Mindy Thomas is absolutely zany. Mindy Thomas is absolutely silly. Mindy Thomas is absolutely enthusiastic. Mindy Thomas is absolutely insanely brilliant. Mindy Thomas is absolutely epically awesome! As Program Director of Sirius XM’s Kid’s Place Live and on-air host of the award winning Absolutely Mindy Show, Mindy is a leading voice in “Kindie” music and passionate advocate for children’s literature. In May, Mindy and NPR’s Guy Raz launched the Wow in the World podcast as a new way for families to connect, look up, and discover the wonders in the world around them. We’ve been lucky enough to meet Mindy many times and we were ecstatic to have her join us for a super fun #8isEnoughQuestions interview!
Mindy Thomas
For this #8isEnoughQuestions interview, each question was written and asked by one of our Full Van Fun family members and answered directly by Mindy Thomas. Enjoy!
1. How much preparation goes into each “Absolutely Mindy” show?
In many ways, I feel like I’m constantly prepping for this show! My eyes and ears are always open, and ready to grab any crazy ideas that float past me. I like to take ordinary situations, and imagine what they’d look like if I turned them upside down and inside out. You should try it sometime! It makes the world a lot more interesting!
[If you listen to the Absolutely Mindy Show – she has a variety of theme songs written by a wonderful myriad of talented Kindie musicians- like the one from Sugar Free Allstars below!]
2. Are we going to be famous now that we’re interviewing you?
Am I going to be famous after being interviewed by you?! What is “famous” anyway?! I once had some of my neighbor’s famous
fried chicken at a potluck, and marched it around for people to take pictures…but it’s sunglasses kept falling off, because it was a chicken leg and didn’t have a nose.
3. Do you choose songs that you and your children like?
Yes and no. Most of the music we play on Kids Place Live, I really love. Some of it I don’t love so much, but I know that our kid listeners will. Some of the music I really love, but it’s just not right for the channel. My kids are trying to get me to play a song that involves two straight minutes of a guy singing “nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom,nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom” ….whaddaya think? Should I do it? ……no, not you, I’m asking your mom.
4. What is the craziest thing the stunt cats have ever done?
Oh man, here is a list of things my Stunt Cats have done in the last 24 hours. Take your pick.
- Glued themselves into the world’s largest wad of cats, by using Crazy Glue, then fell out of the window.
- Marched through a preschool wearing diapers, and shaking maracas.
- Shaved off my eyebrows and replaced them with cat fur (they actually look better now).
- Tied their tails together and blocked traffic on a major highway for two and a half hours. Said it was an accident.
- Pooped in a sandbox and told me it was chocolate.
5. Where do you get your ideas for the birthday missions?
The Birthday Missions seem to find me. Usually, three seconds before I announce them, I’m scrambling through my brain waiting for something to pop up like a ping pong ball in a lottery draw. If I spend too much time thinking about it, I get stuck, or come up with lame ideas. The best stuff comes out of zero time and lots of pressure.
6. What kind of music do YOU like to listen to?
Well, when I’m not listening to Kids Place Live on SiriusXM, I’m listen to The Bridge, because sometimes, I just need to dial it back a notch, ya know? And by ‘a notch’ I mean back to the 1975. When I want to crank it UP a notch, I listen to Jam On. The songs on that channel are so long that one time I aged a whole year, had all of my canned food expire, AND grew a beard before the song was even over. How crazy is that?! I love that channel.
7. Based on your performance in Recess Monkey’s Flapjacks, have you ever considered applying for Next Food Network Star?
One time I burned cereal. And that’s all I have to say about that.
8. Can you turn it on?
Most people say that I can’t turn it off.
Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas with Wow in the World!
Thank you Mindy for an absolutely fabulous #8isEnoughQuestions interview and don’t forget to check out Mindy’s new Wow in the World podcast with Guy Raz of NPR! If you have missed any of our other #8isEnoughQuestions interviews with authors like Daniel Pinkwater and artists like Lisa Loeb, Andrew & Polly, Caspar Babypants, Justin Roberts, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Emily Arrow, Mista Cookie Jar, The Not Its, Mike Phirman, Danny Weinkauf of They Might Be Giants, Turkey Andersen, Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, Bryan Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, Play Date, Recess Monkey, Greg Page (Original Yellow Wiggle), Rissi Palmer, Jim Cosgrove, and Tim Kubart, be sure to check them out! What if you like interviews with celebrity chefs like Fabio Viviani, recipes, or travel stories about amazing destinations? You can find all of this and more at fullvanfun.com as well. Finally, don’t forget sign up for our mailing list so you don’t miss any of our Full Van Fun!
Photo credits: Tinkercast, LLC and Full Van Fun
