| Sunny Days chats to My Friend Mark |
| Written by Jayne Kearney |
| Friday, 29 January 2010 09:53 |
 Mark Travers is the man behind the fun and educational CD and DVD series My Friend Mark. His titles include Alphabet Songs and, for release in February, Counting Time. Mark spoke with Sunny Days about making music for kids and being a dad. Sunny Days: This is your debut kids CD. Where did the idea for My Friend Mark come from? Mark Travers: I guess it started around the dining room table at home. Having three kids of my own, I was always singing to them, making up funny songs on the go. I recorded a few over the years for smaller projects, and some of these recordings made it into the hands of Suzanne Hannema, who used to run a label in the states for Peter Gabriel. She loved them and so did her kids, so we joined forces, and set about developing a vehicle to get these types of songs heard – and eventually My Friend Mark - Alphabet Songs was born! SD: Were you good at learning your alphabet when you were little? What’s your favourite letter? MT: I was fascinated by the Alphabet, and was a BIG Sesame Street fan. I think the way the letters were ‘alive’ really helped me get to know the Alphabet. I learnt the Alphabet Song, a,b,c,d..., when I was very young and apparently sang it to my aunty over the phone when I was two, so mum tells me. I don’t have a favourite, that’s too hard! They’re a bit like my kids in a way, every Letter is so different, and I tried to express that in the music, to give each Letter’s song its own unique flavour. SD: Are we going to see more of you on tv? MT: Yes! Well I hope so… it’s a LOT of fun! We’ve recorded 40 episodes of My Friend Mark so far. All the Alphabet, Numbers up to 12, our theme song and a NEW Alphabet Song! In February, we’ll be on Nick Jr at 8.00am and 4pm Mon to Sunday and on Channel 7 at various times throughout the year. We try to keep everyone up to date at the My Friend Mark website for upcoming air times. SD: You are dad to three children of your own. What has been their reaction to your new found fame? MT: They’ve been really excited about the whole idea from the start, and wanted to be involved. They were coming home from school saying, “Dad, I’ve got this idea for letter h,” and, “When we do number 5…”and “...can S be for Sam??” (my son). So where possible I had them in the studio with me, being involved in the music recordings and in some of the video clips, which was an amazing experience for us all. I feel very fortunate to have been able to share that with them, it’s something we will have with us forever. SD: There’s an Aussie flavour to your music. Is this intentional? MT: I’m a very proud Australian, and I guess that’s just how it came out. I hadn’t really thought about making it an Aussie kids thing, but I made sure I sang “Z-ed” and not “Z-ee”! SD: How is 2010 shaping up for you? MT: It’s looking like a pretty full year. We’ll be out and about in the shopping centres again very soon , getting a chance to meet the kids and sing some songs ‘live’ to promote the second CD Counting Time which is being released on the 4th Feb. MORE ABC and 123 , the second DVD, will be released on the 4th Mar. My Friend Mark has been included in ABC for Kids Bumper DVD Vol 2 and ABC for Kids Favourites Vol 2 CD is due for release around the same time. We’ll be performing live at the World’s Biggest Playgroup Day on Wednesday 24 March 2010, and hopefully the Sydney Royal Easter in April! We are currently planning some short tours of regional NSW also… so lots and lots happening. As well as being a dad! Sunny Days has packs containing My Friend Mark- Alphabet Songs and Counting Time CDs to giveaway. Visit here to enter.
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