This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #139 (December 2008/January/February 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Bill Harley

Blah Blah Blah and Bow Wow Wow

by Craig Harris

Bill Harley combines the gifts of a storyteller with the vision of a singer/songwriter. Through 11 albums of yarn-spinning tales, an equal number of musical releases, and six picture books, Harley has aimed his imagination and passion for entertainment at audiences of all ages. Capable of eliciting a smile in a four-year-old, he's as effective delivering his message to an older brother or sister and parents.

"My image of the shows that I like to do," said Harley by telephone, "is that notion of when you were a kid and heard grownups talking. You could understand what was going on and you felt happy to be a part of it. That's the way that traditional songs and stories were passed on. I want to talk to the adults, but I want the kids to be there, too."

Touching a nerve in audiences that range from toddlers to grandparents has been Harley's greatest challenge. "A four-year-old's world is pretty self-absorbed," he explained. "The world is an extension of them. If you use complex language, there's got to be enough repetition that they can get the gist of what's going on. Nine- or ten-year-olds begin to appreciate the dynamics of interacting with siblings or parents. For adults, there has to be some sense of irony and perspective, some depth. Putting all of those things together is not the easiest thing in the world to do, to entertain everybody at the same time."

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #139 (December 2008/January/February 2009).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Copyright ©2008 Visionation, Ltd.