AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The children's TV show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" premiered in 2007, and from the beginning, music was always at its heart.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PARTY IN MY TUMMY (FEAT. SILVERSUN PICKUPS)")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, SILVERSUN PICKUPS, ET AL: (Singing) There's a party in my tummy. So yummy. So yummy. Now, there's a party in my tummy. So yummy. So yummy. There's a party in my tummy.
RASCOE: The show brought musicians on to sing their own versions of the "Yo Gabba Gabba!" songbook, from Erykah Badu and My Chemical Romance to Anderson .Paak and, as you're hearing now, Silversun Pickups.
RASCOE: The show's reboot, "Yo Gabba GabbaLand," has just entered its second season, and we have its creators, Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, here to talk to us about the importance of music to the show's success. Thank you both for joining us.
CHRISTIAN JACOBS: Thank you.
SCOTT SCHULTZ: Thanks for having us.
RASCOE: Why was it important particularly for kids to have that fusion of the music and not just - although, a lot of kids' music can be pretty good. Some of it's not so much. We don't want to name names, but some of it can be pretty good.
JACOBS: Yeah.
RASCOE: So why did you want to have that fusion for kids?
JACOBS: Well, this is Christian. You know, being young fathers ourselves at the time, we remember "Sesame Street" and the shows we grew up watching, "Electra Company" and even "Pee-wee's Playhouse," and things like this that where the music was such a strong component to the show. But we also were listening to music with our kids at home.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWITCH IT ON AND OFF")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, HEMLOCKE SPRINGS, ET AL: (Singing) Turn the light on.
JACOBS: You know, whether it was LA disco from the '80s or early hip-hop, or even, like, Ramones and punk rock stuff, it was kind of those simple beats that really made our kids jump around and dance and have a dance party. And that was really the impetus to wanting to make a kids' show was really reacting to what our own kids were listening to with us at home and what they were responding to.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWITCH IT ON AND OFF")
ROBERTSON, JACOBS, HEMLOCKE SPRINGS, ET AL: (Singing) Turn on the light. Turn on the light. Turn on the light. Turn the light on.
JACOBS: It just didn't seem like, at the time, there was something filling that gap for our own kids.
RASCOE: And so now Chicano Batman joined you on the show.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
RASCOE: I think we have a clip of that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMETIMES TURTLES EAT WAFFLES")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, CHICANO BATMAN, ET AL: (Singing) Sometimes turtles eat waffles. Sometimes. Sometimes eat it in the rain. In the rain, in the rain, yeah. Sometimes turtles eat waffles. Delicious.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: Sometimes turtles eat waffles. Like, what's the lesson of that song?
SCHULTZ: Yeah. This is Scott. I mean, I would say, "Yo Gabba Gabba!", we just love absurd fun, just absurdity and, like, having fun with our kids. I think experiencing life sometimes is all the learning you need.
JACOBS: Yeah, definitely. And one of our writers, Alrinthea Carter, came in one day. She was wearing a shirt that said, sometimes turtles eat waffles, and it had a funny turtle eating a waffle. And it just made us all laugh, and it just was kind of the spirit of the show, you know, just fun and silly. And just a little reminder to our kids that, like, like turtles, we don't always have to eat the same things or do the same things as everybody else, and sometimes we can eat waffles or we can eat turtle salad or whatever it is.
RASCOE: And the original run had Weezer, Devo, The Roots, Bootsy Collins. "Yo Gabba GabbaLand!" has already featured Thundercat and Portugal, The Man. How do you decide, or do you cast a wide net and just see who says yes?
SCHULTZ: Yeah. This is Scott. You know, for us, we were always trying to do something fun and silly and nontraditional for kids. So for us, we kind of cast a wide net, and really, we're not choosing people to be on the show based on their star factor. It's really who's there for the kids and who's having fun with us. That's kind of how we approach it, and it's been just magical the whole way through with bands.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE ORANGE CAT'S SPECIAL TIME OUTDOORS")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, THUNDERCAT, ET AL: (Singing) I am an orange cat. I like to roam beneath green trees, beneath the blue skies. I am an orange cat.
JACOBS: You know, Thundercat, Portugal. The Man - everyone jumped at the chance to come hang out with us and play in the sandbox a little bit. And it really matters to the show and to the objective of the show, and that's, you know, to help kids and have fun and get them moving and also help them learn a little bit.
RASCOE: And here's a bit of the song "Thank You Is Enough."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THANK YOU IS ENOUGH")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, SANTIGOLD, ET AL: (Singing) So if you really mean it, thank your friends. Now, let's repeat it. Thank you is enough. For real, say it. Thank you is enough. For real, say it.
RASCOE: And that was Santigold performing it from this season. Why did you want to get so many artists involved in the program rather than rely on some regulars?
SCHULTZ: Yeah. Having these people on the show that have kids and they kind of really want to be there for the kids is really what we're here for. So that's the fun for us, is seeing kids having fun together with real music, dancing with their parents, with their brothers and sisters, just kind of experiencing life through music.
JACOBS: This is Christian. You know, we've got our main characters and our host, Kammy Kam, who do a great job singing songs and doing things theirselves. So there's just so much music in every segment of the show. It's - and it's fun when we are able to have a Santigold or a Portugal, the Man or Thundercat show up. It just makes it even funner to dance with our main characters. So, yeah, there's just tons of music going on all the time in the show because it's musical. It really is.
RASCOE: When people think about children's entertainment, it's changed so much, I mean, even from 2007 to now. How does "Yo Gabba GabbaLand!" approach that and think about that because the entertainment environment for children has changed so much?
JACOBS: Scott, you want to go first?
SCHULTZ: Yeah. I'll jump in. That's a great question. I think where we're at is it's less about trying to hold kids' attention and trying to distract them. And I think what "Gabba" is offering is, hey, let's just take a timeout and dance together, listen to some music, be silly, play and experience life. And I feel like that's what "Gabba's" offering.
JACOBS: Yeah. And if I could just jump in too, beyond the dancing and movement, we also want to introduce kids to the notion that you can go out there and find new things and learn new things on your own. But we want to inspire kids to explore, you know, and to learn new things and be excited about discovering new things and discovering new ways of dancing and having fun and have a good time and then maybe, you know, go find out a little bit more about the world. That's really what we want to do.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WE'RE SO GLAD WE GOT TO GO")
LANCE ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN JACOBS, THE AQUABATS!, ET AL: (Singing) We're so glad we got to go.
RASCOE: That's Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, the creators of "Yo Gabba GabbaLand!" It's now available on Apple TV+. Thanks so much for joining us.
JACOBS: All right. Thank you.
SCHULTZ: Thanks for having us.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WE'RE SO GLAD WE GOT TO GO")
ROBERTSON, JACOBS, THE AQUABATS!, ET AL: (Singing) Even if our journey's over, our friendship... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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