Interview with Tina Harris from Lah-Lah

We're a little obsessed with Lah-Lah at our place. Bub loves to get up and dance to all the songs and I have to admit I don't mind them either. I particularly love Brush Your Teeth because it helps me to get her to brush her teeth at night {which for some reason is always more of a challenge for me than daddy?}. We also love to dance around the lounge room to Shake it Like This.

Lah-Lah, Buzz the Bandleader {and Lola double bass}, Mister Saxaphone, Squeezy Sneezy the piano accordion and Tom Tom are welcomed into our home numerous times throughout the week thanks to their ABC KIDS show Lah-Lah Adventures. We also have a Lah-Lah dvd which makes an appearance at least once a week {and always has to be played more than once because bub demands more Lah-Lah!}. If that wasn't enough Lah-Lah, we're also going to see them live in concert in Brisbane at the end of September - woohoo I can't wait, I mean bub can't wait.

I know we're not the only Lah-Lah mad household so I asked you guys on facebook if you had any burning questions for Lah Lah and of course you did. I was lucky enough to interview Tina Harris {aka Lah-Lah} via email to get all your questions answered. I also discovered her and Mark once lived in Paris, how cool is that?

TINA HARRIS INTERVIEW

Hi Tina,

Thank-you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview for the blog. 

Lots of my readers are big fans of yourself and the band and would love to get to know more about you and the other band members. I put a call out on social media and these are the questions my readers wanted to ask you. 

When did your love of music first start?

I think I’ve always had a love of music but it probably all started in grade 3 when our primary teacher started a band program. He had a sign up sheet and you could take any instrument home for 2 weeks until you found a match. I started on the trumpet and ended up on the alto saxophone. That was my instrument for years before I picked up singing in high school.

When did you first come up with the idea of Lah-Lah and the big live band, and did you always want to be a children's entertainer?

I had no idea this is the path my life would lead. In fact for many years I studied trained and performed as an opera singer. Mark and I even moved to Paris after I finished my Masters of Performance at the Con in Sydney. I was in love with French music so we moved to France, crazy but true. When Lily and Emily were born life shifted gears and I was really looking for something that fit with family life and my love of music so we started a little class which ended up being a school....then Lah-Lah :)

Did you always plan on having a tv series, or did that evolve over time?

It was after we made our first DVD with Nickelodeon that the idea of a TV series became a possibility. Before that it was a dream of mine but Mark thought I was crazy (this is a regular thought in our family:) but the actual TV series was created with our director Deb Ryan, Mark and myself. It took 18 months to make and was a real love project.

How many instruments can all the band members play in total?

Well Tom Tom plays drum and percussion (so lots!) and Mister Saxophone plays: Saxophone, flute and clarinet. Buzz is bass and Squeezy is piano and accordion.

How do you come up with song ideas?

I’m usually the ideas girl, I sing my thoughts into my phone usually, send them to Mark who works his magic and then we argue about how it should go for a day or so and then usually end up with something we both love. On Sing it Loud the new album all the boys in the band wrote songs for the album and we just love that.

Do you have a favourite song? We're very fond of brush your teeth here as we sing it each night while she's brushing her teeth.

One of my favourite songs is one Squeezy (Gary Daley) wrote called Natures Song. He actually wrote it 20 years ago for his kids when they were little but never recorded it. When he brought it to the band we all just loved it.

Do you have any advice for kids who have a passion for music and drama?

To just go for it, join a group at school or one after school and explore. It really is such a wonderful way to grow your creativity and this really is such an important part of anyone’s education. Thinking creatively heaps to solve problems in all disciplines of life :)

Is there a Lah-Lah movie planned or would you consider it in the future?

Wouldn't that be fun? Our main focus is to get the funding and plans ready for series 2. There’s a new DVD released last month and a new one coming out in November. For now that will keep us plenty busy :)

Tina is so down to earth and lovely to talk to, I can't wait to meet her and the other band members in a few weeks time. Lah-Lah's Big Live Band are currently on tour playing live shows across the country. They're coming to QLD later this month and have shows in other states up until December. 

Are your kids obsessed with Lah Lah too?

Toni x