NEWS ARTICLES
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Teaching Artists Carry Tunes and Smiles to Hospitalized Kids
By Corinne Jones Flocken
"Artists from the ArtsConnect and Arts Teach programs at Segerstrom Center for the Arts bring their talents to special audience".
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Marietta Times
Sing, laugh and learn
March 16, 2011 - By Evan Bevins
VINCENT - When several hundred Warren Local students noisily told Zak Morgan Tuesday that horses don't say "moo" and cows don't neigh, he suggested they must never have been on a farm.
"I live on a farm!" shouted one child amidst all the laughter.
But Little Hocking Elementary kindergartner Isaac Martin, 6, suspected Morgan, a Grammy nominated songwriter and performer, was up to something.
"I bet he knew" the right sounds, Martin said after Morgan's performance Tuesday at Barlow-Vincent Elementary School. "He was just trying to make 'em silly."
That was certainly one of Morgan's goals Tuesday as he played guitar, sang and cut up in front of kindergartners and first- and second-graders from the Warren Local district's three elementary schools. He also wanted to educate the kids and get them excited about reading.
"I just have always loved kids," Morgan said. "Even when I was writing songs for adults in college, people thought they sounded like "kids' songs" because of the humor and wordplay he enjoyed.
Barlow-Vincent was the third stop on Morgan's tour of area schools this week, sponsored by Artsbridge, a group that aims to promote the arts in schools and the community. He wraps up today with two performances for Wood County students at Blennerhassett Middle School.
It isn't Morgan's first trip to the area. He last toured schools for Artsbridge in 2008.
"He connects really well with the kids," said Gerri Torres, arts education director for Artsbridge. "I think it's because he's a kid himself inside." Morgan told the children he gets ideas for his songs from reading. They applauded when he told them "The Candy Machine" was inspired by the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
They were laughing when he sang the song, about how candy makes people smart and brussel sprouts are bad for them.
Morgan said he never liked being told to eat his vegetables, so he didn't figure other children wanted to hear that message, which they already know. "I love spinning it around to where they're saying to me, 'No, you have to eat your vegetables,'" he said.
Morgan also got a good reaction with a song based on Voldemort, the villainous wizard from the Harry Potter books. The character is often referred to as "He Who Must Not Be Named," so Morgan instructed his audience to "have conniptions" if he accidentally said the name - which of course he did, several times.
Little Hocking first-grader MacKenzie Nelson, 7, said she enjoyed the song, even if all that name dropping made her a bit nervous.
"He's really creepy," she said of Voldemort.
Barlow-Vincent second-grader Josh Welch, 8, said he played along but wasn't really scared. He also enjoyed a song about a bullfrog, where Morgan took students through the cycle of the creature's life, playing on the different meanings of the word "croak."
Morgan sends a study guide to schools in advance of his performances. It features vocabulary words and suggestions for topics that will tie in with his songs. Morgan recently released his third album, "The Candy Machine," which tells the story of two children in search of Sugar Island. Along the way, they end up learning about the golden rule - do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
"If everyone did that, we'd be in good shape," Morgan said.
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Tacoma Weekly
Zak Morgan Holiday Show
By Clare Jensen
Children's singer brings intelligent fun to town with Holiday Show
For the last 11 years, wordsmith Zak Morgan has been creating fun, funny and smart sounds for little ones across America.
The performer, whose music is heavy on clever wordplay immersed in lesson-teaching narratives, has toured across the nation, stopping in thousands of schools, libraries and theaters to share his musical styles.
Morgan's last performance in Tacoma was an elementary school mini-tour a couple of years ago.
This time, he is coming back in full force in support of his most recent release – the children's concept album "The Candy Machine" and just in time for the holiday season with two larger-scale performances at Broadway Center Dec. 11 and 12.
Morgan's show will be accompanied by bass player and "The Candy Machine" co-author David LaBruyere (best known for his work with guitarist John Mayer) and will be a mix of Morgan's work old and new, with an underlying holiday theme of family, love and the golden rule.
The show, recommended for families with children as young as age 3, is fun, interactive and entertaining for kids and adults.
"It's not 'dumbed down' – I try to really respect the intelligence of children," he said. "There are many levels to the music and the humor appeals to adults, too,"
Morgan said he takes a different approach to some mainstream children's entertainment through the use of narratives, vocabulary and intelligent humor that he appreciated when he was a kid.
"My music isn't the sing-songy repetitive style that's been thought of how kids' music should sound. There's bound to be words in my songs that kids don't know – and that's the way I want it to be. I try to really challenge them with that kind of thing.
It's different than the model of normal kids' music. No better or worse, but just different … and hopefully, that makes it interesting."
Morgan is inspired by the likes of fellow children's authors such as Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein, and encourages imagination and reading in all of his performances.
"When you read those (authors), as you get older, you pick up on other things that you didn't notice as a younger kid. There's lots of wordplay, humor and ideas that can appeal to all ages."
His latest work, "The Candy Machine," some of which will be heard at the upcoming Tacoma performance, follows a brother and sister team as they rebelliously adventure in search of Island of Sugar and discover the lesson of "the golden rule" along the way.
For a holiday twist, Morgan will put his own stamp on a variety of festive winter standards, offering many an opportunity to sing along, play games and laugh along the way, all the while highlighting the true spirit of the holiday season.
"Family, the golden rule, and love is what it's all about … that's the whole view of the holidays, that any religion, race or creed can agree with. It's all about family, loved ones and being kind to each other."
There are two chances to check out this Grammy-nominated artist at Broadway Center for the Performing Arts' Theatre on the Square at 3 p.m. Dec. 11 and Dec. 12. Tickets are $16 and $24. For more info or to purchase tickets visit www.broadwaycenter.org.
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