Peanut Butter and Jammin'

By: Susan Van Dongen, TimeOFF 12/30/2004

Dawne Alynne makes music for children and adults.

Having raised and entertained four children of her own, singer-songwriter Dawne "Dawnie" Alynne comes with built-in "parenting cred" as a children's musician.

Singing songs and lullabies was a way to try and get her squirmy brood to settle down at night, except everyone would have so much fun singing along, sometimes Mom would fall asleep in a too-short bed, guitar in hand.

Ms. Alynne was employed as a children's artist, illustrating video games, when she got married. Four children in a row came along, and Ms. Alynne was "too busy chasing those guys around" to continue her career. Art got put aside, since every time she tried to paint, the kids would want to join her. So, music and storytelling seemed to be a better and more timely outlet for her creativity.

"When it was time to get the kids to bed, we'd always read stories together," Ms. Alynne says. "Reading was a big part of my life growing up, so when I had children, I made that a priority. Then I started to sing to them and they loved that. But the problem was, they wouldn't go to sleep. They'd want to hear another one and another one — I'd wake up at two in the morning, still in their bed."

Now her two sons are in college and her daughters are in high school. As the children's musician "Dawnie," the Long Branch resident has taken that experience and produced a CD, Silly Critter Talk, released nationally by Schoolhouse Records. It's the first foray into children's music for the Highland Park-based label.

Silly Critter Talk features cover art created by Ms. Alynne and features eight original songs, two of which have been picked up by Sirius Satellite Radio "Kid's Stuff" channel.

"I haven't heard them yet because I don't have satellite radio, but friends have called me up and said, 'They just played your song!'" Ms. Alynne says. One of Silly Critter Talk's biggest crowd pleasers is "Little Caterpillar," which combines counting with lessons in perseverance. It gives Dawnie a chance to really connect with her audience. "It's a big hit with the children," Ms. Alynne says. "It's a basic counting song, but the lyrics also teach them that if they stick with something they want badly enough, chances are they'll reach their goal. I become the caterpillar in the song and as she climbs, we count branches."

Ms. Alynne says she feels close to the kids in the audience because she's been playing music since she was little more than a child.

"I picked up the guitar when I was about 10," she says. "When I was a kid, before we could drive, my friends and I would get together at someone's house and harmonize. Or, our parents would drop us off at the park and we'd spread out a blanket and sing."

It was ironic that parenting brought Ms. Alynne back to something she loved so much as a young person. Her children inspired her too, even joining in on the songwriting process.

"My daughter and I actually wrote a song together, when she was six," she says. "Stuff just kept popping into my head and I was writing it down like a fiend."

Born and raised in New York, Ms. Alynne has a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She also has her teaching certification and has worked for five years as a substitute in the Long Branch school system. She especially likes to employ music, art and storytelling in her teaching.

Ms. Alynne founded Peanut Butter-n-Jammin Music Co. in 1992, part of the duo of the same name. After eight years of touring the East Coast as a twosome, she went off to pursue a solo career.

She was especially busy last year, playing a little bit of everything — from special pre-school shows in Monmouth County to the New Jersey Balloon Festival.

But her creative life doesn't stop with children's music. Ms. Alynne's six-piece funk band (formerly called Roamin' EZ) does originals as well as covers of vintage and contemporary dance and funk hits. In November, Roamin' EZ opened Light of Day — a weekend-long musical benefit for Parkinson's Disease at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. (Bruce Springsteen brought the event to a rousing conclusion.)

Ms. Alynne was involved in the entire Light of Day weekend — taking part in three different bands, with three different personas. She rocks out as lead singer of a band called Moxy and also does solo acoustic originals, frequently opening for harder-rocking ensembles. She recently was the intro act for John Eddie at the Stone Pony.

"They call me when they need somebody who can just jump out there solo, for about half an hour," she says. "All the music is different, for all three bands. I'll sometimes take a song from one band and use it for another act but the material is very different. It gives me a chance to try different things. I love all kinds of music and I want to play it all."

Silly Critter Talk is available where children's music is sold. Dawnie will perform at Red Bank Middle School, 101 Harding Road, Red Bank, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. For information, call (732) 249-3911. On the Web: www.pbjmusic.net

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