Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs collaborated with his childhood friend and San Francisco preschool teacher Mr. Greg (Grey Gardner) to record a new album, Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children, due out via Smithsonian Folkways on August 18. News of the LP arrived along with a video for lead single, “Wave A Flag For Harvey Milk.”
Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children stems from Gardner and McCombs’ longtime friendship. As teenagers in the Bay Area, the pair enjoyed skateboarding, making movies, sharing records, and writing the sort of ‘silly songs’ they’ve continued to write together well into adulthood,” as per a press release.
As Gardner became a teacher and McCombs a musician, the songs on the new album, arranged by Cass, grew out of songs Garnder wrote for his students and refined in the classroom for years based on “What they were talking about, what we were learning about,” Gardner noted. “The songs were informed by the childrens’ conversations and interests.”
“Whenever we have a new project or we’re learning about something new in class, I try to make a little song about it,” Gardner continued. “I’ve noticed that it’s a fun way to introduce new vocabulary, learn about new subjects, and foster a positive and musical classroom community. And as a kid myself, the things that I remember most vividly are those things that I learned through song. At that age, not everyone wants to sit and listen to the teacher talk, or even listen to a book. But a lot of kids tend to become engaged when there’s movement and song and rhyme.”
“A lot of what’s called children’s music is just folk music,” McCombs added. “So I don’t see a big difference between children’s music and adult music. To me, it’s the same.”
“I don’t know if I’ve developed much further than a five-year-old mindset myself,” Gardner said. “I like all the stuff they’re interested in doing. They like to sing. They like to dig in the sandbox. They like to make art.”
Some of the topics touched on in Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children include “earthworms, exercise, recycling, and origami, as well as the importance of friendship and finding beauty in that which makes us different,” as per the press release. The record also features “recordings of Gardner’s students through the years, as well as contributions from childhood friends, family, pets, The Chapin Sisters, Bongo Sidibe, Chris Cohen, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.”
The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus contributed to lead single “Wave A Flag For Harvey Milk.” Gardner detailed the song:
“A few years ago I created ‘Wave a Flag for Harvey Milk’ as a sing-along coloring book that I wrote and illustrated as a way to introduce my students to some of the positive things that Harvey Milk did for San Franciscans in particular and the LGBTQ+ community at large. Cass and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus then added their musical magic to the song. This year, my students were overjoyed to see the illustrations from the coloring book come to life in a rainbow of colors by the talented animator Cameron Burr. I hope that this video inspires children and their grown-ups to follow Harvey’s lead to make positive changes in the world.”
Watch the video for “Wave A Flag For Harvey Milk” animated by Cameron Burr below:
Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children Tracklist:
- Little Wilma Wiggly Worm
- Friends from All Around the World (Hello Version)
- J-O-B
- Requiem for Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- A Builder’s Got a Hammer and Nails
- Each One of Us
- What’s Your Favorite Kind?
- I’m a Nocturnal Animal
- Paper Airplane
- My Skull is Made Outta Bone
- Wave a Flag for Harvey Milk
- Things That Go in the Recycling Bin
- Roll Around Downtown
- Deciduous Tree
- We Build a Lot of Muscle as We Exercise
- The Sounds that the Letters Make
- Who Are You?
- Together with You
- Oona Louise, My Friend
- Friends from All Around the World (Goodbye Version)
