concert goes, we can only say one thing, "WOW!" What a rush it was to hold a family concert at Santana Row (the height of chic, urban shopping in Silicon Valley) and have an entire park filled with fans who were singing, dancing and just rock’n out. For us, it was vindication of what we’ve been working so hard on for more than four years. In this business of music, it can get disheartening to put yourself out there again and again and wonder if it’s ever going to pay off or if anybody is really getting what you’re trying to do. On this beautiful evening, we realized that they did. (Tears are welling up right now as I write this.)

What struck us most about the evening was the energy that was present, an indescribeable feeling of community and appreciation for what we were all sharing. And what was most beautiful was that families and friends, all ages, were sharing the experience together, devoid of any of the negative trappings of your traditioanlly rock concert. I’ve been to many concerts and music festivals, where people are "in the zone," but often get to that point only with the help of alcohol and drugs. Here, we had fathers and daughters dancing together like they were in the middle of Coechella, and they were doing it with a free spirit. When you watch these kids dance and enjoy the music with nothing more than the openess of their hearts and minds, it makes you wonder why as adults so many of us feel that we need to alter our state of mind in order to enjoy a concert.

Mr. David and I sat at breakfast in Santa Cruz the morning after the concert, and I asked him if he would ever change over to "adult music,"  the traditional, mainstream rock tour route, if given the opportunity. I said, "if someone came up to you and asked you to go on tour tomorrow, but then said that you would have to give up the music you’re doing right now, would you do it?" He said absolutely not. "What I’m trying to do with my music is something bigger than just one particular category or genre. I’m trying to make music that everyone will want to listen to, whether they’re four or 80. I really don’t think of my music as ‘just for kids.’ It’s for everyone."

When I thought about the audience the night before, I realized he was right, and it was working. Mr. David was reaching people, entertaining them and giving a rock concert they just had to stop and listen to, regardless of their age. I’m telling you, we had people dancing who had no kids at all among the dozens of children and moms and dads. That’s powerful!

I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts and comments about the concert. If you were there, let us know what you thought about it. If you have photos, please post them to Flickr and tag them with "Mr. David Concert at Santana Row." We’ll pull these into the blog so that we can share with everyone. And thank you all for coming to the concert and making it such a success!

Tawnya