Picnic Playground Tour 2009: Updates from the Road with Rhythm Child!
We checked in with Rhythm Child’s Norman Jones on the Bay Area leg of the Picnic Playground tour to hear about his experiences on the road. Read more below to hear what he had to say!
August 8th in San Francisco, CA @ The Oakland Zoo & August 9th in Sausalito, CA @ The Bay Area Discovery Museum
Norman (Rhythm Child)
I am the luckiest person alive to be able to play music and interact with such amazingly expressive kids.
This past weekend was the first two of four shows [in California] that Rhythm Child is doing for the promotion of the new Picnic Playground release. After an 8 a.m. flight to San Francisco, my guitar player Duane and I were warmly greeted by the smiling face of Mona Kayhan, Director of Putumayo Kids. She took us straight to the Oakland Zoo to perform at the Wildlife Theater located at the base of the sprawling park. Although it was very hot, the amphitheater was mostly shaded and we had a great turnout of families that specifically came to see the show. Besides Duane’s guitar and my djembe drum, we brought over 150 REMO Soundshapes, which are small flat drums that you play with sticks. We really wanted to keep the interactive drum circle element of our show and allow the kids the opportunity to play along with the band. At one point we had to quiet things down a bit because the driving rhythms were starting to stir up the animals that were close by. The parents also seemed to enjoy having the instruments to jam with if they could find a spare one lying around.
On Sunday we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in a beautiful morning fog. We were on our way to Sausalito to play a concert at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, which is housed at an old fort right below the bridge. The museum had a great vibe and many wonderful families were pouring in to see the show. We opened the performance with a drum circle and then launched into the music, which of course included “Bowl of Cherries,” our song on the Picnic Playground CD. One quick-thinking mom came up and brought me a small offering of nice cold cherries as we started the song and I had to stop for a moment to enjoy the sweet tasting treat. It’s hard to sing with a cherry pit in your mouth!
The people were so nice and appreciative of the music and I even had a long-overdue reunion with my college roommate who lives in the area. We also had a surprise visit from Dan Storper, founder of Putumayo World Music, and it was especially cool of him to offer Duane and me a ride to the airport after the show. So, with gear stowed away and the towering redwoods in the distance, we headed home with great memories and lots of new friends. I can’t wait for the shows back home in LA so that the rest of the family and band can experience the communal joy surrounding Picnic Playground.
See you soon! Norman (Rhythm Child)
UP NEXT: Rhythm Child in PASADENA and LOS ANGELES, CA. See more information regarding specific dates and times below.
Rhythm Child
August 12th Pasadena, CA • Memorial Park • Levitt Pavilion 7 pm • www.levittpavilionpasadena.org • Free
August 13th Los Angeles, CA • Pershing Square 12 pm • 532 So. Olive St.
www.lacity.org • Free
