so I sat down in the sun the other day (in SEATTLE! in FEBRUARY!) and took a deep breath and this song came flowing out. Its about a lone little leaf that used to hang on every year ALL winter in a tree outside the window of my old house years ago. It would hold on ALL winter and then just as things were warming up it would DROp and tumble down to the ground. I wrote a song way back then with VERY different music about the little thing but this version with mostly all new words really captures the sad brown leafs thing...it also has the double meaning of tumbling off to sleep...so its kind of a lullaby....ENJOY!

Here is a wee one that I am working on for the new album...thought I would post a few demos up here in ROUGH form so you all could hear em for fun and let me know what you think! This is an old hillbilly tune about gambling that I simplified and turned on its little head and made a new part for and changed the words! hope you N-JOY! caspar

hey hey...just feeling a bit chatty AND I just wrote and recorded a new song called "Fly With Me" that is a super spacey abstract lullaby...hmmmm...it seems like I have a bunch of different lullabies flowing these days...Im still doing demo recordings for the new record and tonight I JUST finished getting through all the originals Ive written and now I go on to record little demos of the old public domain songs that I am considering for the album....FUN FUN FUN! Ive been doing some super fun shows including one at the Phinney Ridge Center the other day...SOLD OUT! and the crowd was excited and funny and the little kids and babies were smiling and bouncing around...we didnt have Freddy with us but we still got funny and musicy all over the place...THEN we went to Auburn and did a little birthday party in a beautiful house on a ridge in the rainy night for a bunch of tiny little baby people...the birthday girl got a HUGE cupcake thing and tore it all up and put it all over her head! FUN! looking forward to the show on the 16th coming up at the EMP...it will be BIG! OK! more to come...weeee!

ITS COZY TIME! and the frost is out here in Seattle...feeling snug tonight with Kate on the couch doing internet stuff and having a great time being WARM in our wee house....we like to think of this house as an ART FACTORY...we call it "CUTE SMART MUSIC AND ART". For those of you that DONT know it Kate is my sweetheart and she does the excellent album covers for the albums...more on her at her ETSY store right here -  KATE ENDLE ON ETSY I am doing super simple little demos of new songs for a THIRD record that I hope will be out in the early summer or maybe middle summer OR fall of 2010....got some AMAZING songs brewing...Also in the new year I will be working with my bandmates Ron and Fred to write a stage show version of our live thing that we hope to put on at childrens theatres around the area in the coming year....more on that as it develops...The show we did at WELLSPRING FAMILY SERVICES last Saturday was super fun...that room they have for functions sounds very good...warm and full...Josie was there to do her part too....and then the ALPHABET SOUP show was special too...we like to do some songs that we dont really know well there and try new stuff...we did 2 songs that Ron and Fred had never even heard before!! Good times...and my new friend KEETH from the great band THE HARMONICA POCKET came to say hi with his GIGANTICAL moustache....OK! Thanks for listening and if you like what I do dont forget to tell your parent friends! cheers....

I just had a real good day....pretty simple! I got up EARLY and did a radio show to promote the album in the wee dark cold winter hours and then came back home for a bit more sleep. After I got up I had a super long songwriting session and brought a ton of hazy song ideas into focus one after another and it felt AWESOME! There are some real gems brewing for the next album for sure. Then after a soupy lunch of hot veggies I went for a long walk with little Katie and watched a movie on the couch and took a wee nap! PERFECT....thats all for now..!!

and it is.....(drum roll (donw a hill) please) NOVEMBER 17th 2009!!!! weeeeee!!!! I am doing some of the final mixing now and Kate is working on the art in the other room getting the sunny sun yellow to pop and crackle. I cant wait!! You can go to the STORIES page then scroll down past the HERE I AM! stories and read the stories about all the new songs now if you wanna! In the coming weeks I will be emailing a few sneak previw tracks to my mailing list so sign up today! WOO HOO!! The sun is out here in Seattle and the flies are getting slower and slower as the wintertime starts to wake up and come tip toein around the shrubs. OK gotta go!

Thats right! we are having GREAT shows these days and I am STILL writing songs like a wee madman! Just demoed up one this morning with josie on vocals with me called "What If?". It is about an old wise crow that sits in the woods and a beetle a bear and a baby all come and ask it questions about stuff they are worried about and the crow gives very funny smart answers. Josie plays the part of the beetle the bear and the baby and I am the narrator and the crow. It is a kind of story song. FUN!! Oh what the heck...I wil let you all hear the demo for fun! click right HERE. Thats what you get for paying attention to my blog! thanks....also shows have been great especially the one last night at the KIDS QUEST MUSEUM in Factoria. SO MUCH FUN! The crowd was funny and sang loud and Augie and Josie sang and played along too. And the one at RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE also was a blast and R. McD. himself was there on his segway being a clown and a little girl insisted that we do the FUNKY FUNKY SPIDER song...we didnt know it so we made it up but we didnt do the one she wanted so she sang it for everyone!....ok! bye bye.
oh and here are the lyrics to that song!...

WHAT IF?

once upon a time there was a smart old crow
and all the animals in the forest could come to him
to ask about anyting that they were worried about
one day a tiny black beetle came and said

what if a bird carries me away?
watch the skies and hide in the hay
what if I get lost and start to cry?
wait for the sun to make your tears all dry
what if I get scared and cant go to sleep?
think about fun and dont make a peep
what if I cant find a friend?
graba pinecone and just pretend

what if?
wa wa wa wa wa what if?
everybody wonders what if?
wa wa wa wa wa what if?

the smart old crow was there in the same tree
everyday waiting to answer all the creatures questions
and then one day out of the woods
came a big ferocious bear! and in a tiny voice he said:

what if I cant be scary enough?
it dont mean your not strong and tough
what if my cubs wont snarl and growl?
listen to the wolf and teach em how to howl
what if im nervous to climb a tree?
start with a bush and you will see
what if the nighttime makes me sad?
the sun is comin round to make you glad

then one day along came a really strange creature
the old crow knew this thing would have
lots of interesting fantastical questions
and sure enough it did! it was a human baby and it said:

what if I cant teach a tiger to dance?
take him to a disco in the middle of France
what if I cant go to the moon?
you can in your dreams at night in June
what if I needa squeeze and nobodys there?
you could hug this beetle or hug this bear
what if my mom and dad go away?
youre the one whos gonna wanna go someday

and the beetle and the bear and the baby all
lay down after asking all these questions
and got so sleepy they drifted off
and had the best sleep ever....the end

hello there!

So I did the Arts-In-Nature Festival this past weekend and it was a blast. I got to take over a wee cabin in this great park in West Seattle called Camp Long with Kate and put up her art and play my music under the cedar trees for babies....awesome! I got to try out a few new songs that I have not even recorded yet like "Arkansas Ants" and "All You Pretty Babies" and "Anything for Love" (as you can tell i didnt even get out of the A's in my song book!!). On Saturday we did the PEPSAPALOOZA event out in Woodinville and the weather was perfect and the babies were dancin all over the grass. thanks to both events for having us!

I am getting feedback now from my test families and starting to select the songs for the next record! Kate and I sketched out the cover art this weekend at the cabin too so it is coming into focus. Hope to have it out mid November! songs that are getting high marks are "Dog Gone Gone Dog Gone" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Nine Ninety NIne".

also..."Free Like A Bird" is climbing the charts on Kids Place Live on Sirius/XM 116! check it out HERE.

Also check out my links page for fresh links....most importantly ENZO GARCIA! the best kids music I have found in a while!

cheers!

HEY!! so I have taken the first step toward the new record today by getting ruthless with the giant wad of songs I have recorded and narrowing it down to the batch that will be in the running for MORE PLEASE! the new album...exciting..it was hard but I must remind myself that there will be more abums to come (the next one after this next one might be called THIS IS FUN!) so I just put them off to another release...but I love em all!

also you can hear my appearance on LIVE WIRE RADIO by clicking HERE. It went really well...a super fun vaudevillian experience and great comedy and guests...check it out!!

ALSO! lots more live shows added...LOOK!!!

bye bye!

So we did the BIG SHOW yesterday at Vera here in Seattle and it was really a good old time! There were some hilarious little kiddies up at the front of the stage just chatting away at me the whole set saying the funniest things. I am looking forward to playing some up coming shows that are not on a big stage though. I always feel a little separated from everyone up high like that! thats why I sit down....wish I had some pictures or something but my official photographer (Josie) was bizzy with selling my merch AND singing on some songs so we didnt get any pics...but we did do a 2 camera shoot and soon there will be live videos up on the site and on YouTube so look out! ok t's'all f'r NOW!

HEY HEY HEY....so I did Live Wire Radio last week and it was so much fun. Like an old fashioned vaudeville show with comedy and music and interviews and stuff...you can check them out here at LIVE WIRE RADIO. On Saturday the 27th of June the podcast of the show I was on will be up at LIVE WIRE RADIO PODCASTS. Here is a photo from soundcheck that Kate took:



The people at Live Wire were really cool and I would love to do that show again!!

Josie and Augie and I were on the AM radio today and sang a few songs on KKNW 1150AM here in Seattle...they kids were great...singing and playing shakers and kazoo! All to promote next weeks show of course at VERA in Seattle with The Not-Its! and The Board of Education and Recess Monkey.

I am still writing songs like a maniac and cant slow down long enough to start reviewing the songs I do have for the second record!! I will force myself out of the studio long enough to listen to what I have so far next week though..I promise! I had a notion that I might get the new record finished in time for the Sept show at TOWN HALL. But I may just never stop creating long enough to release anything! I will post a preview track or two in the coming weeks on the site though...

ok gonna go make a fire in the backyard and roast some corn on the cob...BYE!!

I am going to start with the big picture. The extremely big big picture!

I believe that we, the human race, are in the beginning stages of realizing our potential. We are in our infancy. We have toddled out of the crib, but we don’t have full control of ourselves yet. By this I mean that we have not mastered our intent and our brains and our ability to connect to the whole universe, not just the one inside our own heads. We are small-minded. We are distracted by our inner dialogue about the temporary things and concerns of this life. The sensation of awareness of our vast true existence is not yet part of our everyday experience. As we raise our children, we need to make them aware of this option for higher awareness.

It is the BEING instead of the DOING.

In my experience, it is from a place of stillness that creativity and problem-solving most often arises. Many inventions and artistic achievements were born from relaxation. What was Newton doing under that tree? He was chilling out.

I feel that through imagination and creative thinking, essentially coloring outside the lines, we can instill a sense of inner peace in a growing brain. This condition will serve to help navigate the noise of life as a child grows and becomes independent.

It is for these reasons that I choose to make music for the very young. I begin by imagining a loud car ride or a noisy home in the morning after breakfast when the kids are restless. I feel out what sound, tone, imagery and melodies might help engage and relax these little minds in these kinds of conditions. It is here that I go to start the creative process. It is a place of peace and pure feeling rather than intellect and reasoning. This is why I do not write songs about how to tie your shoes or cross the street or count to twenty. I feel like that tone is a missed opportunity to turn on a young mind to the boundlessness of the silly.

I choose to base my melodies and patterns on the blues, old American folk music, African spirituals and time tested nursery rhymes. These tonal relationships have withstood the test of time for good reason. They are soulful and organic in some way and seem to come from that place of vast awareness, so it is there that I harvest ideas for my own songs.

With these inspirational starting points, I enjoy pushing these boundaries. I am making my own songs come to life, hoping and imagining that they will serve the listeners in the intended way. I want these songs to make the world seem like a place of possibilities and relaxed, open, joyous imaginings. That is my hope and, for now, that is my purpose here on the planet.

Thanks for listening!

so I am out here on the rainy wintertime road with the rock and roll band and using my downtime to write more songs for the babies...I just rewrote from the ground up an old song from a record I put out in 1998 and it is SO MUCH BETTER! Its called "Truly Do Love You" and its a smooth sweet little thing...OH! and WOW! I found this artist that I think you all should know about...she makes these amazing animated loop movies with paintings and flowers and little pipe cleaner animals and they are just exactly what goes on in my mind when I sing some of my songs....her name is Erin Marie Dunn and you can check her out HERE. Look at her animations from 2008...those are the best! Kate and I found her very randomly in Amsterdam during a day off wandering session...well thats it for now! bye bye.

hey all!...so I got on a local news morning show and did a little bit with the anchorman that I thought you would like to see...the station is Q13 FOX and the clip is right....HERE. 
In other news I am still writing and recording songs like crazy although I am TRYING to stop so I can get ready for a tour of Europe with the rock and roll band...(the Presidents) but the songs just keep flowing out of me...its the kid of problem you WANT to have...!! I am also starting to develop a TV show idea with a friend of mine...like a little half hour thing with me playing songs written by or inspired by input from kids from all over the world and I would live in a cartoon log and have 2 dimensional hand drawn friends that put the show on...just talking about it right now but I can SEE it in my head! (among many other things in my head!) ok thats all for now...bye!

Mr Rogers says - "Music is the one art we all have inside. We may not be able to play an instrument, but we can sing along or clap or tap our feet. Have you ever seen a baby bouncing up and down in the crib in time to some music? When you think of it, some of that baby's first messages from his or her parents may have been lullabies or at least the music of their speaking voices. All of us had the experience of hearing a tune from childhood and having that melody evoke a memory or a feeling. THE MUSIC WE HEAR EARLY ON TENDS TO STAY WITH US ALL OUR LIVES."
-Mr. Rogers from the book The World According to Mr. Rogers

hey yo...so my old buddy Nancy Guppy is the host of a show called ART ZONE on The Seattle Channel (cable channel 21 here in the NW corner of the USA) and she is doing a little documentary on me (caspar) that is airing on thursday Feb 19th at 8 and 10pm PST...then it will rebroadcast a bunch of times then I will have it up here on the site and on CASPAR BABYPANTS TV. I just saw a preview and its a great little piece shot and edited by a great producer ROSEMARY GARNER who also worked on the video that PUSA made with Weird Al! whew...lots of info and links! ENJOY!

So this saturday (2/14/09) on a radio station called 94.7 Alternative in Portland Oregon will be playing the tune Sleeping Baby from my new album!! The show is called GREASY KID STUFF so listen in and tune in and lie down and close your eyes...its a sleepy tune...

OK! so I went to Hawaii to play some shows with my little rock band (the presidents) and made three wee videos for THE ISLAND HOP, BUG IN THE CUFF and BABY BEAR while I was there...so I set up a youtube page to get the ball rolling and its called CASPAR BABYPANTS TV. I would love to make some kind of video for all the songs on the album someday but these three will get me going...also if any of you have ideas for videos let me know...the one for THE ISLAND HOP is really fun and was shot on location in Hawaii and stars my own finger...! hope you enjoy them....

I hope I am not the last one to discover this but Kimya Dawson has made an amazing kids record. It is jingly and broken down in the most home grown way with clear vocals that paint little pictures in my wee brain. You all need to give it a try at KIMYADAWSON.COM . I took a great nap to it the other day and it made me fly all over the world having perfect dreams....try it!!

and I am inside looking far and wide for kids music that I like and after a couple of hours at it I found one!!! FRANCES ENGLAND ! woot. I am a big fan of her first record called FASCINATING CREATURES and the art on her site and album covers is superb. She has 2 records out and I got them both and plan to listen to them on the plane tonight on the way to Hawaii...I wrote a new song on my little ukulele yesterday called BRING CHIMPY HOME. Its about a little chimp that takes a walk and forgets to come home! I think the warm sun and soft sand of Hawaii will be a great place to write songs for the NEXT record...although I think I have 30 songs recorded for it already...hee. thats all for now! see ya!

hey all...so that fine blog ZOOGLOBBLE reviewed my CD and it is nice! Here is a link to the review...linkypinky. They had some kind words for the music and I appreciate that...hold on loosely folks the record is on its way! 

the Not-Its! sent me a couple of pictures from the show so I thought I would put em up...it was FUUUUN!

I DID IT! did a show today in seattle and it was SO SO SO fun...I really did not want it to end...the kids were so nice and cute and danced and listened to the songs...thanks you too all those people that came to see me and howdy to all those not-its fans that stumbled into my world...I am really looking forward to a longer set now so I can play some electric piano and get into writing a song or two live with the kids...AND I will have CDs at the next show so that will be sweet...Im just buzzing right now...!!! ok gotta go record more songs...Ive started the Christmas record with an original song called CANDY CANE! the plan is to have that ready for NEXT year...and the Beatles cover album is off the ground too with 3 songs in the can...but I better slow down and let you all catch up to the NOT YET RELEASED record! ha....ok see you soon...

hey! so I got my first blog type attention from a great kids site called ZOOBLOGGLE ! go check it out and support the supporters that support the babypants!

ok...so I know I only have one album done but I am writing and recording songs at an alarming rate and I am too excited to stop so i wanted to let you all know what the CASPAR BABYPANTS future holds.....so 1. another album of originals mixed with songs written by kids and old traditional songs with new lyrics...2. a beatles cover record of songs that are the kids vibration but reduced to their essential elements musically for a relaxing listen...3. a christmas record for next season with a mix of originals and old traditional songs done in fresh new ways...4. an album of kids stories read by the writers and set to music...like an old radio show hosted by the littles...5. a "weid al" type record of covers of songs redone for the babies..."free crawlin" instead of "free fallin" and "juicy juice" instead of "gin and juice" (I got my mind on my mommy and my mommy on my mind) WEEEEEE!!! so excited...I want it all done tomorrow! ok bye bye!