When you go to www.bonobokids.com to play and learn and buy tons of I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo books, you are filled with a playful, joyful feeling. Of course, seeing Lucy makes you happy, but that music, that flowing melody…what is it? who created it? WE ALL LOVE IT!

The music was written and performed by a very cool guy named Alex Reiser. We interviewed him so that we could find out as much as we could about this musical genius. Here are our questions and his answers:

How long have you been playing music?

I started playing the cello when I was five thanks to my mom. After a
few years, I got frustrated with all the lessons and practicing though
and convinced her that I wanted to quit. Then in high school I had a
friend with an electric guitar which I thought that was pretty cool
and that inspired me to start playing music again. I’ve been playing
the guitar and bass for about 12 years now.

What is your favorite instrument?

I started out as a guitarist, but I have to say that bass is my
favorite instrument now. I like being part of the rhythmic and
harmonic foundation in a group, and I love the feeling of being locked
in a groove with a good drummer.

How many instruments do you play?

I consider myself a bass and guitar player, but I can play a little bit
of keyboard and drums too. In college I studied abroad in India where
I studied Hindustani classical music on the sitar and tabla. So, six instruments.

We heard you are part of a circus? Tell us all about that!

I was part of a bluegrass band in college and we toured for two
summers playing live accompaniment for Circus Smirkus. We traveled
and lived in a converted school bus named ‘Bessie’ that the circus
sold us for $1. She had a cow head mounted on the hood. We wrote the
soundtrack for the shows and sat ringside playing music synchronized
to the acts, and it was a lot of fun working with what became a very
close-knit crew. Circus Smirkus puts on traveling big top circus
shows with youth acrobats and performers from all over the world and
is based in northern Vermont.

What inspired you to create the music for bonobokids.org?

When I created the music for bonobokids.org I was on tour with Sierra
Leone’s Refugee All Stars as their production manager, and I wanted to
incorporate some of their upbeat and positive energy into what I was
writing for www.bonobokids.org. I wanted it to be something fun and
simple with a little bit of a groove, too.

Do you have any pets?

I don’t have any animals right now but I always had dogs growing up,
and I had a cockatiel named Sylvester.

What is your favorite animal?

My favorite pets are definitely dogs. I love watching Giraffes run.
And I can say that I admire Bonobos for their non-violent approach to
conflict resolution.

Do you do anything in your everyday life specifically to help the
environment?

I commute on my bike when I can avoid taking a car, and we try to keep
our energy use at home to a minimum.

Any other causes you are interested in?

I’m excited to be involved with a project called WeOwnTV.org with
Banker White that will be training teenagers, refugees, and
ex-combatants to produce their own video and media starting in
Freetown, Sierra Leone. Through the website and distribution efforts
WeOwnTV hopes to offer participants the means to share their ideas and
experiences with the world.

Do you have any photos you want to share?

Sure! This is me in my little home studio…

…and this is our circus band - The Route Seven Ramblers - along with our bus ‘Bessie’. (It kind of looks like Bessie burped up all of the stuff or something!!!)

Thanks, Alex - for this interview and for our finger snappin’, toe tappin’ Bonobo Kids jam!

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