June 6, 2015June 6, 2015 David The Concert Kid

Thanks for Your Time: Gotye, Kimbra, Jonti: October 2012

Thanks For Your Time: Gotye, Kimbra, Jonti, October 2012

One of the artists David and CJ saw with FosterThe People in June 2012 was Kimbra. They enjoyed Kimbra’s set and played her CD regularly after they were introduced to her music. So, when it was announced she would be back in the DFW area in October 2012, we were all over wanting to get tickets. Kimbra was slated to be one of the opening acts, along with Jonti, supporting Gotye. Like most people, the only song we knew from Gotye was his single “Somebody That I used to Know”. Kimbra is the female vocallist in that song. We were only familiar with the one Gotye song and Kimbra’s Vows album, so had no idea what to expect. I have to say that I was pleasantly suprised by the amount of talent displayed by each act that night. The Gotye/Kimbra/Jonti concert remains one of my favorite shows to this day.

Jonti

Jonti is a multi-talented singer/songwriter/electronic musician. When he came on stage I remember thinking “he is the sweetest thing ever!” Jonti’s humility and gratitude made him so charming and appealing Not to mention the talent he has by being able to make music out of anything, like a lunchbox. David met Jonti that evening in the venue lobby. After the show, CJ would correspond with Jonti via Twitter, making arrangements for a Skype session with Jonti on Christmas that year. Check out Jonti here: http://www.stonesthrow.com/jonti

Kimbra

So our goal for this show was to meet Kimbra. CJ had found her tour manager and was corresponding for several weeks before the concert. The day before the event we get an email from Kimbra’s tour manager telling us she arranged for a brief meet and greet with us after her set. In preparation for the meeting David painted a couple of pctures to giveto Kimbra. After Kimbra’s set we were escorted to the green room back stage and had the pleasure to meet Kimbra. It was just us, no one else. David seemed a little nervous, but she was super sweet. She thought it was pretty neat we were taking David to concerts at such a young age. I admit I was a little nervous too, but she made us all feel comfortable. Check out Kimbra: http://www.kimbramusic.com/

Gotye

The suprise of the night came from Gotye’s performancve. Wally DeBacker (Gotye’s actual name) is one of the most talented artists around. I had no idea he was such an accomplished drummer, musician, performer and songwriter until I saw him live. He totally deserved his Grammy. When you get a chance, check out some of his other music: older Gotye and his other band, The Bascis. We didn’t get to meet Gotye in person, but we have had an email relatiobnship with him over the past couple years. Wally gave us some great advice regarding David’s budding music interest and possible future career. Here is an email he sent in 2013:

Cool to hear Susan. I was interested in music from a young age, though I only really actively started pursuing it when I was 15. I got drum lessons, and started to mess around on the family piano learning songs by bands I liked and then writing and singing my own. It’s great David is so interested in music. Perhaps lessons on an instrument of his choice would be inspiring for him? Or looking up local music performances, perhaps suggest things he’s not aware of yet and offer to take him to check them out (a small jazz gig? a classical music performance…I don’t know what he’s listening to, but variety is always good I reckon).Also, doing activities outside of music is actually beneficial for creative pursuits. Sometimes they relate when you don’t expect them to, for instance when sports help your motor skills and contribute to your ability to develop the technical side of playing a musical instrument. Or how maths, physics and engineering cross over into music in a huge way (e.g. harmonic relationships: maths, recording and mixing music: physics, instrument design and construction: engineering)I’m guessing David’s already into messing around with music on computers if he wants a MIDI keyboard for Christmas?The fact you and Craig are keen to support David’s interest in music is really wonderful, good on you. Cheers, Wally

Wally also sent David a “Get Well” gift of music when David broke his arm in 2014.

Gotye musci gift when David broke his arm 2014 — Wally sent this to David when he broke his arm in 2014

Besides being uber-talented, Wally DeBacker is probably the nicest artist we have met. http://gotye.com/ http://www.thebasics.com.au/

To Wally, Kimbra and Jonti,Thankls for Your Time. Much appreciated and wishing much success to you all.

May 2, 2015May 2, 2015 David The Concert Kid

Call It What You Want. Foster The People, June, 2012

In 2011, just after David turned 5, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People was a popular song on the radio. Every now and then we would take a break from kid’s music and listen to the radio. We didn’t know anything about Foster The People, but thought Pumped Up Kicks had a fun beat and David liked to dance to it. So, for Christmas that year, Santa brought David the Torches CD. It only took hearing Torches one time through and we were all hooked on it. Torches quickly replaced They Might Be Giants, Justin Roberts and The Verve Pipe as the music of choice. It was nice to finally listen to more adult music.

During this time I had a 30 minute drive to and from David’s pre-school. With Torches being the only music we listened to on those commutes, it didn’t take long before David had all the songs memorized. And that was just in the car. At home David would watch Foster The People videos on You Tube. He would use his toy instruments, a table, and even the dog crate to create a makeshift band set up and then copy the performance he saw on the You Tube videos. When he wasn’t inside watching and performing, he was outside standing on his “stage”, any raised area he could find, and giving a concert there. He was obsessed with Foster The People.

We thought David was getting quite good with his covers, so we started recording him. Around this time we also found out Foster The People had a concert coming up in the DFW area and entertained the idea of taking David. I was a little hesitant because he’d only been to kid or family concerts and my memories of concerts were of smoke-filled and crowded venues, so we put off buying tickets thinking he wasn’t ready.

Several weeks pass and David is still obsessed with Foster The People. This prompted CJ to do some digging and find out who represented the band. He sent several emails to Foster The People’s management, telling them the story of David’s covers and how great would it be if David could meet the band when they were in town. We finally got a reply asking for a You Tube link to a video of David doing one of his covers. “Call It What You Want” was the best representation and was David’s first You Tube video.

We got word that the band saw the video, liked it, and wanted to meet David. Apparently they liked that David covered a lesser-known song rather than the popular “Pumped Up Kicks”. So, in June of 2012, at age 5 1/2, David was about to go to his first non-kid concert: Foster The People, Kimbra, and The Kooks.

Foster The People offered to meet David during their sound check before the show and then again after the show. I had to be out of town for a work obligation, so CJ and David were the lucky one’s to go. David soaked it all in, studying everything. CJ said the tour manager and the band were nothing but hospitable and wonderful. David was comfortable interacting with the band. These You Tube Videos captured some key interactions:

David came home that night with a signed guitar and poster, and life-long memories.

These backstage pictures were taken after the show around 1:00am, which explains why David looks so tired.

David and Cubbie. They share the same birthday.

Later that year for Halloween, David wanted to dress as Mark Foster. No one really got it, but it was fun putting it together! Foster The People continues to be a favorite band and we will be forever grateful for their generosity

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 David The Concert Kid

It All Started Here

Hello and welcome to David The Concert Kid! This blog was developed to share the stories of David’s concert experiences and the bands he has met since the age of 2. We hope you enjoy reading about David’s experiences as much as we enjoyed living them.

Since he was a baby, David has enjoyed music. When he was fussy, his Dad, CJ, would put David in his swing and play a Depeche Mode live concert video that would keep David quiet for hours. As time went on, we needed more music videos, so we started playing “Here Come The ABC’s” and “Here Come the 1,2,3’s” DVDs by They Might Be Giants. When he was old enough to walk and move his stuff around, David would gather anything that looked like a drum and create a make-shift drum set that he would play as he watched TMBG drummer, Marty Beller, in videos such as “Robot Parade” or “D is For Drums” They Might Be Giants and Depeche Mode were David’s first favorite bands.

In May of 2009, when David was 2 1/2, we drove from Fort Worth to Kansas City to take David to his first music festival: Jiggle Jam. Jiggle Jam is a family music festival with kid-friendly and family-friendly bands and music activities. It was here David got to see his favorite band, They Might Be Giants. We saw They Might Be Giants a second time later in 2009 when they came to the Dallas House of Blues for a kiddie show. David was a little scared (it WAS dark in there after all), but I still think he enjoyed it.

Marty to sing the Alphabet Lost and Found — They Might Be Giants at Jiggle Jam, 2009

This wouldn’t be the first and only Jiggle Jam we attended. We also went in 2011 and 2012 where we saw and met The Verve Pipe (yes, they have a kid’s album!). Other kid’s bands David met were Justin Roberts and Choo Choo Soul.

Jiggle Jam was an inspiration to David. Here is David jamming to a band with his paper guitar.

And here is David at 4 years old singing Willy Was A Whale by Justin Roberts

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