How do your prior years and experiences in the entertainment industry shape The Roughhousers releases? What brought the two of you together for this rockabilly duo?
I think the lockdown brought out the weirdo in all of us! I was writing a bunch of songs after a long hiatus from my music career because I was suddenly homeschooling my 3 kids and trying to keep them entertained during “Mama’s Music Class”! Eddie was supposed to be playing Elvis at Harrah’s casino but the show was canceled because of Covid. We met on Facebook out of sheer boredom and desperation for human interaction and decided to start this band!
Talk about The Roughhousers being a “kid band for adults.” How was this passion developed, and how do the two of you connect with the band’s musical mission to deliver this ideal balance for children and parents alike?
We both grew up spending a lot of time with our grandmas. Mine used to sing with Tito Puente in her youth and she had EXCELLENT taste. She’d let me bust out her old vinyl and it was just so exciting as a kid to drop that needle and get that rush of beautiful music in my eardrums. I’d spend my days laying next to the big brown speaker in our apartment and being transported to a more glamorous time and place! Billy Holiday, Keely Smith, Vicente Fernandez, Stan Getz, Freddy Fender….
I think we want to expose kids to some of that good older stuff we were lucky enough to grow up with!
How do you effectively embed each song with well-fitting themes, meanings, and messages that set a new bar for contemporary children’s music? Why is this important to the two of you?
Honestly I really tried to veer AWAY from a message when we were writing the songs. All of the kids music I was hearing was very “educational”…which is great…but I think sometimes kids need to be exposed to sheer unadulterated SILLINESS. Sometimes you just wanna laugh and rock out! I’d hate it if I had to listen to music that taught me about….doing my taxes or something. I think kids deserve some musical down time!
What was The Roughhousers’ inspiration for their latest single, “Toenail Soup”? What is the story being told, and how will audiences young and old connect with it?
I literally sat down with my autoharp and my 5 and 7 year old and just asked them to come up with the grossest things they could think of and we made a big list together! They are very proud of this co-write! They ask me to play it all the time!
How does “Toenail Soup” fit in with the upcoming Princess Mike album release? How do each of your previous releases work together to create this debut album?
The whole album is a nod to the classic good music that we grew up with! Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Dolly…..I’ve always been influenced by artists like this in our previous recordings for grown-ups so we’re hoping we can help influence the NEXT generation! Keep that torch lit!
How does the music video for “Toenail Soup” bring the song’s tale to fruition?
We had so much fun filming it and just being complete goofballs. Well…I guess I’m the goofy one. Eddie is the straight man. Our director, Neuman Mannas, had tons of fun with the greenscreen and came up with some really gross & funny effects. I still laugh when I watch it…..MY KIDS DO TOO!