Gone Fishy!
Songs for the kid in all of us
Gone Fishy! is a new album of old tunes. Mr. Doug (Douglas DaSilva) and I created this kiddie music when our kids were young, back in the aughts. Now my girl Julia has graduated from college and Doug’s boy Jason has graduated high school…. Congrats & here we are!
Mr. Doug is a music educator, curator, composer and artist. I met him when I hired him as a guitar teacher; later we became running buddies (now walking buddies). At some point we started writing and playing songs together. As a performer, Mr. Doug still keeps some of these tunes in his quiver. (Me too.) Now we’ve decided to put this album out for three key reasons:
• Fishy Fishy Fishy turned 20
• Mr. Doug turned 57
• This music hasn’t been posted online
These songs were released on various CDs, as gifts and the occasional purchase. Owners of said CDs may note that the tunes have been remastered and reshuffled. Here they’re anthologized for the web (we’re playing Alan Lomax for our own work).
We’ve added a bit of overdubbing: Maxx Kaplan plays congas on the first two songs. Jordan Cherry adds keyboards to #13, “Little One,” which features Julia Crager on vocals — it was Jules’s favorite kiddie tune, and she inspired about half of these.
Without further adieu:
1 Fishy Fishy Fishy (Jack Crager): This lullaby is all based in reality. In her crib, Julia had a big-fish balloon, a flying-pig mobile, and a big fat kitty looking on. It’s not a drug song! (No hallucinations anyway.)
2 Fifty Seven (Douglas DaSilva): “This song is dedicated to Bob Dorough,” Doug says. Bob was the mastermind behind Schoolhouse Rock. We were privileged to know him — he went to school in Plainview, TX, with my folks, and grew up to be a NYC jazz dude.
3 Toothie (Jack Crager): Julia was a sunny baby, but she’d cry whenever she got a new toothie. (I know the feeling, with my toothie woes in old age.) Ellsworth joined in on slide guitar & vocals.
4 Do You Have a Boo Boo? (Douglas DaSilva): This was a big hit with the kids. And the grown-up ones as well. (Can you say, polybooboobinous?)
5 Agua (Jack Crager): Once Jules & I visited an American Natural History Museum exhibit about water and it led to deep thoughts on the subject…
6 The Pig (Douglas DaSilva) Where’s the pig, Mr. Doug?
7 Mis Colores (Jack Crager): I remember asking nephew Zach Crager to supply a rap vocal for this tune, which he did with aplomb, right after his sister Autumn’s wedding in Houston.
8 Airplanes (Douglas DaSilva): Now that we can all fly again (post-Covid), this sounds pretty cool.
9 Ain’t No Bugs on Me (Traditional): There’s a great version of this by David Grisman and Jerry Garcia. Brian Nichols and I did it with Brian’s jaw harp, my soulmate Viv, Mr. Doug, and noises out the wazoo.
10 Haircut (Douglas DaSilva): “Snip snip snip on the back of my head, barber’s gonna make me look so good,” Doug sings, “do the same for you, yes he could!”
11 Got It All (Jack Crager): Hey gal, we used to have horses in the street with the cars. We still have your old man’s favorite bar.
12 My Favorite Shoes (Douglas DaSilva): Tell me Mr. Doug, what’s your fave: Asics, New Balance, Brooks, Saucony, or Hoka?
13 Little One (Jack Crager): Niece Jordan Cherry said she dug this kiddie tune, then added organ to it; Julia concurred and sang vocals. What bliss!
14 Sleep (Douglas DaSilva): As Doug says, “Put the kids to sleep at the end.”
15 Good Night (Lennon/McCartney): We used to sing this in hopes of sleep. Jordan Cherry added guitar, and her mom Teddi, my favorite sis, played flute. Teddi gets the last note.
