It is a sunny, beautiful day in northeast Portland. People are walking their dogs, groups of kids are racing bikes in the side streets and there’s a hint of barbeque in the air. Outside a quaint neighborhood theater appropriately called The Village Ballroom, a steady stream of kids and parents are shuffling into the theater.
Inside, the room is bustling with activity. The vast room is filled with chairs facing a center stage decorated with the band’s instruments, framed by giant five-foot pinwheels, a background with Dr. Seuss-esque hanging clouds and the band’s name Ants Ants Ants in large letters. The outer aisles are teaming with activities from face painting to a balloon artist crafting guitar-themed balloons. Overall, the scene is over the top fun. Every detail has been meticulously planned out and curated to make this a truly exceptional CD release party. This children’s band concept is the brainchild of Johnny Clay and Dave Gulick – and the passion and energy behind this new album can be seen in the smiles of the large gathering of children on the dance floor ready to move and sing.
We had the chance to catch up with Dave and Johnny prior to the concert to learn more about their new band Ants Ants Ants, and the new album “Why Why Why?”.
Breedlove: Thank you guys for chatting with us at Breedlove! Many of us are parents, and we listen to quite a bit of children’s music. It’s been entertaining for us to experience your new album with our kids and families at home. Tell me, how did the idea to create a children’s album and band arise?
Johnny: Friends of mine had been encouraging me to write kids songs since my almost eight year old was born. As a parent, you make up little songs for your kids to help them eat their meal, or to go to sleep. We started playing the kids songs we grew up with – School House Rock, Sesame Street, etc. That's what inspired a lot of our ideas. When a friend suggested I watch “The Point” by Harry Neilson, it just blew my mind. That was when I thought, okay, we have to do this!
Dave and I were already working on a few writing projects together, mostly instrumental stuff. One day I showed him a few of the tracks I’d been working on for Ants and, luckily for me, he was excited to team up on this project too.
We started trading ideas back and forth and it's just been a complete blast ever since.
Breedlove: How long have you two been working together?
Dave: We met many years ago. Both of our bands were on the same bill, and we were both into each other's music. Throughout the years we continued to play gigs together and went off on a couple of tours together.
About five or six years ago, Johnny made the leap and started composing music full time for film and commercials. He encouraged me to take that step as well. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. Johnny helped me make that transition, which has been wonderful.
Breedlove: What is the creative songwriting process like? Are you hanging with the kids and getting inspiration from the questions they ask, the things they say, etc?
Johnny: Definitely! My two kids have been a continual source of inspiration. And Dave’s niece as well. They’re just so curious and the questions they ask are so relatable, even for adults. Especially on a song like “Why, Why, Why,” which is one of Dave’s. We all know those kids that go through the “why” phase. And it's fantastic because you want them to ask questions and you want to help them understand the world around them.
Breedlove: Both of you are professional musicians and have worked in the music industry for a long time. You’ve been in very serious bands, and have careers as studio musicians working with big clients like Nike, filmmakers, etc. Is there something more relaxed about this creative project? Does it provide you a sense of creative freedom you don’t get on other projects?
Dave: Completely. It opens you up to just be yourself with no pressure. It was such a breath of fresh air. You're just writing songs for the pure enjoyment … it really helped me want to continue to make music. Because you can definitely burn out. You go through different creative periods and this was one of those where it didn't feel like work.
Breedlove: I’m sure our readers are ready to hear some examples. What’s really cool about this project is they can also see examples through the various creative videos you guys have worked so hard to create. What’s the best way for people to hear and see these songs / videos?
Dave: I think that the best place to go would be our website, www.antsantsants.com. You can hear the tracks and see many of the videos there.
Breedlove: The videos are just amazing. Very well done and our kids just love them. Tell me, what instruments did you use on this album? David, I know you play a Breedlove Oregon series on this album quite a bit. Tell me about the role of the guitar in this project?
Johnny: The songs definitely start on acoustic guitar or piano. You’ll hear guitars of some sort on nearly every track. We were really going for that 1970s vibe with this record and wanted the songs to be played on real instruments. My kids hang out with me in the studio and they know quite a bit about instruments and how they are recorded. But, many kids don’t have that exposure to real instruments in today’s world. One of the big lessons with this project is to show kids that you can create your own music, too. You can take your inspiration from songs and totally change it up. It's a really great way to get off the iPad and create.
Dave: Yes, and when they're hearing music that is made with actual instruments and they can hear, on a song like “Blue” or several of the finger picky songs, that it is an acoustic guitar – they might be inspired to learn how to play themselves. I might add that the videos were done by our dear friend Chris Purdin (www.chrispurdin.com). A wonderful illustrator/animator from Portland.
Breedlove: Ok, this isn't just a CD to entertain the kids around the house, it’s a bit more engaging and educational?
Dave: I think so, definitely. Our hope is to publish a chord chart for all of our songs on our website. Where kids and parents can print it out and work on songs together. Overall, this project is really about getting kids interested in music and just having fun.
Breedlove: Well, congrats on the completion of the album, videos and the new band. It is really wonderful and everyone is very excited about it. We’ll let you guys get on stage and perform for this big crowd of kids! They are ready to dance and sing. Great work.
Johnny: Thank you so much!
Dave: Awesome. Thank you.
