STANDISH – Children’s entertainer Rick Charette, who has made a career of writing catchy songs for children, will be bringing his gift of music to Saint Joseph’s College in Standish on Sunday, Nov. 21.

The 20th Annual Rick Charette Holiday Benefit Concert takes place in the cafeteria in Mercy Hall starting at 2 p.m. and all kids and their parents are invited.

While Charette and his famous Bubble Gum Band will be on hand to entertain the kids, the real purpose of the concert, said concert coordinator Charley Cray, a senior psychology major at the college, is to aid local families struggling to put gifts under the Christmas tree this December. To gain admission to the concert, attendees are required to bring an unwrapped gift to be placed under a big Christmas tree during Charette’s performance.

Cray recommends bringing toys for kids in grades K-8. Cray said gift cards are welcomed for older children. After Charette’s concert, kids can enjoy making Christmas crafts as well as cookie decorating.

Once toys are collected, students will distribute them to several local organizations – Windham Family Resource Center, Raymond Helpers and the American Legion and Lions Club in Standish – which Cray said will get the toys into the hands of the needy families.

Current Publishing sat down with Charette at his home off Whites Bridge Road in Windham to find out more about the concert and what’s new in the Westbrook native’s music career.

Q: What brings you back to St. Joe’s year after year for this particular benefit concert?

A: When I started, it came from my heart. I wanted to do something where I could offer a concert that people could come and offer a gift for a family that’s in need. But what makes it powerful is the response from the community, the people that give their time to make all this happen. One of the reasons I feel so strongly about doing is because it’s another vehicle for parents to teach their children about giving, because when the kids bring a gift that they want and they don’t want to part with it and they put it under the tree that’s going to be for somebody else, that’s a good way to teach about giving.

Q: How did you become a singer-songwriter?

A: When I was in music school and I went out student teaching, you had to teach songs to kids and with the available songs that were out, I thought they were good, but the kids didn’t seem too excited about them. So I decided I’d try to write something more contemporary and that’s when I wrote the first song, “Bubble Gum.” And the kids really loved it, and my peers tried it, and everyone liked the song.

Q: When you were a kid yourself, did you ever envision you’d be singing to kids as a career?

A: No, but when I was in junior high school, I started really getting interested in music and then throughout high school, I was playing the guitar, learning songs. And in college I started thinking, how can I live a life where music was a central part?

Q: So this was your dream?

A: Yes, but I didn’t know how to put it together, what was going to make it click.

Q: How did you figure that out?

A: Well, with the (night club) audiences, I didn’t like the hours, being up late. And audience feedback was inconsistent. My whole enjoyment was engaging the audience because of seeing other performers like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan who can get their audiences singing, and I liked that. It felt like a strength that I have.

Q: So, by trying different audiences, you just naturally gravitated toward children for your audience?

A: Right. And then it satisfied both the performing as well as the writing part. I certainly tried connecting with older audiences at first. I’d go down to Boston to play in the clubs for open mic.

Q: Do you remember your first children-only concert?

A: Well, the first big one, it was so big, it was in Deering Oaks just with my band, the Bubble Gum Band. I had a few albums out but it was like, “Let’s do a summer concert.” Thousands of people came. It was just huge, and it was so wonderful. That was around 1986-87. That was during the real high of my career.

Q: What has made you successful?

A: It’s definitely the music and the subject matter and the other thing is the connection through several generations. We had a show recently at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray and I noticed how many generations were there – grandparents with their kids who used to be kids that came to my concerts. So there were three generations there, and I’ve been noticing that a lot lately.

And people have told me that because I’m the same on-stage and off-stage they just feel real comfortable having their kids there.

And I also don’t do very many slow songs and I use movement, which is such an intuitive part of childhood and how they learn and grow. Things that are rhythmic or that rhyme are such a natural part of childhood, so when you put that out there in songs that have lyrics that are catchy along with movement, kids naturally respond to it.

Q: What’s your best-selling album?

A: We have 11 albums and we’re working on the 12th. “Alligator in the Elevator” is our best-selling album.

Q: What age are you most popular with?

A: I would say my music spans from early childhood to 7 or 8 years old. But there’s a lot more competition with younger kids who are feeling pressure to be grown up or to like certain performers.

Q: Are you saying the likes of Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber are cutting into the top age range of the kids who come to your concerts?

A: Yes, but it’s not like older kids, 10 or 11, don’t like my music. It’s great in certain contexts like summertime concerts, but in the media, it doesn’t have the same impact that it used to have because there’s so much more out there for kids to be doing. When I first started it was the upper elementary who really liked my music. And then it started working its way down, so if kids hear things when they’re really, really little, by the time they’re in second grade, they associate it with when they were in kindergarten, and sometimes kids will come up after a concert, even though they totally enjoyed a show, and say, “Oh, my sister really likes your music and I learned it when I was in kindergarten.”

Q: How does that make you feel?

A: Oh, it’s fine. I know kids just want to feel grown-up. And it gives them a way to still be a child and enjoy something. But it’s so cool because they’ll go through part of high school and all of a sudden, they’ll remember it and I’ll hear from them on Facebook and they’ll say, “We love your music, we think it’s so cool.” They sort of come back around, but with a whole different twist to it. Actually, someone once told me a high school football team was coming back from a wet game and someone started singing “I Love Mud.” And they all started singing it on the bus. I just think that’s great. And that’s what makes me feel happy that it’s brought enjoyment and satisfaction making growing up fun. If you can have those happy moments to hold onto as a grown-up, it helps your perspective.

Q: You’ve based your life’s work on interacting meaningfully with children. Why do you care for kids so much?

A: One of the reasons, and it’s not like spoiling kids, is wanting childhood to be a happy time in a person’s life, because it goes so quickly. And I just think kids shouldn’t have to worry. With so many parents out of work, they just worry because they hear it in their moms and dads. And I think it affects their learning and a lot of things about growing up. There should be more time for play and learning.

I just enjoy kids, too. I just appreciate parts of childhood, and I like seeing the smiles on their faces, them not feeling peer pressure, just enjoying being a kid.

Q: What are some of your musical influences?

A: Definitely Bob Dylan, jazz. Lately, I’ve started liking Jack Johnson. In Maine, I like Gordon Bok and, of course, David Mallett.

Q: You’ve been performing a long time, is it still fun?

A: Yeah, and sometimes I can’t believe I’m enjoying it so much. I feel so fortunate to have a career with this longevity. Kids are still getting excited and the audience is getting exciting and enjoying it. Music has a way of connecting people, definitely.

Rick Charette has been performing music for children for 27 years. Currently working on his 12th album, Charette and his Bubble Gum Band will perform classics from their previous albums, shown in the foreground, at St. Joseph’s College in Standish on Sunday, Nov. 21.
Staff photo by John Balentine