"How long have you been doing, uh, whatever it is you do??"
First things first, I'm NOT a zoologist! I'm an author and songwriter and I usually write about zoology. I have bachelor's degree in zoology but I'm really an educator, not a scientist. A zoologist studies wild animals. I entertain wild, young humans ; - ) My first job in this line of work was on a sailboat called SoundWaters in 1992. I lived aboard this "eco-schooner" for seven months and helped lead field trips taking students out on the waters of Long Island Sound. I got that job because I sang and played guitar and they wanted a musician to provide some entertainment on the 3-4 hour tours. Science AND music?! Sounded cool to me!
I worked at a place called Good Day Ranch in Austin, TX, leading more programs for children from 1993-1994 and then started a business called Schoolhouse Safaris in 1994. Originally, I took hedgehogs, snakes, lizards, ferrets and other little critters into schools. I did some songs & stories between the animal encounters to teach in a fun way.
It got kind of, well, complicated taking all those beasties around and people really loved my songs and stories so I started doing some presentations without animals in about 1996. These "concerts" were great because I could handle MUCH larger audience and I could travel around the country more. These really took off and in 2002, when Fifi the Ferocious was published, I stopped doing the live animal presentations and dedicated myself fully to my "concerts."
"What's your favorite animal?"
Well, that's a hard one. I mean, there are so many cool animals and I really do believe that each specie has a place it belongs and a way of helping. Still, sea turtles were my specialty when I was studying zoology and I learned more about them than any other particular species so, if I have to choose a favorite, it's sea turtles.
"Do you have a family?"
Yep. I met my wife studying sea turtles on the beaches of Costa Rica and we have two kids; a boy and a girl.
"How long does it take to write a song/story? Where do you get your ideas?"
I have written some songs and stories in a day ("Stinkle, Stinkle," "One World" and "EEK! ACK! HELP! POLICE") and others have taken years to complete ("A Deer In My Cadillac" took, like, 6-7 years)! Some ideas are harder to communicate and take more thought and experimentation to fit into a song or story.
Most often, I get a little spark of an idea--could be a tune, could a funny little phrase, could be a way to approach a science topic. These ideas can come when I'm driving down the road, going for a bike ride or singing to 400 kids! Sometimes I get ideas from movies or articles I'm reading or things I'm talking about with a friend.
I usually let these little ideas "simmer" for awhile with all the other ideas rolling around in my head. They start to grow, combine and "bounce off each other" in that weird brain of mine. A musical snippet from last year might find a fit with some verbal phrase that I thought of last week.
Then I might think of a way to get some science concept across with that combination. I just keep thinking ...things keep growing....
At some point, I have to just sit down and "hammer it out." I force myself to do the best I can and not judge too much; I KNOW there are going to be things that I don't like that I can come back and change later. I usually DO think of something in this process that surprises me in a good way. I might come up with some funny rhymes, a twist on a common phrase or an interesting way of describing something. I'm usually modifying the words AND the music to work together so it's hard to say which one comes first.
Then I try it out on a friend or a family member; someone who's not too judgmental but someone who can give me some gentle feedback and ideas for improvement (you gotta take that gentle criticism!). I'll try it out at a show and see how people respond. I think of little (or big) ways to improve it. When I record a song, I also continue to change little things to make it better ("What if we did this one in punk rock style. . !").
Even after a song's recorded, I can't seem to leave it alone (I sing a third verse for "Anaconda La Bamba" now that different from what's on the CD).
Editing is really key. I throw it down on paper so I have something to tweak and fiddle with. Sooner or later, I feel like it's ready to record and/or add to my live programs!
"When did you start writing and playing music?"
I wrote a story in third grade about a cheeseburger from outer space (it was called "AstroBurger"). That got a laugh from my friends (and even my teacher!). That started a love of writing and I always enjoyed writing assignments in school. I worked on the school newspapers, too. I didn't really think I'd be an author, though, until maybe my late teens or early 20's.
I've loved music since I was really little. I remember sneaking into my sister's room to use her record player when I was in kindergarten. I used to play my Star Wars soundtrack while I was playing with my Lego's. The Snoopy Come Home sound track was another favorite.
I started playing saxophone when I was in sixth grade and was playing that in my high school rock 'n' roll bands. My Dad had a couple of guitars so I started learning that at about age 16 but I wasn't good enough to play that at our shows. Guitar was great 'cause I could SING while I played it (that's kinda hard to do with the saxophone). I kept on working at the guitar and got good enough to play that in my college band.
I think my first try at songwriting was for school announcements. I would take songs that were popular at the time and change the words to make them about the upcoming football game, spirit day or whatever was happening.
This is the easiest way to start making up songs for most of us--take music people already know and give it new words. I made up a few songs, lyrics AND music, late in high school. The first few were pretty bad but there were one or two that people actually LIKED!
I had another band in college and I wrote most of our songs. The more I attempted, the more I learned and the better I got. I even had a sea turtle song but I NEVER thought I'd end up making a living writing science songs! I had hopes that my band would get a record deal and I'd be a ROCK STAR but it never happened. We graduated and looked for "real jobs." It wasn't long before I found a job that used my musical talents... (see that question/answer at the top of the page).
Can you play the anaconda song again??
Sorry-once per show! You can, however, hear it in my Anaconda podcast I did with Dr. Rivas
