Kickstarting a New Slugs and Bugs Record

Kickstarting a New Slugs and Bugs Record

by Randall Goodgame on August 22, 2011

It’s been six years since Andrew and I recorded Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies. Since then, I’ve discovered an abiding passion and mission in making music for families. I talked a little about it in the video for the Kickstarter page, but only ended up with a short monologue and a colorful gag reel. Here, however, I’ve organized my thoughts a bit better and have boiled my passion for the project down to the following four points:

1. Craft – I hope to offer quality musicianship to an audience (families) that will listen to these songs repeatedly over a period of years.  Repeated listening means influence, and I relish the opportunity to influence the kids with silliness and truth wrapped up in thoughtful songcraft.

2. Spiritual Truth – “What difference does Jesus make in my every-day life?” I’m still revisiting that question every day as an adult, so it’s inspiring to bring the question to kids through the medium of song. The songs do have to remain simple, but I’ve found that the spiritual simplicity is appreciated by parents.

3. Family Joy & Dialogue – Because I’m writing for both parents and kids, I hope they find common ground with Slugs & Bugs. Theoretically, if everyone is enjoying it, the silliness and melody of the songs will provide new ways to enjoy being together whether singing, dancing, or quoting lyrics (like my kids quote their favorite lines from The Princess Bride or Megamind).  Also, by writing about deep spiritual truths and focusing on “how we live with Jesus,” I hope to provide a context for family dialogue as the kids get older and begin to understand more deeply what the songs are saying.

4. Worldview Influence – By lumping all the silliness together with the spiritual, I hope to reinforce the truth of God’s presence throughout all creation – and all our lives.  The silly songs belong right next to the spiritual songs, because Christ’s influence persists during a trip to the mall, or a week at church camp, or a Monday morning at school.

I consider it a high honor to be included in the lives of so many families through the Slugs & Bugs music, and I take it very seriously – though not too seriously (the new record will be titled Slugs & Bugs Under Where? after all).   Here are a few of the song titles:

The Pajama Song
Where You Gonna Go
I’m Adopted
Lightning Bug
There’s a Hole in My Sock
Under Where?
Tell It To Jesus
Dizzy
I Wanna Help
God Made You Special
God Makes Messy Things Beautiful
Mexican Rhapsody

Andrew co-wrote some of these songs and will be singing along with me here and there. And at least once he will reprise his role as my foil a-la “Tractor Tractor.” But, as is so common these days, we need the support of fans to help finance the recording process. Peruse the Slugs & Bugs Kickstarter page and you’ll find one-time-only bulk CD deals as well as cool extras like coloring pages and video downloads, and every tier has value beyond the financial cost. We need to meet our goal in 44 days, so thank you for helping spread the word!  We truly can’t do it without you.

Click here to visit the Kickstart page.