Kid Pan Alley Lets Kids Write the Songs

The conceit of Kid Pan Alley is sheer simplicity – why believe that only adults can write song lyrics with any level of depth or emotion? KPA founder Paul Reisler spent 18 months during the pandemic helping children work through their fears, concerns, and dreams to construct the songs on the project's latest CD, MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR.

It's not just coronavirus that affected kids over the past year-plus. They addressed climate change ("The Day the Stars Reached the Earth" featuring Natalie Zuckerman), celebrating our own lives ("Small Things Make a Difference" featuring Michael Lille), and even adoption ("I Think I Blinked" featuring Billy Jonas).

Kids' favorite Randy Kaplan, a frequent KPA contributor, polished the quirky "Tear My Mask (To Pieces)," with a protagonist eager to get back some sense of normalcy. The heartbreaking "Staring Out My Window" is every child's ballad of the lost year of companionship and routine. The aforementioned "I Think I Blinked" deals with adoption so quickly that you might miss the key lines on first listening:

I've known it all along
That's why I wrote this song
I've seen the pictures on the wall
I knew I didn't look like you at all

Kid Pan Alley is not just about granting children access to their feelings. The KPA project is intended to demonstrate that careers in the performing arts are a viable future (these are also welcome concepts to music, acting, and singing instructors around the country). With schools cutting aid to arts programs, KPA reinforces the necessity of educating well-rounded children by motivating all of their potential interests. MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR delivers songs written by kids for kids that can also teach their parents a lesson or two.

MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR is available on Kid Pan Alley's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for the song, "Staring Out My Window":

Ben's Playlist - Monday, January 6, 2020

Dozen Good Reasons – Danny Weinkauf
I've Got An Apple Pie In My Bookbag – Lisa Loeb and Kid Pan Alley
In My Nintendo – Jack Forman
It's a Miracle – Dog On Fleas
Noodles And Butter – Caspar Babypants
White Whale – Kepi Ghoulie
With a Little Help From My Friends – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Children Write the Tunes On Kid Pan Alley

For 20 years, Kid Pan Alley (KPA) has been engaging with school children to make original music of their creation. As founder Paul Reisler explains, "This program keeps children intensely engaged as they work together to write their own song – both music and lyrics."

Not every song gets the celebrity recording treatment. When you look at the numbers, only a fraction make the cut. To date, KPA has written more than 2,700 songs with over 65,000 children across the country from Virginia to Hawaii. To celebrate the anniversary, the organization has released its new CD, BEST FRIENDS, featuring 12 songs with a variety of topics and styles, each with a unique guest vocalist, including Lisa Loeb, Bill Harley, Randy Kaplan, the Not-Its, and Sonia De Los Santos.

Technology is at the forefront in "I Forgot To Charge My Phone Today" featuring Lea Morris. Robbie Schaefer takes lead in the hard rocking "My Shadow Leads a Double Life." And veteran storyteller Bill Harley discusses the lack of business for a youthful entrepreneur who has a "Sister For Sale." And it doesn't take Google Translate to understand the meaning of "La Vida Es Bella," the closing track with Sonia De Los Santos.

Bossy parents (versus bossy kids) highlights Silly Bus on "Who Decided." Lisa Loeb contributes her level-headed take on the fanciful "I've Got An Apple Pie in My Book Bag." And Vance Gilbert gives title track "Best Friends" a keen perspective, when written as only children can see friendship.

It's doubtful that modern children (or even kids from 20 years ago) would understand the "tin pan alley" origin of the name for the Kid Pan Alley project. But the goal remains the same and BEST FRIENDS delivers another solid collection of kid-friendly, kid-generated, and kid-centric songs from KPA.

BEST FRIENDS is available from Kid Pan Alley's page on CDBABY, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is a video for the project's song, "Life Is Good":

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Backstroke Raptor – Story Pirates
Buenos Dias-the Lucky Band – The Lucky Band
Did You See That Squirrel? – Dog On Fleas
Garden of Your Mind – Andrew & Polly
My Shadow Leads A Double Life – Robby Schaefer and Kid Pan Alley
People Watching – Dean Jones
Stick Up Stand Up – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Anything Can Be A Hat – Ratboy Jr.
Everything Has A Song – Caspar Babypants
School's Out! – The Not-Its and Kid Pan Alley
Side By Side (Featuring Lucy Kalantari) – Michael & The Rockness Monsters
Taco Tuesday  – The Lucky Band
Who, What, When, Where, Why – The Bazillions
You Do You – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Quick Hits: Holiday Videos from Brady Rymer, Randy Kaplan & Kid Pan Alley

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could have gone holiday music crazy! But fear not, it isn't an eggnog overdose – it's all to promote their latest CD, REVVIN' UP THE REINDEER. This week's video is "It's Christmastime," and yes, Virginia, you can expect a fully-decorated tree:


The non-profit organization Kid Pan Alley teamed with noted educator/children's music recording artist Randy Kaplan for the song "Santa's On Vacation." The lyrics were written by Tim Johnson  and Mrs. Allard’s 3rd grade class, Poplar Grove School. Randy put his distinctive spin on the material and they even created a photo/video for the song:

Kid Pan Alley Lets Kids Write The Tunes

What if everybody could write a song? That seems like a grand concept, except that most people don't have either the equipment, the time, the experience, or the idea of where to start. Kid Pan Alley was founded to give children a safe harbor and a window into the world of music. Their new CD, ONE LITTLE SONG CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, is a collection of tunes written with classrooms of kids. It doesn't seek to change the world as much as let people know that things like this are even possible.

The Kid Pan Alley program promotes ideals such as teamwork, creative thinking, and respect for intellectual property (I wonder if they have a PowerPoint on Spotify royalties). We do this by keeping them engaged and giving them the power to create something unique, lasting and completely their own. ONE LITTLE SONGis about respect for others, the environment, the community and ourselves. The songs are recorded by the Kid Pan Alley band, which includes Grammy nominated vocalists.

Kid Pan Alley is the brainchild of Paul Reisler, and the program has been cultivating young minds since 1999.

ONE LITTLE SONG goes high in its concepts, but you can point the finger at the fevered little minds getting the opportunity to set the table. Songs cover "I Don't Think So, You're a Bully," "Don't Put Me Down, Or My Dog," and "True To Me." It certainly provides a wonderful vocal showcase for performers such as Lea Morris, Heath Francis, Ysaye Barnwell, Jason McGlory, Justin Hopkins, Vance Gilbert, and Alison Rapetti. But in reality, my kids have been exposed to so many songs with these concepts – by artists they are familiar with – that the treatments here didn't really engage them.

ONE LITTLE SONG is a neat little curio and probably worth a listen for the families of the kids involved. However music education in disparate forms continues to be an important curriculum and should be supported. To that end, Kid Pan Alley is a worthwhile project and definitely has its ear (and eye) on bringing children into the world of music.

ONE LITTLE SONG CAN CHANGE THE WORLD is available at iTunes, Amazon, and CDBABY.

Here is the video for the song, "Don't Put Me Down, Or My Dog":