Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci spoke with me aboard the R Family cruise in July about their inclusive approach to kids’ music. They gave me too much material to include in a single article, so below is a second piece from our conversation. I’m also very pleased to announce they will be regular guest posters here at Mombian, with monthly recommendations for children’s songs and ways you can make music an interactive experience for the whole family. Look for them starting the first Monday in September, or visit them now at their own site Gottaplay.org.
In the meantime, read on for their answer to my question about their most memorable concert moments. They bravely relive the trauma of an unsanctioned Elmo on the loose.
Erin Lee: You know, one kid did pull out his tooth on stage once [during the song “My Tooth Is Loose”]. That was a little much for me. I wasn’t ready for that. But the kids are usually great, it’s the grown ups that don’t always know how to handle themselves. We had one episode at the LGBT Garden Party. We were singing in the kids’ area and an unsanctioned, illegal Elmo was opening for us. Now it’s in our contract that we don’t go on after any costumed characters. They all have to be 300 feet from us, because he got up on stage in the middle of our set . . .
Marci: We have a big sneezing build up [in the song “I’m Sick”]. We train the kids how to sneeze. We were doing that and he just came over and knocked me right out of my microphone. He started telling sneezing jokes right into my microphone and the song was completely shot. Then no one could see because he had the big Elmo head. He tries to take it off, and I’m saying “OK, the kids are going to freak out now, you can’t take your head off.” When we finally got him off the stage he decided he would pass out balloon animals to the little, little ones, which of course is a choking hazard, so we had to stop the show to say “All right! Elmo, Bert and Ernie are calling you! Bert’s looking for you way over there at the end of the pier! Hurry Elmo, hurry!” and we had to get rid of him.
Erin Lee: That was the worst one, because when you’re in this job, you’re in a position where you can’t actually hit Elmo. You can’t kick him, you can’t trip him, you can’t yell at him, you have to be nice to Elmo if you’re a kids’ singer. He was illegal, though. He was not from Sesame Street. He brought his costume in a garbage bag. It was not the real Elmo. Marci hit the floor. I’d never seen anything like it.
Marci: It was so funny.
Erin Lee: People ask a lot about the ins and outs of your job, and it’s like, “Oh, after a show, we yelled at Elmo.”
Marci: Elmo had to get ejected by Security. But the kids are great, the kids are fabulous.
Erin Lee: Kids instinctively know what to do, you know, it’s the parents. Not on this [R Family] boat, though. This boat is a very different environment.
Marci: The parents are spectacular.
Erin Lee: Right. Here you get both moms boogying like crazy. It’s great, it’s great. We want to stay here, we just want to work here. It’s our favorite job.