PLUGGIN’ AWAY – NOTES Here are some new songs to sing and laugh along with, and stir your imagination. The suggested activities are guidelines to help parents, teachers, and other human service professionals focus on interpersonal issues and to open up communications with their children. The exercises should generate ideas for other exercises. The questions have no “right” answers. We […]
Peter Alsop’s Songs To Chew podcast, and it’s going great! You can type that into where ever you get your podcasts and it should be there.Hit follow and every week you’ll get a new episode! (Or, just click on this link:https://peteralsop.podbean.com) I’ve made my albums into chapters, and eventually all my songs and albums will […]
Interview with Bill Harley about Gun Control About a year and a half ago at a Grammy luncheon in Los Angeles I got to visit with my buddy Bill Harley. Bill and I released an album together in 1989, "In The Hospital". It's a collection of songs and stories to help children cope with a […]
BORED, BORED, BORED! When we feel stuck in a boring situation, it's tempting to blame other people. At least that gives us something to do! We get angry and feel self-righteous. We complain that life's "not fair". Boredom comes out of believing that we're responsible for occupying ourselves, and for some reason, our well of […]
I have great admiration for all of the arts, as I know that pursuing any art form helps us learn how to live in a “dynamic mode,” where every question does not need to be answered. In fact, many of Life’s questions have no clear answers at all, … ever! The arts are process oriented. […]
Most of us are not prepared when a serious loss first hits us. We are sheltered from death in our culture. Many of us grow up with no exposure to people who are in the process of dying. Except for the grief we have seen acted on television, there are very few role models or […]
Watching a “reality” television show the other night, I found myself fascinated with people I didn’t even know, as they tried to cope with their difficult situations. I thought to myself, “I have better things to do with my precious life. Why am I watching this?!” My own real life is already filled up with […]
We know that music is a great way to pass on cultural norms to children. Our ethnic songs tell rich stories and carry the sounds and rhythms that cling like soil to our family’s roots. They enrich our lives by reminding us that we have come together from other countries, religions and races with rituals […]
In order to write and perform songs that connect with kids, “kid performers” put on our “kid glasses” to see what the world looks like through a kid’s eyes. We advocate for them by presenting their view of the world to grown-ups, (“blown-ups” as Utah Phillips called them.) We’ve all heard songs written for children […]
Those of us who entertain people with songs and stories, often use “old reliable favorites” to set the tone for our presentations. When I’m playing for parents or human service professionals, one of my staple pieces is to ask them what they think about sending a teacher who doesn’t speak Spanish, into a room full […]