Andrew & Polly are an award winning musical (and real life) duo from Los Angeles. So, how do you describe Andrew & Polly? Cute? Fun? Quirky? Kindie Folk Techno Pop? With their mix of original songs and inventive covers, Andrew & Polly bring musical joy to the whole family. On September 25th, they released their latest album Odds & Ends, which featured the unofficial 2015 Sirius XM Kids Place Live song of the summer, Grapes. In addition to their new album, Andrew & Polly also recently launched a successful podcast, Ear Snacks.
For every #8isEnoughQuestions interview, each of the following questions is written by our Full Van Fun family members and answered directly by Andrew & Polly. Enjoy!
Andrew Barkan and Polly Hall
#1) Did you meet each other through music?
YES! We met in college in Massachusetts. Polly was working on a folk record and a friend introduced her to Andrew. They started collaborating and Andrew played piano and keyboards.
#2) How did you decide that you wanted to make music?
We have both always loved music since we were little kids. Polly started playing the violin when she was 3! Andrew started playing piano in elementary school but hated lessons. After he quit taking lessons, he got really interested in music theory and taught himself lots just because he was curious about music and exploring the piano.
We both studied music in college and that’s when Andrew got a chance to write music for classical ensembles and Polly got really interested in how to record music and work with audio. Later, Andrew went to graduate school for Film Scoring and Polly went to graduate school for Computer Music and Multimedia.
EnerGel® NV Liquid Gel Pen
#3) What is your favorite pen?
Polly’s favorite pen is a Pentel EnerGel NV Liquid Gel Pen. Very specific! Andrew’s favorite pen is his iPhone.
#4) Do you write the words or music first?
It depends! Sometimes a song just comes out words and music together! Sometimes one of us has a good idea but no melody, and sometimes one of us comes up with a few awesome lines and carries them around until they turn into something. Most of the time once an idea is started we work on a song together until it is finished.
A lot of the time we write a song and then we re-write it and re-write it for a long time, maybe a month or more! Sometimes we’ll play the song out at sing-a-longs and then come home and re-work it. A good example of that is “Mama Slow Down” from our new album, Odds & Ends. We wrote that song after our niece Betula was born 2 years ago and it has changed a lot since then!
#5) How did you first meet Absolutely Mindy?
Mindy is the best! After we received the Joe Raposo Children’s Music Award in 2012, someone suggested we send our first album (Up & At ‘Em) to Sirius XM Kids Place Live. Polly bought a pink polka-dot envelope and sent it in along with an early mix of “Little Bitta You.” We were both so nervous! One day while Polly was at the grocery store, her phone rang and it was Absolutely Mindy! Polly was in the soup aisle looking at cans of soup. Mindy said she loved the music and couldn’t wait to start playing it. Really, that’s exactly what happened!
That summer we went to New York for a conference about children’s television and since we were on the east coast we took a trip to DC to meet Mindy and perform in our first Rumpus Room concert. It was so fun!
#6) Have you ever made a watermelon jack o’lantern?
Not yet – but now we want to! But Polly has made watermelon popsicles – they’re super easy to make!
#7) If you could put together your ideal musical supergroup, who would it include?
Our ideal musical supergroup would include… Jim Henson & Frank Oz, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Simon & Garfunkel, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Leon Redbone, Mark Mothersbaugh and Alexandre Desplat. That band would sound totally bonkers!
#8) What is your favorite type of ball?
Andrew’s favorite ball is a BASKETBALL. Polly’s favorite ball is a really good marble. Or a really good bouncy ball. Or the moon. Or a four-square ball. I can’t choose!!!
Thank you Andrew Barkan and Polly Hall for an awesome #8isEnoughQuestions interview and stay tuned for the next interview featuring Play Date!
Andrew & Polly Photos courtesy Andrew & Polly
