If Little Monster Records founders Kate Hyman and Kevin Salem weren’t exactly sure what style of music they wanted, Kevin Salem was pretty sure what he did not want. His biggest pet peeve is the ‘Kid’s Bop’ series, in which kids sing pop songs with sexually suggestive lyrics. Kate loathed the expression “Kindie-Rock.”
They also had little use for the chirpy, saccharine music of the traditional Disney strain. In fact, Kevin’s earliest proposal for the Little Monster logo was an image of Mickey Mouse with a big slash through his face. (Kevin is apt to rail about the evils of corporate music without warning, while a cooler Kate has learned to work within its confines.) The anti-Mickey idea was wisely jettisoned, but the philosophy stayed. “The real thing was to make entertaining records,” Kevin says.
The couple started by going back to the classics. Their first release was 2008’s All Together Now – Beatles Stuff for Kids of all Ages. A combination book and CD, it features hits that are already hardwired in Baby Boomer hearts: “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “All You Need is Love,” “Hello Goodbye” among others. The lyrics are upbeat, and deceptively simplistic. All Together Now is a history lesson for kids disguised as a good time. It will keep parents in the room as well, since artists on the tracks include Marshall Crenshaw, The Bangles, Rachael Yamagata, and Jason Lytle of Grandaddy.
The CD package includes a board book, featuring text that explains each song for kids, plus fun Beatles facts for the parents. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” admits Kevin, who scribbled the accompanying notes for the maiden voyage of Little Monster.
Soul music as history lesson
The follow-up, released the same year, was Soulville – Soul Stuff for Kids of All Ages, a generous
helping of the best of Motown and R&B, from “Stand By Me” to “Express Yourself” to “Lean on Me.” Kevin, who produced and played on the CD, felt more at ease with the sophomore effort.
He wanted the music of Soulville to be not simply an invitation to dance, but also a crash course in 60s idealism. For example, “Dancing in the Street” could simply be about getting your kindergarten freak on. But as Kevin heard it, the tune was also, “a rallying song for a civil rights gathering.”
“It teaches kids how soul music related to broader issues of race,” said Kevin, who is most proud of Soulville among the five releases by the label thus far. Soulville was awarded the 2009 National Parenting Publications Gold Award.
Subsequent Little Monster projects occurred by delightful happenstance. Daughter Emily, now 7, attends school with one of the children of Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin and Wood, a neo-jazz band that mom and dad had enjoyed for years. After catching an MM&W acoustic gig at the Colony Café in Woodstock, Kate and Kevin turned to each other and said, “Wow, this is children’s music.” So Kevin approached the trio. The result was a 15-track CD titled Let’s Go Everywhere.
How do Kate and Kevin balance work and family? Find out here.
Jay Blotcher writes frequently for Hudson Valley Life.