Each month we’ll feature a video from one of GAC’s musical members. If you’re a musician and have a video you’d like us to feature, please send a YouTube link our way along with a short bio.
This month, we visit another of last month’s Hillside Homeside performers – Mr. J – who has been broadcasting live performances on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also has new recorded audio and video material coming out soon for people of all ages to enjoy. Today we visit Mr. J’s version of a song that many of us will know and love – the Peter, Paul, and Mary classic “Puff the Magic Dragon” – so we encourage everyone to sing along.
Mr. J
Mr. J has been a full-time classroom teacher for more than 15 years – and hobby musician for many more. With an exceptional ability to command a room, Mr. J puts on a performance that gets children (of all ages) singing, dancing, and clapping along with his infectious positive spirit and songs.
Learning to play the drums in an Elementary School Marching Band led Mr. J on a lifelong passion to pursue more musical understanding. Drums led into guitar and singing – which resulted in attempting to learn how to play any instrument that became available (from the ukulele to the clarinet).
Stories, books and music have always played an integral connection between the arts. Mr. J performs read out loud books and stories with the same passion as the song.
For more information and updates on what Mr. J is up to, visit the official Mr. J website. Also, don’t forget that Bandcamp will be forgoing their share of artist sales on the first Friday of each month until the end of 2020, so please visit that platform to support many of your favourite Guelph musicians.
We’re certain this will bring many of us back to childhood, and we hope everyone remembers the beauty of imagination as we enjoy Mr. J’s rendition of “Puff the Magic Dragon”
