Confetti Park Children's Workshop

Category: Music Video

  • Washed Away

    Washed Away

    Lyric video for “Washed Away” performed by Katy Hobgood Ray, from the album I Dream of Water. Archival public domain film footage includes the Mississippi flood of 1927, Los Angeles flood of 1938, and Long Beach flood of 1939.

    Musicians:
    Chuck Dodson – piano, organs
    Dave Hoffpauir – drums
    Vikki McGee – background vocals
    Katy Hobgood Ray – vocals
    Greg Spradlin – guitar, background vocals
    Dylan Turner – percussion
    Jason Weinheimer – bass, percussion  

    Produced by Greg Spradlin.

    Engineered by Zachariah Reeves and Jason Weinheimer at Fellowship Hall Sound, Little Rock, Arkansas. Mixed and Mastered by Jason Weinheimer at Fellowship Hall Sound, Little Rock, Arkansas.

    Executive Producer – Steve Howell. Out Of The Past Music. (Copyright 2019.)

    Written by David Eugene Ray/Kathryn Damaris Hobgood. Published by Confetti Park.

    Publicity and Radio Airplay: Blind Raccoon LLC. For more info visit http://katyhobgood.com

    Washed Away (David Eugene Ray/Kathryn Damaris Hobgood)
    Devil raised up and he hit the ground
    Water piled up and the levees came down
    He spread himself all through this town
    There ain’t nowhere to go

    Stood by the river while they spoke the names
    So much sorrow, so much pain
    Look all around no one to blame
    Where did they all go?

    Washed away—Where did they go?
    What are their names?  Nobody knows.
    The clouds rolled in and filled this town with tears

    I’m still living in my front yard
    Getting by is getting hard
    Ends don’t meet or go too far
    What am I going to do?

    Every evening when the sun goes down
    The ghosts come out and they walk around
    They dance through dreams in this empty town
    Trying to get back home

    The stars fill up an empty sky
    I hold my head and start to cry
    Lost everything and I don’t know why
    What am I going to do?

  • Polly Wolly Wee, the animated music video!

    Polly Wolly Wee, the animated music video!

    One of my favorite songs performed by the Confetti Park Players is “Polly Wolly Wee,” a.k.a. “The Frog Song.” You can hear the song on our first album, and now, you can watch an adorable stop-motion animated music video created by the kids! This was made at the wonderful Mini Art Center in Algiers Point.

    I first heard this cute folk song on a Lead Belly recording. Lead Belly is an important musical influence in my life. I grew up in Shreveport where there is a statue of Huddie Ledbetter standing in front of the public library downtown on Texas Street. I’m part of a group of Louisiana musicians who gather around his grave every October to sing his songs.  This October 2017 will be the 25th year we hold our informal gathering!!! (I joined up around 2000.)

    Lead Belly started singing to children later in his career, so of course I have plumbed his recordings since I myself have become a children’s musician. I have listened to a lot of Lead Belly, but I think I love the Smithsonian Folkways compilation Lead Belly Sings for Children most. His version of “Polly Wolly Wee” has such a pleasant vibe to it. When Lead Belly sings it, he does not have call and response on it,  but that’s what the song creates…. I just can’t help but respond to him and I’ve had a good time re-creating it with the Confetti Park Players!!!

     

  • Bumblebee, the animated music video!

    Bumblebee, the animated music video!

    The Confetti Park Players are a children’s chorus based here in New Orleans. One of our favorite things to do is to collaborate with other musicians who live in this amazing, creative city! We are SO lucky to be surrounded by and nurtured by so much talent.

    Our most recent collaboration  was with local folk-pop duo Ginger & the Bee (aka Sherri Montz and Scott Frilot). This duo perform around New Orleans and have other musical projects, including the beloved Vinyl Girls, Slack Adjustor, Skin & Bones, and the Tomatoes.

    Ginger & the Bee wrote a song specially for the Confetti Park Players—it’s called “Bumblebee.”

    Bumblebee, bumblebee, where is your honey? I want some honey for my honey!

    Bumblebee, bumblebee, where is your honey? I want some honey for me.

    Choir director Katy Ray taught the song to the kids over a few weeks, and one special Wednesday night, Ginger & the Bee came to our practice at Algiers United Methodist Church to record with the kids.

    After the recording was over, the kids went outside to play on the grass with Sherri to shoot some playful scenes with scarves.

    A few weeks later, the Confetti Park Players went to the Mini Art Center, a child-centric community arts center located in our very own Algiers Point, to do stop motion animation for the music video. We had such a great time creating this from drawings and recording footage. Molly and Prescott, who run the Mini Art Center, are great teachers.

    And, voila! Enjoy the final product!

    Confetti Park Players perform Ginger & the Bee from Mini Art Center on Vimeo.