The Poodlums: Rockin’ Music Therapy
By Jordan Venema Photography by Samantha DeLeon Photography | SamanthaDeleonPhotography.wordpress.com
The Poodlums break down musical equipment as children approach them shyly. “I just wanted to say you guys did really good,” one fan tells Anne, while another asks Jason if she can touch his guitar. Even after a 45-minute, middleof-the-day, height-of-afternoon-heat performance, Jason doesn’t skip a beat. “Sure,” he smiles, “go ahead!” The April 30 Colonial Heights Library concert didn’t attract the largest crowd, didn’t garner media headlines; there were no synchronized lights or fog machines, but that didn’t stop the audience from clapping hands and stomping feet. Otherwise, they sat cross-legged, just out of reach of the two rock stars who pulled props from their trunk faster than a magician can pull a rabbit from a hat. Like Beyoncé or Gaga, The Poodlums put on a true performance, and an outfit for every song. They donned pirate hats and eye patches, aprons and oven mitts, and umbrellas attached by headbands. The married couple just as well could call themselves The Band Of Many Hats, but went with Poodlums instead, a name inspired by their pet dogs. “Basically we have two standard poodles and they act like hoodlums. So Poodlums,” Jason says matter-of-factly. Murray and Dina even make cameos in their
shows, though stuffed animal versions, they are brought to life with some pretty impressive amateur ventriloquism. The board certified music therapists began writing music in 2007 after a music therapy program at Alta California Regional Center lost its funding. “That program kind of tanked after the economy crashed,” says Anne, “so we thought this is a really great way to reach out to the little ones, to be able to write songs that are educational.”
And while The Poodlums actively write educational songs with special needs children in mind, “it also turns out a lot of kids without special needs like it, too,” says Anne. And if you’ve caught a Poodlums performance, you’d understand why. continued on page 20
So Anne and Jason began writing songs incorporating the principles of music therapy, songs that encourage motor participation and coordination with rhythm and beats. “People with special needs really respond to music because the rhythm actually organizes motor output,” explains Anne. “All those things”—like clapping, stomping, jumping to music—“help create new pathways in your brain.”
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