The musical Springman family are on a roll.
Langley’s Perry Springman and his four children: Emma, Ryan, Sarah, and Jacob (ages 12, nine, seven, and six) make up the The Springman Family Band, and on Jan. 26, they won Children’s Album Of The Year at the GMA Canada Covenant Awards ceremony in Edmonton, Alta., for their newest album Happy Beach.
Recent recipients of the esteemed Parents’ Choice Award and NAPPA Award, the family band was enthusiastic about the Covenant award.
“Just to see my four kids running up to the platform — well, actually I ran up, too — to receive the award was so perfect. They were glowing like fireflies,” Perry said. “And we’re really thankful that the album is getting noticed here in Canada.”
Happy Beach was produced by four-time Grammy and 16-time Dove Award winner Mark Heimermann, who said, “I've always had a heart for children's music. It's a wonderful thing to be celebrated for letting my inner child ‘come out to play’ through this music.”
Speaking about their families’ connection with the international aid organization World Vision, Springman’s 12-year-old daughter Emma said, “It’s fun meeting so many great people and being able to give them an opportunity to help a child in a poor country. It makes all the hard work of rehearsing and touring worthwhile.”
In describing the album, Springman said, “Imagine a musical trip filled with Latin rhythms, Hawaiian ukulele, bouncy ‘60’s pop beats, California surf-style harmonies — all without leaving home. That’s Happy Beach.”
Some of the songs include:
• Salsa beats on Chimichanga open the CD, linking friendship and delicious Mexican food — both so much better when shared.
• Challenge the family to The 3 Minute Clean-up which actually makes kids cleaning the house sound like great fun.
• Unh-Uh, No Way ponders the advisability of taking down a brother who broke a favourite game and other mischievous behaviour.
• Kids are full of questions and a few more (“Why does my nose run in winter?”) are added to the list including Why Does the World Have Slivers?
• Enjoy some Bouncy Bouncy time on a trampoline to a circus beat.
• Sleepyhead both sets up the next day’s activities and sets the sun on today.
“I've recorded a number of previous CDs for adults and teens, but wanted to make a record of songs for my kids while they were still kids,” Perry said, about the inspiration behind Happy Beach. “And, almost as important, I wanted parents to love the songs, too. These songs just simply came out of real-life with a family of four young rambunctious children.”
Previously, Perry toured the world for nearly 20 years with his band, Perry And The Poorboys. His band has become ‘smaller’ with a much younger generation of musicians: Emma (age 12) sings and plays ukulele; Ryan (age nine), sings and plays djembe and congas; Sarah (age seven), sings, twirls and dances (you’ll just have to imagine this part as you listen along) and makes everyone feel welcome; and youngest singer Jacob (age six) is a fan favourite.
Happy Beach is available at retail in the U.S. and Canada and at perryspringman.com.