Meet Andrew & Polly | makers of music & podcasts for kids

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew & Polly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew & Polly, what is the most important factor behind your success?
This might seem simplistic, but we’re truly interested in our audience. Whether it’s a million families listening to us on SIRIUS XM or one kid wiggling in their grownup’s lap, we identify with families bouncing between absolute joy and utter chaos. We believe kids are curious, funny, playful and brave — their content should be, too! We want to make media that respects children’s intelligence and welcomes them into the experience as partners and participants.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We’re most excited about creating valuable audio for modern families.

As Andrew & Polly, we reach most ears on satellite radio with playful indie bops like “Grapes,” “Danger Baby,” and “Rainbow Shoppe”. We tour and perform locally around Santa Monica at small acoustic venues for families and larger stages with our band. Our CDs still line the shelves of many libraries. We also reach listeners around the globe with Ear snacks, one of the first podcasts for kids. And a bunch of our songwriting and instrumental music finds its way onto people’s screens via Netflix, Nickelodeon, Noggin, and a bunch of commercials.

So those are lots of ways we make music, but what makes it valuable?

Well, we have a lot of expertise with kids — writing songs for millions of them, performing in front of thousands of them, interviewing and editing hundreds of them for our podcast, and having three young ones of our own. We’ve designed and taught early-childhood music education programs. So we know our audience!

Now more than ever, we’re interested in making art that elevates and celebrates voices that aren’t ours. Our podcast for families centers kids voices and ideas. By getting parents to interview their children, we discover an inspiring amount of diversity and commonality among young people everywhere. Through a lifetime of “show-not-tell” songwriting, we’ve learned we don’t have the answers, and kids don’t need them. Every value can be modeled, rather than taught. Every question opens a conversation, a wonderful exploration waiting to be undertaken together.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely come visit us! First of all, if you visited us we would probably throw a party at our spot. We’d take you all around Santa Monica to some of our favorite quiet spots – favorites include a late breakfast at Snug Harbor, hanging out with our kids at all the great parks, playing on the rings and equipment near the pier, visiting McCabe’s Guitar Shop – maybe sand sledding on the dunes at the Venice Pier. We love to hit up Children’s Book World in West LA for gifts for adults and kids alike. Without our kids in tow, we’d probably take you on one of our favorite hikes in the Santa Monica mountains. For a short hike, we love to walk the remains and graffiti at Murphy’s Ranch or for a longer trek in the fall and winter we love Sullivan Ridge down through to Sullivan Canyon. In the Spring when it’s wildflower time we love to hike at Zuma or Eagle Rock from Trippet Ranch and then have some food at Endless Color in Topanga.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
They would never ask for a shout-out, but our story can’t be told without our dear friends Chris Tabron and Mindy Thomas. Chris is a world-class, GRAMMY winning mix engineer who has made our music sound better than we could have imagined. And Mindy has championed our work on SIRIUS XM since the beginning and introduced us to many of our lifelong musical collaborators. Their counsel, generosity, and spirit make our lives brighter. Both friends prove you can be a truly successful entertainment professional and an authentic, kindhearted human being at the same time.

Website: http://andrewandpolly.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/andrewandpolly

Twitter: http://twitter.com/andrewypolly

Facebook: http://facebook.com/andrewandpolly

Image Credits
Josh Piha, Missi Hostrup, Allison Feenberg.