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Press
A chat with Mr. Richard
Orlando Sentinel - Sandra Pedicini on Jun 3, 2006
"I have so many parents say their glad I came along. They don't have to listen to the Wiggles any more." - Mr. Richard.
If you're a parent in Central Florida, there's a good chance you've heard Richard Peeples, better known as Mr. Richard, play around town. If you haven't, you should check him out - and soon, because he's starting to get attention outside Orlando. Parenting magazine last year named his first children's CD Might As Well Sing one of its Parenting Picks, and the New York Post called it one of a few kids' "platters that matter." Mr. Richard plays kids' music, with an attitude: clever lyrics and a bluesy style that's just as fun for you as it is for your preschoolers.
I first discovered Mr. Richard a few months ago, singing to a group of kids at the new Lake Eola farmers' market about losing his toes. I saw him again at Borders, where he often plays these days. I had "Airplane Jane" running through my head the rest of the day. "Airplane Jane, with no last name, she flies so high up in the sky, says hi to birds..."
Mr. Richard is back in town now, after recently returning from a tour of Tennessee and Mississippi. He also recently signed with a new label, 219 Records, and hopes to eventually entertain kids around the country.
For now, you'll still often find him at local bookstores, usually on Friday and Saturday mornings. Mr. Richard has a Web site with his latest local tour dates on it. (You can also book him for birthday parties, for $75.)
You can check out his music at cdbaby.com – which lets you listen to samples of other kids' music as well - such as some of Mr. Richard's favorites: Ralph Covert, Dan Zanes, and the Dirty Fox Funtime Band. I also recommend Milkshake, another kids' artist that Mr. Richard mentioned when I chatted with him recently.
Mr. Richard played in rock bands, worked at Disney and told stories at the Orlando Public Library before finding his niche as a children's songwriter and singer. He began combining storytelling with his love of music at the Orlando Public Library and soon a new career was born.
Mr. Richard doesn't have kids of his own. "I don't have children but I know so many children," he said recently. "I feel like I have kids for 30 minutes at a time."
Among his classics: "Underwear." When playing to children, he said, it's a topic that can't go wrong. The idea for the "Please Don't Tell Me You're Going to Wear that Superhero Costume Again Blues" came from a friend whose young son wore the same Spider Man costume for days on end. My personal favorite is "Airplane Jane." The idea for that song came from a friend at the library who used Airplane Jane as her e-mail moniker.
"Music just makes them so happy," he said of the children he entertains. "You just get such a good feeling, such a good vibe off kids. They don't hide anything."
Another advantage of playing to such a young audience: "They don't smoke."
But they can get plenty wild. Mr. Richard remembers how once when he was performing at a Presbyterian day school, a group of girls got on stage and started dancing so hard they knocked some of his equipment to the floor. Yikes!