Fred Penner

0:03well that i'm well how are you doing well thank you good well that will what music did you grow up with what what are your earliest musical memories all golly uh... you know my in in my early days that there wasn't really a point of the range of stuff because i might my parents uh... where we're into the uh... the the the the music of the forty of the many good men and and uh... that time i have an older brother and sister so in the in the fifties they were into the early early rock and roll uh... then then the fifties came along and i was into the folk scene so i had these wonderful ranges of sound that were around me all the time in that area there was nothing you know specifically in the children's area back then other than

0:50some storytellers and and the variety stuff on and i had it's all of them and things like that but uh... i had a lot of really interesting from classical to swing to to rock the blues to country to it's funny that those songs now would be almost considered children's songs oddly yet it's true i mean i i i i brought a lot of those tunes forward along the way like uh... uh... ghost writers in the sky right with a lot of on the roll from from that era uh... often get requests for that one because it's uh... it's a good thing along type of tune i think that that maybe is one of the elements that's really important in in the journey in the children's song or song that works with the family audience is uh... is some level of participation and a lot of the tunes now don't

1:38don't necessarily have that or they're not designed that way and uh... and so when it when i bring bring forward that that type of tune it's you know it's embraced immediately you always want to be a musician i i had never i i hadn't been told that this was an option in my life on the end of what i was uh... i started singing when i was born but through elementary uh... school at all through great school university etc i was in i gravitated to to anything musical to to choirs mainly in that i've started playing guitar was fifteen and then a lot of acting and gilbert and fellow in type productions at high school uh... so i i i got into the the character acting world

2:23combined with the music and combined with the with the folk of the coffee house seen in the sixty so that that was the one thing that i had done in my life that really gave me more uh... more sense of uh... of purpose in a way and then in the early uh... the early seventies uh... my sister who's a down syndrome child and she passed away we she had a severe heart condition that we knew would not allow her to to go much past twelve years old and my father died a year later you know in the uh... this early in my early twenties uh... he just finished uh... a degree in economics from the university of winnipeg and i was primed to sort of follow that course and suddenly you know the these mortality checks put me in a different perspective completely and i

3:09and i have started pursuing anything musical playing playing lounges bars would have been kids music then or would have been more focused up no back then was all folk and i'm doing the the gordon lightfoot uh... joni mitchell's nearly young stuff peter paul and mary you know i i i mean that that whole range of of uh... kind of things that that and again the participation was uh... a huge part of uh... of everything i did back then how did it change into to children's music then well the the evolution to the came when i ultimately when i met my wife who was uh... uh... a modern dance he came to winnipeg to study and further her uh... her modern dance career she's now the co-director of the

3:57school of contemporary dance here in winnipeg and uh... and she came to the city and uh... and saw a need or uh... you know something in in her that that really wanted to develop a children's dance theater company and uh... so i wrote music and she choreographed and we we develop these shows that we toured in the in the manateva school from one of those performances uh... led to a an offer to do uh... the first record based basically a doctor and his wife uh... they had two children and they gave me a almost literally a blank check to to produce my first album today they like the music they like my voice they they thought that i i showed promise and they wanted to support it

4:45so it was really my wife who was the turning point for i was actually listening to your daughters band earlier today already to tell you know very uh... very metric sound like it you got a good voice yeah i thought that that the great uh... do you ever feel that it's been a good i mean obviously that's that's a very far departure from what you're doing musically did you ever do you or did you ever feel pigeonholed doing the kids did you ever just want to you know put distortion on the tars rock out you know i i i was never i was never the rocker uh... i was always the always the folk kind of guy i like driving the sound and i went when i get into when i get into jam and ordered that festival and

5:30stuff can move along pretty well with the with the crew but uh... as far as relating to to it to an older audience if that's part of the question uh... that that's i've i've always thought of my my music is being uh... a pretty broad spectrum of of appreciation from from very young kids to you know to parents and to grandparents so so deal dealing with a large massive humanity and uh... and and the songs and the songs that are right you know often have uh... have very complex court progressions and and are are are quite fulfilling musically for me in many ways uh... but it but i've i i i certainly was pigeonholed you know very clearly

6:16went to your uh... you do a thousand television program you know at ten o'clock uh... in the morning you know that that is defined as the children's plot and uh... and part of the has you know not that sir certainly not the not resentful because it's it's been a and it it has been and continues to be a very uh... a very powerful and and constant uh... of career for me i'm i'm still sort of living on the laurels that that were built back then and and building new paths from here but uh... but but but a part of me uh... the people to understand that that i'm i'm uh... i'm uh... i'm more than than just a children's entertainer that even though that's not a negative

7:02you know i i i have uh... i do not condescend i i don't do child ish kinds of things i have a youthful exuberance that i that i bring to the table and uh... and i engage an audience you know of of humanity on many levels so it's it's an interesting question you know i i i i've uh... i've never felt really held back but uh... but at the same time there's that there is a little part of me that has a need for for adult uh... appreciation which i hear you're getting now though you're doing more universities yeah it was just an interesting thing well in uh... i i haven't i haven't done anything up in Edmonton in the campuses yet i'm hoping that'll happen in the world i've i've played out of uh... malt royal algary okay i played ubc i played uh...

7:56places out east so that that building and it uh... and it's great fun i i i love doing that it it's uh... i mean it's inspiring because the kids who are now you know it from twenty to thirty plus uh... are are really excited about my my coming back to to visit them and to share the music that they grew up with yeah uh... you know so that that's really it's i'm i'm really a prime for that i'm uh... i'm i'm loving it i'm staying healthy and creative i'm writing new tunes for that uh... for that genre and what and what uh... what are the subject matters how different are the subject matters they get they have to be a little different uh... not not a whole lot

8:41of course bringing tunes that i grew up with you know i again from the folk scene right uh... but but the the last one i wrote was called face to face which is a really you know i the hard driving sound i've been considering you know putting the electric guitar to it it's it's that it's that kind of a song that could easily uh... you know sort of a follow up to the ending song that i did on every friend and his place episode is called take good care of each other really and and and it's a bit about you know we're all in this together kind of thing so uh... so that's the that's the uh... the subject matter of of that uh... of that particular tune of you know take good care take good care take good care of each other the the planet is waiting so make a plan we all could use a helping hand

9:30you survived your team you made it through now what are you going to do what are you going to do you're going to take good care of each other you know so it then it drives from there so it's it's still trying to bring those messages home to the into the audience i i think i think part of it is the uh... i am seen with but i had appreciation understanding that i did that i do bring integrity to the to the plate here i had totally believe in in the power of music to make a difference in the lives of of uh... certainly have a child of any person and so the music that i do regardless of of of who it may be aimed for is all message to it you know and and and and and and i mean i think these now so so that is uh...

10:17i think a logical part of your of your evolution as well you know when you reach the stage you you automatically want want to leave a legacy that that has power and and some of the longevity to it well i think we certainly have that with with everyone at least in my generation for sure it's very cool and i'm i'm i've i've been certainly blessed to uh... to have a career like this for uh... this is my forty-eighth year of of being a professional entertainer and this is all i've done in my in my adult life you know i've uh... prior to that i i had a couple of short-term uh... in a short-term gig the child care worker and uh... and i had a part-time receptionist you know i a couple of things that but once the once the music took hold the timing was was so right

11:02uh... the the philosophy that i brought to the table because of the work that i done with behavior problem disturb kids and from my own sister susie and and her the power of her music and and my wife and her commitment to what to what was happening there uh... i brought some really interesting and and very strong to uh... into to to sort of followed on that foundation i just want to fall back on something you said before but that's all you were that you're writing a take care of each other is it sad that we still need that message i understand why you're saying it to a six-year-old because they need to learn that but in your twenties your thirties are older it's it's almost sad in a way that we still need to hear that because we're not doing it now i i i i agree we've been a lot of

11:50a lot of our human i i'm not sure who's who's responsible for whether it's the technology whether it's the government whether it's uh... yeah i mean there's got to be something that causing it but but but we're becoming very uh... very he didn't it to be the least uh... we're we're very uh... egocentric in many ways and and uh... and and and so much of it is you know what's in it for me kind of thing and uh... and and and there's i i'm seeing more and more elements of of of young people understanding that and and who are are are are are bringing back some of the uh... the peace and love from the sixty there's a there's a festival that i that i that i'm playing again this year

12:37i played last year for the first time is called the evolve festival it's an anecdotal scotia and it's and it's like going back to woodstock the there you were not what's the way i know i i i i was by almost went to know i we were talking about it and then it was i don't have the money to do that or can i you know it yeah it was one of those it should have who would have been a and interesting thing but i i i was certainly there in spirit in in uh... in many ways and and and this festival is uh... is is really port and and and love for each other it's just a delightful uh... event anyway so i'm uh... and all the festivals i've been playing across the country from from dawson

13:24city to you know across b c across the prairie i did that in ten festivals last summer uh... i was i was there was jammed and and this summer i have to up to yellow knife and uh... i did a good a good range of events and and what's what's really heartening is the uh... the music that the this next-generation with uh... with my music what they're bringing to the uh... to the table now is is is very very strong their uh... their their good faith their heart through in the right places it's uh... i i'm yeah i'm really optimistic because of the music that i hear

14:10at the festival and and what what these young people are making now so that's so that's encouraging it'll but at the same at the same time maybe maybe it's the other the main stream needs needs to keep that that message aware that we we are in this together and we do have to and dreams and feelings and then we do have to take care of each other yeah and i i i guess that message comes out in the kids songs that are nowadays as well but i i feel like it's and maybe it's just some i don't have kids at the moment and i and i'm not in that place where i'm listening to it all the time but i feel like it's a lot more fast-paced now the kids are not getting what they got when when twenty years ago when you were on tb and i was growing up no the it's a very bizarre concept that the uh... that the the television and and even from the recording

14:56things now feel that the kids have no attention span that there is uh... and the hits that happened it was certainly a television it's like the fifteen-second uh... hit period and if you don't get the get the kid in that time and you go to lose them and and and it just drives me crazy because it it's ignoring the fact that that these are are are beautiful developing little spirit that need time to digesting you know the the era where we were in such a hurry with uh... with the with the email the face book and you know you you can't fax anything anymore you know i i i'll call you back in a couple of days once i think about this question that could be a life altering for me i don't you know it it it give me the answer now i want to answer

15:42as soon as you can in the next ten minutes i want you to tell me what you think about about that you know so we're under this incredible pressure i think to to make these decisions to stay to try and find an immediate answer somewhere in our being and and i think that kind of momentum is carried carried over into the uh... into a lot of the production for a certain for children and and stick some of the stage stuff that i think drives me crazy because you it starts off at a at a at a blistering level the speed and momentum goes to go to the party arm can reach and it stays there for the entire show the kids are over overloaded with with sound with music with color it's just this blast and their their uh...

16:29it's impossible for them to the sort of breathe for a moment to you know i like i like that and i can we can we take a take a moment to appreciate what that was so my you know i mean if it's not necessary a comparative thing but what i try and do is is this wave i'll i'll try and bring uh... bring the song down to the quietest moment is possible and and then bring it back up again and and and so you've got this this flow that's happening so at the end of the show you feel like you have actually experienced something uh... something emotional in a way you know so it's i mean that those are things that i'm always always fighting with and whether i accomplish it or not all the time is is something else but i but that's what i aspire to uh... and i have from the beginning so it's that

17:18that's what keeps me keeps me going and then the feedback again from from the audience you know find the balance and and now doing early childhood conferences like the uh... the one i'm doing in the evidence and a couple of one four days right and you're here again speaking of coming at the new you're coming back in a couple of these valentines day weekend for a few shows yeah there's a couple of things the uh... the a a s c s at that the west ebb and to maul this thursday friday uh... it it it's really an incredible conference you should do a check on what they're doing but yeah the major association that involved in anything and everything that that can affect the family and uh... and children in in the province and then uh... the end uh... see the big second week of february at the

18:06twelve thirteen uh... plane at the milk milk town millwood's town center yes that one on the uh... uh... on the saturday and sunday and and uh... and at the state albert center on the friday and what are these show they just shows like you get up there with the time just like you have to concert you know i i i i i i've got a backup musician with me and uh... they've been set up a stage and you know so i i mean it it it really is the you know trying to the mall trying to encourage people to come come on down and uh... it but it's but it's fun because it's it's free for the audience uh... you know so i'll often get the good people who uh... who may not be able to afford to come to uh... to a regular concert and and that that thrills me to know and i'm really really excited about that you know so we'll we'll say and interact and

18:53it's basically uh... you know my my usual concert work only with well in in a different venue it always takes on a of you know a little different life and then i can i can dialogue and uh... and and take requests and and then find autographs and you know it it it's a it's a very nice i i i enjoyed them some people look at me if you play a mall you know it at this point in my life it it's all pretty much the same and it at the long thing to say perhaps but no no matter where i play whether it's uh... whether it's a school or a mall or a concert for two thousand people i don't feel like there's really any difference in in what i'm in what i'm doing you know uh... there's value to uh... to every

19:39large or small connection that i have i played uh... just last week uh... couple of hours of that a Winnipeg at a heart rate colony and they had had had but then it's from nine other colonies in the area so uh... so i had to know two hundred two hundred fifty people from from that side of the uh... of the religious spectrum uh... and it was it was great they were messages again that i that i bring to the table of you know about family about home you know they're they're they're good to their religious perspective without even without being religious right

20:26so you know i i i'm uh... i'm i'm i'm living the dream and i'm i'm i'm having a good good time in this world will must be very rewarding for you as a performer as well because i would think you know most bands get up there and i don't know in the last concert you were at but i guess one of these festivals and a lot of you know people just stand there maybe a couple of drunk people dancing but you must see smiling kids faces and they're dancing out of just pure joy the entire time it's pretty hard to explain when you when you when you see when you see that happening it's uh... because it it it's it's the love is just pouring through them and older uh... there are i i played at the the west and culture center Winnipeg uh... in early december and and the stage was was just at a perfect level where

21:14where where i you were a child chin could you know could could almost sit on the other of the stage so i had this of uh... of beautiful young faces looking up at me and sensation that that you really that i i wish everybody could experience uh... you know to to that degree in it yeah it's it's quickly man tell people about friend and i'll come is you built that we're talking about technology move in a little quick before but you've built an entire world online for kids that that that is it's a little a little odd thing the you know that the folks are i have have not a lot of input in that right now okay it's going through some transition here but uh... but yeah we we we spent that time from it it sort of hit a bit of a

22:06wall because the idea with this initially was that it would be a uh... and would be a subscriber well okay and and and from and from subscription we would that that would be our our resource to to do more development that makes sense and uh... well we thought it did but but but it there's so much freestop on the on the internet yeah that did that that people really aren't uh... aren't too committed to uh... you know to to to to paying for any any internet product we know but that that's that's fine inside it it it's a neat little fight it's doing uh... it's doing what it's doing it's keeping people aware of uh... and and

22:54who knows it might it might take another another turn along the way but yeah the the technology that the third of the facebook world i'm still trying to deal with good carl are you a facebook and that of course we have to be everyone especially especially when you're when you're uh... out in public like my job or your job you need to be connected be there and all i i i i i i still have to figure out how to how to make a transition from uh... from from just a regular facebook person to uh... to a fan base kind of because i thought that and and who do you accept as friends everybody you've you know what i i didn't realize that so i kept putting putting them into a separate file for over nine hundred people waiting for my from my car information

23:40and to go back and say it do each one you you can't do it as a blanket come on in the the so i you know so i have that's what i didn't think this conversation we get into face-booking with us um... before i let you go we do something called five quick questions one more answers all ok tv or music music i thought that the answer lennon or mccartney mccartney most important thing in a song lyrics melody or rhythm lyric song you've written your most proud of the baby is about your daughter no uh... it's a it's a but when i it was a i was i was in a lot of the

24:27years ago and then suddenly this popped in it just a really really neat little perfect jazz type tune and aware whether it's the off my mind i was good really i really love the tune and in one word Fred Penner the man that i don't know that's a good answer i like that because i would not have expected that