Randy Kaplan at McCabe's, February 20, 2011

Just got back from McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica with my girls. We saw the entertaining and energetic Randy Kaplan. He is really fantastic. Why you might ask? Well...

Randy Kaplan and his great story songs

Randy is a talented musician, which I appreciate and I think parents do too. I imagine that some parents might not be excited about waking up early on a Sunday morning to get to a "kids show" fearing that the music may be amateur (and/or mediocre) and the lyrics might be mundane (or just plain boring).


Randy Kaplan is neither amateur nor mundane. In fact, he is a real pro, on stage as a player and performer and as a witty and appropriate lyricist for kids AND parents.

He can effortlessly switch back and forth from talking about "Middle English" and Chaucer, to what fun it would be to take a bath in grape juice ("not the white kind, but the purple kind, where you can hold it up to the light, enjoy the color and check out the vintage"). His mind is as fast as a jack rabbit and his lips are even quicker.

DidiPop (Deborah Poppink) and Randy Kaplan at McCabe's

On the way home, when I asked my girls, "What was your favorite Randy song from the show?", Delilah said, "The Dinosaur Song". Hannah said, "The Mosquito Song". And I said, "What about the grape juice song?" and they said, "Yes!" and then Hannah added, "Every song!". They eventually both decided that they liked all of them, but Delilah chimed in "The Dinosaur Song is still the best".

Randy is about to go on tour (study his tour schedule here), so check him out when he comes to a town near you. One day I'd like to catch his adult show (which I am guessing is totally entertaining), but for now I highly recommend the kids show .

Kindie Music Rocks!

What is Poppinkology?

Connecting with myself is the best way I know how to be a good mother, friend, spouse and artist. Throughout the years, I've studied astrology, tarot, I ching, buddhism, christianity, wicca, paganism, judiasm, hippie-ism and numerology and I find it all so interesting. Bringing all this together, and highly influenced by Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way",  I began developing a spiritual/creative practice called Poppinkology. I will elaborate on that when we get back from the beach, whenever that may be...

Why DidiPop Music is Free

People are asking me why I am giving away music. Well, I don't EXACTLY know the reason, but here are the events that led me to gift DidiPop songs to families.

In late December I had a dream that there was a bird riding on my shoulder. I wrote the dream down and then picked a tarot card. The card I picked was "Understanding" (from the Osho Zen deck). It has an image of a beautiful yellow bird, sitting in an open cage, watching free birds soar around the sky and not recognizing that the cage was open and that she could be free if she liked.

A few days later, January first (my birthday) rolled around. It's always been a thoughtful day for me where I ask the universe "what do I need to know?". That afternoon, I discovered a tiny hummingbird in our bathroom. I opened the window and it just wouldn't fly away. He (I do think it was a he) was exhausted from bumping into mirrors and walls and finally, I held out my finger (parallel to the floor) and made little chirping sounds with my tongue and lips. The little emerald bird looked at me and then flew to my finger and landed so delicately.

I trembled slightly with the magic of it and slowly moved my hand toward to open window to free him. But as I neared the opening, he flew back into the bathroom, toward the shower. He was was tired, so I collected some hummingbird nectar from our outdoor feeder, and poured drops in my palm. Again, he landed on my finger and I held up my palm to him (filled with red drops of nectar) and he drank and drank. With the "nectar-power" he really was awake now! He continued to come to me, but as i'd approach the window, he'd fly back toward the shower.

The last time, I talked to him at length about how he really ought to be outside with his family. I finally had my hand out the window. And what did he do? He stayed with me, looking at me and seeming quite content on my finger. I told him it was time and gently jerked my hand upwards as he flew into the night.

The next morning, I woke up with a dream to set all the DidiPop songs free as well.
Some friends call me NUTS (bird-brained?), but gifting the music has a lot to do with recognizing how we are fragile, how life is short and how I'd like to feel that children and families of the world could feel all the the love and care I feel for my children and consequently pour into the music that I make.
Sometimes following your heart is the greatest adventure of all...

A Musician/Mom takes a trip to the Grammys

Having always dreamed of attending the Grammys (as a performing nominee!), I finally made it last night. It was an exciting weekend here in L.A., beginning with the kids music Grammy nominee concert at The Mint, where Justin Roberts and Judy Pancoast were among the performers. Pete Seeger and Julie Andrews did not make it (and I am lucky to have seen Pete recently at Jazzfest in New Orleans, but I digress).

Sunday morning I put on a DidiPop show for kids at our local farmers' market, ran home, took off my pink-sequined skirt, threw on my new over-the-knee leather boots (thanks Zappos), a double coat of mascara and dashed out the door to the Grammy party hosted by my music publisher, Bug Music.

Kara DioGuardi looked dramatic in her black dress as she gave Bug's "Hitmaker" award to Ari Levine (he's cranking out the hits with Bruno Mars and I was fortunate enough to work with Ari on my X-files song, "Ooh La La"). Los Lobos was honored and martinis and doughnut holes were flowing. Weird combination right?

"We've got go. Now." said my husband, quite seriously, who's the president of Bug and negotiated me through my first Grammys. If you are not in your seat before the going-on-air countdown, they won't let you in. So there  we were, scuttling across the street, my leather jacket pockets filled with Cliff Bars and a water bottle stashed in the back of my pants (at the belt line) and under my new Kenneth Cole strappy top. I'd been warned by seasoned Grammy-goers, to sneak in food and water as the show lasts forever and ushers don't let you out of your seats much. And by the way, we WERE allowed to get up, but I was happy I didn't have to spend $45 on a couple bottles of water and a Kit-Kat bar.

I squeezed into my seat between my husband and a music publisher from Toronto (just met him last night, nice guy!) and the show started. The 5 powerhouse women sang the Aretha Frankin medley, Christina looking kind of plump and luscious (and falling as she took in the applause). Lady Gaga apparently got out of an egg, but from our seats, it looked more like a Cinderella coach. My favorite part was when she played the organ. What a hard working artist she is. And, during her song I turned to the music publishers on either side of me (my husband and my new friend from Toronto) and said two words "Express Yourself".

My favorite part of Bruno Mars' "set" was when he played drums. As an artist, I love to see true artists like Gaga and Bruno. Ones who WORK: practicing, rehearsing, writing and studying because that's truly what it takes. (Sometimes I think people get caught up in the clothes, make-up and current body weight, without really acknowledging how much work goes in). Mick Jagger was mesmerizing and filled Staples Center with almost a church-like magnificence. What an energy that man has.

But in the middle part of the show, the whole glitzy Grammys became more like a family and kids music show. When Jada Pinket Smith and hubby Will, stood up and proudly applauded their little boy rapper, it felt as though I was at our kindergarten auditorium and they were just another couple of proud parents, and really, isn't that  what they are? I also saw Cyndi Lauper just below me, seemingly annoyed at her teenage son for doing something. Mothering never stops, even at the Grammys.

When Cee-lo and Gwyneth Paltrow came on with the Muppets, the night, in my perception, became more like a night of kids music for adults. And maybe that what POP music really is. Rihanna in her yellowish Princess dress, Katy Perry in the pink little Bo peep outfit, pretty on a swing showing her own wedding photos on her magnificent wing-like train, and Cee-lo in his multicolored chicken get up....how uplifting and free-spirited it all was.

(My theory on Gwyneth: she is one of the most gifted actresses of our time. Maybe she's been auditioning all these roles in her movies, just to try out what she REALLY wants to be in life. She marries Chris Martin (from Coldplay) and watches him do his thing for a while. Then she says, "Wow! I wanna be a ROCK STAR!" and of course she can. She was electrifying.

Then Barbra Streisand came on. I am a huge fan and was excited to see what she would do. She looked more like a woman than a superstar, settled and calm. She choose one of the hardest songs I've ever sung (Evergreen) and that was interesting, because she just can't get the notes like she used to. And she knows it, but still she went for it which was brave and real. I appreciate her courage, her talent and her hard work.

We all thought Justin Bieber would win as he is such a teen phenomenon, yet he lost to Esperanza Spalding, the talented jazz bassist/vocalist/producer/composer from Portland. I just listened to her CD tonight and it's pretty remarkable. The other unexpected win went to Arcade Fire. They are dynamic group of multi-instrumentalists that includes two drummers, two women musicians, a husband and wife team that play cool instruments like glockenspiels and French horns. I believe that Arcade Fire's CD was the only "concept album" of the five nominated for Best Album. And that, along with their incredible musicianship, could be why they took it. These days artists tend to record a bunch of singles and then compile them onto a CD, where in the old days, artists would think it out and create 40 minutes of story/vibe/concept.

All in all, the day (performing for kids and families with my new band), the day (at the party, reconnecting with musicians I haven't hung with since I've been breeding), and the night (the legendary Grammys, complete with real legends) was one of the best days of my life. I know that's quite a statement, but sharing all this music with my daughters (4 & 6) at my show, and my wonderful husband all day long (our 7 year anniversary is tomorrow), made me look up to the sky (after parking my minivan in our driveway) and thank god out loud. Just then a song came into my head, a wonderful song from the Sound of Music with the lyric: "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good". What a lucky mom/wife/musician I am. And how important music is for all us, to inspire us and bring us (children, adults and families) together to feel and thrive in its magic. And just like raising kids, making music takes a lot of work, dedication and love.