I hope you are doing well and enjoying our beautiful spring weather!

I wanted to say a little “thank you” to a person who was a tremendous influence on me: Bob Dorough, the man behind Schoolhouse Rock. This program literally changed the course of my life. Without Bob’s catchy tunes there would most likely be no David Chicken songs. Bob showed that children’s music could be fun and educational without “talking down” to kids. Watching Schoolhouse Rock cartoons and learning the songs was a pivotal part of my childhood that I cherish. They truly inspired me to attempt, in my own little way, to create something that would have a positive impact on kids as well. That, in turn, has turned into the most fun career I could ever hope for.

Kids, I encourage you to look up some Schoolhouse Rock songs. “Conjunction Junction” is a good place to start. The accompanying videos are fantastic. They may look a bit old, but their messages are timeless.

Thank you Bob. I’ll always be a Schoolhouse Rocker!

I hope you are having a super-fantastic summer! Ours has been very fun. Staying very busy with lots of library and event shows this time of year.

This week we returned to our old stomping ground: The Allen Public Library! This is a special place for me. We filmed the video for “Book a Trip” there, which is one of my favorites. It was nice performing for the 50th anniversary of the library, since we were there to perform 10 years ago for the 40th anniversary.

Special thanks to my friend Brian Busch for his outstanding accordion work with the show, along with Barrett Bishop, who played his bagpipes for us on stage! As always, Diane Whiting helped keep the show rolling along smoothly with the kids. Oh and we can’t forget Super Diego, who stole the show with his amazing doggy tricks!

A few photos are attached. Enjoy!

Your friend,
David

Happy summer! What a July I had. Just as things were wrapping up with my many summer reading club library shows, I got to travel to South Dakota to perform at Storybook Land! It was so much fun to be able to play with the Storybook Land Theater. This very talented group, led by Brian Schultz, was gracious enough to learn some of my David Chicken songs, which we performed live in a castle! I also learned some of their songs, which was great fun.

This was my second visit to Storybook Land in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I was very happy to return. It is such a fun and positive place, filled with happy and friendly people. I highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself in the area. Hopefully I’ll be back soon!

I hope the rest of your summer is fantastic!

Your friend,
David

I have a special surprise for the new year – a brand new David Chicken single! It’s called “Play!” The song is about – you guessed it – going outside and playing. Climbing a tree, riding a bike, going swimming … whatever moves you! Watch the new video here.

You can also buy the song on iTunes here 
and Amazon here

We shot the video with our Emmy-Winning friends at Allen City Television, led by the super-talented director Mark Kaufmann. It was a lot of fun to shoot the video, since we filmed all around Allen at a lot of fun locations with nice people. The video has been used to help promote physical activity within the community. Now we’ll be using it for the same purpose around the world! 

So get out and PLAY and have super-fantastic 2014! Mama Chicken, Super Joanie and I are all doing well. We hope the same for you and your family.

Your friend,
David Chicken

Galloint friends!

Well, it’s official, we’ve got our own ice cream flavor! My friend Hunter Rose, the Ice Cream Czar at several North Texas Ben & Jerry’s, decided it was time to rename one of his flavors for the premiere of our new “Cookie Time” single and video.

Special thanks to Nancy Churnin at the Dallas Morning News for documenting the occasion. You can read her article here.

Even though the Sheep-Cow-Horse’s saying “Oop-Scoop-a-Dooperator” means “Please put some spinach on my tutti frutti ice cream”, we didn’t go that route with Ben & Jerry’s. David Chicken’s Cookie Time is a delicious concoction of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate cookie swirl with chocolate chip and chocolate chocolate chip cookie pieces. Be sure to stop by a Metroplex Ben & Jerry’s and give it a taste!

Your friend,

David

The music video for my new song “Cookie Time” premiered this week! I would like to thank all of the families who came out to be a part of the video. You all did an amazing job! Be sure to get the music single of the song, available on iTunes and the Amazon Music Store!

My next single will be “Play”, which we will film in the spring with our friends at Allen City Television, the Emmy-winning team who brought you “Book a Trip“, “Recycle Bin“, and of course “Cookie Time“! Stay tuned to my blog and facebook page for announcements about the video shoot!

Enjoy!

Your friend,

David

What a great week I had last week at the Recycle-Bowl!

Keep America Beautiful selects the school that recycles the most material each year and rewards them with a concert and a big check (literally)! Last year the winning school was Rutherford Elementary right here in Mesquite, Texas, where we performed and had an amazing time. The winner this year was Taylor Primary in Kokomo, Indiana! I got to fly up and perform my song “Recycle Bin” for them, which is a natural fit! (We also did a few other tunes that got everyone up singing and dancing). It is such a thrill for me to see hundreds of kids up singing “Recycle bin, so we can use it again!” The greatest joy of songwriting is seeing people enjoying your music. That means even more when it’s a message that you believe in so much.

After my world tour in November, it was small beans to hop up to Indiana! But I very much enjoyed getting up to the midwest, where my roots are. Mama Chicken was born in Walton, Indiana and I was born in Normal, Illinois (a lot of people think that’s ironic, haha!) My Dad and grandparents were all born in the midwest as well.

Everyone was super nice and welcoming. I am thankful to Keep America Beautiful for having me be a part of the Recycle-Bowl each year. I made a lot of new friends at Taylor Primary and hope to see them again soon. Maybe for Earth Day!

Your friend,

David

We’ve been making a lot of progress on the video for “Cookie Time” and it is SUPER FUN! All of the kids and parents did a fantastic job. It is full of energy and goodness, and fits the song well. I can’t wait to show everyone. It should be done right around the first of the year.

My friend Hunter Rose, who owns several of the local Ben & Jerry’s locations, will even be naming a flavor of their ice cream “David Chicken’s Cookie Time” for the week of the premiere. Check my blog for the latest info on everything.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my friends! I hope that you have a great holiday season. We have a lot to be thankful for.

Your friend,
David

Wow, what a magnificent journey I had traveling all the way around the world! The tour lasted for three weeks and it was something I will never forget. In Italy I performed in Naples and Sigonella (Close to Sicily). In Spain I performed in Rota. In Japan I performed at Atsugi, Yokosuka, Sasebo, and Okinawa. And I had two shows in Guam. All of the shows were for U.S. Navy families except for one of the shows in Guam, which was for the Air Force.

Everyone I encountered was so friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to help with the performances and show me around each town to get some local flavor. Special thanks to Kelly, Staci and Antonio. The local flavor was amazing — we ate some really fun and delicious food! (My favorite was Italian bruschetta with fresh mozzarella & pizza and … well, I’m not too sure what all I ate in Japan, but I liked it 🙂

The shows went over very much like shows in the States: Families getting up and having a good time, singing and dancing along to the music. “Funky Fish Party” and “Recycle Bin” were big hits. People seemed to really appreciate the shows. I considered it an honor and a privilege to be able to perform for them.

Some of the non-show highlights of the trip:
-Going to Caserta Palace in Naples, Italy. They filmed some of the Star Wars prequels there and I was very excited to visit. You’ll see in one of the photos that I even had my own light saber!

-Walking the streets of Sicily. My favorite parts were eating at a little Italian deli (delicious pastries!) and photographing the amphitheater ruins in downtown. Sicily has been destroyed seven times by the volcano that overlooks it — Mt. Etna.

-Exploring Japan. I was struck by all of the natural beauty. Nagasaki was especially beautiful. The people were so friendly. It was fun to be considered “exotic”. Note the photo of me with the soccer team. They were especially fun.

-Discovering Guam. I had no idea it was so beautiful there. I went snorkeling and found Nemo! We had a funky fish party! It was an incredible experience. I love snorkeling and plan on doing more.

-Getting reunited with my guitar. My guitar went around more of the world than I did! It was lost by an Italian airline (note to parents) and ended up in Heathrow Airport in London! Note the photo where I am happily reunited with my guitar in the Okinawa airport.

The whole point of the trip was the kids, and I met a bunch of fantastic kids and parents. I am thankful for the opportunity and hope to be able to do it again someday. Thank you for going along on the adventure with me!

-David