"Who is Flaco Jimenez?"

I've introduced my kids to Americana since they were, well, before they were born. Introduced, not forced.

The best parenting advice I ever received, yet somehow can't remember who gave to me, is "Let your child be who he or she is". Voluntarily, my son latched onto several of my favorite performers and started requesting copies of discs. He still listens to a CD every night at bedtime. He'll listen/memorize a disc for several months before asking for something new. "Songs For Little Pickers" by Doc Watson, "I've Got A Bullfrog" by David Holt, "On Down The Track" by Two Dollar Pistols, "The Best Of Texas Tornados" by, yeah, The Texas Tornados and "Papa's Dream" by Los Lobos all had their extended moments of glory. Will every kid like the music mom and dad expose them to? Nope. My daughter? She prefers audiobooks. That's who she is.

I've been lucky to have several opportunities to introduce other people's children to the music I enjoy. One year my wife and I were thrilled to book David Holt for an afternoon concert at our children's public school, Easley Elementary in Durham, NC. We also lined up another excellent rockin' assembly with Music Maker Relief Foundation (more about them in a future post) who helped us bring John Dee Holeman, a North Carolina bluesman to the school.

The kids STILL talk about those concerts. Clowny the Clown's "Math is Fun-ny" and "TED, the Talking Nutrition Pyramid" are so (and I'm quoting here) "lame" in comparison.

We've taken the kids to hear dozens of shows including Jeff Tweedy, Los Lobos, Delbert McClinton, Patty Griffin (oufff...good lesson there kids, parents aren't perfect-sorry about that one!), John Howie and Two Dollar Pistols, Renelvis (Charlotte, North Carolina's self-proclaimed "best Phillipino Elvis impersonator!"), Chris Stamey, Tres Chicas and Flaco Jimenez. Did they enjoy those shows? How much did they absorb?

I attended a parent-teacher conference at the beginnning of 3rd grade and sat crammed into a child-size desk as we went over my son's school work. The kids had filled out a questionaire about themselves on the first day of school asking them to list their favorite: hobby, food, book, etc. The twenty-something teacher looked at the last question, looked at Jake's answer and asked "Who is Flaco Jimenez?"

Bingo!

PS:Adios Freddy!