Rebecca's Interviews: Alphabet Rockers

Rebecca:  Who are the members of your band? Please introduce yourselves…

Kaitlin:  Make some noise…Introducing the man with the beats and rhymes, representing that letter T, Tommy Shepherd! Let me tell you a lil bit about the legend Tommy Shepherd. His talent crosses every genre of music and every community of creativity. Beatboxing has brought him an international career, performing in Brazil, Germany, and the Kennedy Center to name a few. We met through his prowess as a writer/performer for the hip hop theater company, Felonious, and through their magic as a live hip hop band, much like the Roots - with messages that moved the world. In addition to performing in Alphabet Rockers for the past 8 years, Tommy has been raising his son (“Lil Tommy” as seen in many of our videos) with his brilliant wife, Anna, a theater artist and arts advocate for youth. My dare is for you to find something he hasn’t done before. And don’t choose accordion or name that tune - as you’ll be out!

Tommy:  Now put your hands together for the singer with the golden voice, representing that letter K… Kaitlin “OH McGaw” McGaw!! The powerhouse vocalist with an unshakeable faith in kids and their ability to be their complete selves.  Kaitlin is a Harvard graduate and has been a songwriter and performer for over 15 years.  Kaitlin has a real gift for all things “kid”.  She meets a child right where they’re at and makes them instantly comfortable and made to feel safe in a room full of strangers.  How does she do it? One couldn’t put it into words.  Maybe one word.  Magic!

Rebecca:  What is your favorite song in your discography? What makes it special to you?

Kaitlin:  I love thinking back to the inspiration and songwriting of each song we’ve shaped for Alphabet Rockers (AR). There was always a seed of an idea - often from a teacher or an exchange with a child. Or a melody that came while driving around San Francisco, or improvising during sound check. My favorite song right now is “Change the World” on our latest EP. We started writing this when providing hip hop music/movement classes at a family music summer camp, Camp Cazadero where we were working with the kids to create new songs and choreography. I was feeling stuck and frustrated that our songs were still on the surface, and I was longing for the children to bring their big ideas to the songs. Tommy and I created a beatbox loop, I started singing a melody, and the words spilled out “Wishing we could change the world? One by one we change the world - what would you do? You change the world...” and the children one by one started adding in what they would do to change the world, from ending war, healing cancer, stopping the cutting down of trees… I knew that this was the kernel we would build from. What was incredible was how we started integrating this song into our performance - to see if our audience would go with us from fun, dancing and joyful expression to a place of reflection. It has been the most rewarding song to perform, tying our ideas to the ideas of the audience in a step to move forward. In the studio at Zoo Labs in Oakland, the anthemic style of recording came from inspiration with producers Kevin McCann and Brad Dollar. It took us to a new level vocally, allowing us to really bring our improvisational style into the recording.

Tommy:  I can’t really say that this song is my favorite but our song “Friends” marks an important musical turning point in our AR life.  From that point we were more conscious of the quality of our music and we also became very determined to create music that is tolerable to all and educational for the young ones.  As a parent, it’s really important for me to be able to enjoy the music my son listens to.  We both know many songs that are on the radio.  We sing together and dance together.  The content of the music we listen to is not always for him.  I want to make music that we both can get down to but I don’t have to worry about what adult themes my kid is being exposed to.

Rebecca:  Why do you choose to play children’s music?

Kaitlin:  I first started making children’s music out of a curiosity and desire to see musical creativity sparks with little ones. It quickly evolved to an understanding of the power of the lyrics and sounds of each song children hear - and wanting to fill a void to bring hip hop into educational messages - and this was before I’d even hit the stage! Today I’m driven by the electric experiences we have in performances. We have as much fun as the kids, as we hold space for them to have fun, be safe, stretch in their minds and connections - and all of us take home ideas and ways to bring music/dance into our lives, and how to turn messages of social change into actions. Now my vision is much bigger - I choose to create children’s music and media that reflects our knowledge and beauty in our multicultural world; content that interrupts the complacent stories from big media. Music that moves us all.

Tommy:  For one, I really wish there was something like AR when I was a youngster so to be able to give that gift to kids is rewarding to me.  I am very invested in altering the way we think, about each other, about how we treat each other, about who we are and how our personal contributions can shape and change the world.  I believe if we catch them early enough, then maybe we can change the language  about some of these themes and not get caught up in the usual slogans of love and kindness.  If what we do works we won’t have to constantly remind ourselves to practice something as simple as kindness or acceptance.

Rebecca:  What age did you realize you were a musician? 

Katilin:  I was in 7th grade when I realized I wanted to be a singer - but you wouldn’t have guessed it. I was still fighting some stage fright in theater, and was in between instruments (piano and guitar). By senior year of high school I was reading and writing poetry, teaching myself how to play, and realizing that music and poetry would be my lifeline.

Tommy:  When I was around 20 years old I was asked to perform at a house party for pay.  Not much pay but funds nonetheless.  It was then that I considered myself a musician.  Before that, I thought that I just had a love for music but wasn’t really serious about it.

Rebecca:  What or who inspired you as a child to play music/write music?

Kaitlin:  I was most influenced by the poet Nikki Giovanni. I was 14 when I first heard her poem “Ego Tripping” performed at age 14. It changed the way the world sounded to me. Suddenly poetry was not sitting in between pages, it was breathing to a rhythm that could make a room of 100 teenagers hoot, holler, feel, cry - and I hadn’t experienced that in any way before. I studied all of her work through high school, and it drove me to an African-American Studies degree at Harvard. Amidst all this, my poetry began to rise - my voice following it from my own pages. As a vocalist, I soak in so many styles of song, and lean into any vocalist able to share a raw emotion through singing.

Tommy:  My first memory of music is hearing the song “Loving you” by Minnie Riperton.  I loved how the music made me feel.  There’s a movie in my head surrounding this song and how it affected me.  I’m not sure sure if the story is true or not but it doesn’t matter because it’s real to me.  That moment subconsciously triggered something in me that I wouldn’t be able to identify until way later in life.

Rebecca:  What music genre do you listen to in your free time?  What are some of your favorite artists?

Kaitlin:  It’s a mix of hip hop, pop, and instrumental chill music. Singles are all over the map, but some of my fave albums of all times and of late: Midnight Marauders (A Tribe Called Quest), Share My World (Mary J. Blige), The Firewatcher’s Daughter (Brandi Carlile), I Am (Chrisette Michelle) and Shine (Estelle).

Tommy:  I listen to everything but I have the hip hop (old school and contemporary), r&b (old school and contemporary) and jazz stations locked into my car stereo.

Rebecca:  Do you have any new projects on the horizon?

Kaitlin:  We are constantly writing and recording these days at Zoo Labs, with new partners on the horizon. In tandem, we’re deep in a process of expanding our platform with Alphabet Rockers to video and other media. Expect a thoughtful and engaging video experience for parents to navigate the world with their kids!  

Tommy:  Yes!  Always.  We are continued in our search for life changing content matter.

Rebecca:  What is your most embarrassing moment in front of a live audience?  How did you handle the situation?

Kaitlin:  One time I had both an embarrassing moment and a teaching moment, when performing our show about bullying at an all-girls school in San Francisco. I was supposed to be hidden “backstage” but when I reached down for something on the floor someone in the audience yelled out about seeing my backside. I felt like I had been scorched like when you’re a kid and someone teases you in front of the class!! I shook it off and finished the show, but afterwards, we ended the show by sitting in a circle with the 150 kids in the audience, and talking about how those words made me feel. And how in a conversation about “preventing bullying” - this was an example of promoting bullying - to laugh and tolerate jokes at someone’s expense. It was actually a great learning moment for all of us.

Tommy:  It’s hard for me to get embarrassed but I do get a little shifty when kids are like “YOU’RE SO SWEATY”!!  I just say “yes I am” “I’m working hard and that’s what happens when I work hard”.  One time, we had just finished a show and I was drenched.  We were also in the midst of a customer inquiry period and I was talking to parents and trying to engage them in a conversation and ask if we could continue the conversation later.  I had a clipboard with our email list on it.  Every time I spoke with someone, big drops of sweat would drip onto the clipboard.  I felt bad for the folks I spoke with because I felt like I was uncomfortably sweaty.

Rebecca:  What advice would you give young, budding musicians?

Kaitlin:  Play because you love it. Sing the songs you love to hear. And if you want to make a career out of it, teach yourself how to run a business, because that will be part of your success.

Tommy:  Treat yourself like a business.  Have a plan and know what you want.

Rebecca:  Sweet or Salty?

Kaitlin:  I’m so sweet, I gots to go with salty.

Tommy:  Salty.  I Don’t really eat sweets.  My friends say I can get a little salty sometimes. They sometimes call me Lawry’s, which we all know is a seasoning salt.
 

To find out more about the Alphabet Rockers or to purchase their latest album, The Playground Zone, visit alphabetrockers.com/music-videos/.  They can be followed at www.facebook.com/alphabetrockers on Facebook.