CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 152: LENNY PEARCE ON THE PERFECT FORMULA FOR TODDLER TECHNO
Interview by Brooke Gibbs.
Pioneer of Toddler Techno and Baby Raves, the multi-Platinum and ARIA-nominated LENNY PEARCE (a dad, a DJ, former Justice Crew member, and twin brother of the purple wiggle, John Pearce), is currently on his national REEF RAVE tour, joined by SpongeBob SquarePants in celebration of SpongeBob’s 25th anniversary.
We sat down with Lenny to talk all about it.
FMM: Thanks so much for making the time to chat with me about your Reef Rave tour. How are you feeling and what are you most looking forward to?
Lenny: I’m so excited. So, it's a reef rave. It's a family rave for all ages as young as newborn babies to grandparents. It's an underwater theme. There's going to be giveaways. It's also in collaboration with Nickelodeon, so we're celebrating 25 years of SpongeBob. There's a tattoo corner with the fake tattoos and stuff. Heaps of entertainment for the young kids and music for everybody, so any questions?
FMM: [Laughs] Yeah, I have a few, but that sounds very exciting. It heals my big kid heart. I’m not a toddler, obviously, but I’d love to come out and rave!
Lenny: And I think with SpongeBob as well, he kind of hits all ages and he has this cool factor as well. Like, it's not for babies or it's not just for young kids; it's like you could enjoy it and there's heaps of jokes in there. The tone of the show is really cool.
FMM: Spongebob's been around for 25 years, so is there a favourite SpongeBob moment that you have that you're most excited to share in this tour?
Lenny: Nothing in particular. I think it's like I've done a few remixes of some of the known songs in there, and I'm gonna do a lot of sampling of SpongeBob and Patrick and stuff throughout the show, which could be really cool and unique, so I'm excited to incorporate him in that way as well and also sing him a happy birthday with everybody.
FMM: You mentioned you like dressing up, so if you had to come up with the ultimate underwater rave outfit, what would it look like, and would SpongeBob approve?
Lenny: So I would definitely have… Well, I always have my braid in, so my thick braid. Maybe the colours of like, blue and purple and white. Maybe something that glows in the dark. I don't know. I have heaps of ideas in mind. Like you can dress up as like a mermaid or a fish or a shark. My mind just throws so many ideas, it's hard to latch onto one, but definitely the braid. What would you do? What would you wear?
FMM: I've always loved his house. I feel like I would just dress up as a pineapple and just sing ‘who lives in a pineapple under the sea?’ throughout the whole concert.
Lenny: Yeah, true. That's a good one. Might actually cut up some pineapples as well.
FMM: I feel like a lot of people would dress up as Squidward. You can't go wrong with that, right?
Lenny: Yeah, yeah, he's the villain.
FMM: We hear that SpongeBob himself may be making an appearance at some stage, so what kind of backstage shenanigans do you imagine happening when a DJ and a sponge meet?
Lenny: Backstage shenanigans? There's no rules. We just go over some TikTok ideas, some dances and I might throw some water on him and see how quick it absorbs, push up challenge. I don't know. We'll see.
FMM: You're the architect of toddler techno, so how do you make sure the beats are bouncy enough for the kids but also funky enough for the parents? And is there a secret toddler-approved bass drop you have?
Lenny: So, this one's tricky. It's actually quite challenging to make a cheesy nursery rhyme sound cool. So I make sure that the beat and the bass line hit my ears. Because I'm a parent, I am the demographic. So if I feel like it sounds cool and the melody and the words are easy to recognise by toddlers, I test it out on my two year old and then you've got the perfect formula. As long as the kids see the parents having fun because the bass hits and I think it's just like a feeling when I'm making music, I make sure that it kind of caters to both.
FMM: It’s perfect that you've got your own young one that you can test it out on and just see what the reaction's like.
Lenny: Yeah, yeah. So I always keep it in mind with her because with young kids, their attention is very, very small and they're just always trying to do something else. It’s trying to keep their attention, but also making it vibey.
FMM: Did you get into this from the perspective of a parent and noticing the gap or how did you go from Justice Crew to techno raves for kids?
Lenny: So there's quite a big gap. Justice Crew happened 2010, so 14 years ago, and we had our peak 2014. And then since then, we kind of declined, but I was focusing on music production and trying to pursue being a DJ, like an electronic DJ. So from the gap of 2016 until, like, ongoing, I've just been trying to pursue music production, so I've been heavily into that. Then I had my daughter two years ago, so having a newborn at home while I'm trying to make banging beats in the studio next door, it just kind of happened organically. I just wanted to see what it was like if I can turn something kiddish into something banging.
FMM: Obviously, the kids love it. Has there ever been a standout moment when you've looked into the audience and you've seen a young kid just completely raving and losing it?
Lenny: All the time. It's like a mixture, though. So you see, it could be a toddler the same age, and one's going wild and having a good time, and then one's just statically staring at you. So it's kind of like you have to… As a performer, it’s hard to perform to someone staring at you like that. And I understand kids because I have my kids, so sometimes they're a bit more introverted and they're not showing it. I think everyone shows their enthusiasm in different ways. But, yeah, I see a range of sleeping babies to raving babies.
FMM: I like that it appeals to all ages because I remember one time your Wheels on the Bus remix came on in the car, and I was with my friend and her toddler in the back, and the toddler wanted no part of it, but my friend and I were vibing and the toddler's looking at us like, what are you girls doing?
Lenny: It's crazy with toddlers, right? It depends when you introduce toys or music to them. And I find that with them, whatever's familiar is what they like. So if you show it to them a few times, then they go, ah, I know this one. They'll have fun with it. But anything new, they'll just be like, what's this?
FMM: As you have your mix of Justice Crew songs and now toddler rave music, do you feel like in 10 years from now, you'll be in a never ending loop of children requesting you to play children’s music?
Lenny: I don't know, I mean, people are still asking me to play Justice Crew now, so yeah, I'd imagine in 10 years time they might just say, I'll play that throwback one. It just depends what's in. Techno might be out and maybe I'm doing dubstep.
FMM: As a DJ who remixes children's songs, do you ever find yourself in a showdown of characters like Spongebob and Paw Patrol for who has the best theme song? Who would you say has the crown for the best theme song?
Lenny: Oh, that's a hard one. I mean, I'm very fascinated with how theme songs are made. I wouldn't say I have a favourite in particular, but they all hit a different spot. I feel like the Paw Patrol ones are based around the punk sound like the 2000 and that 1990s kind of punk sound. And Spongebob, it’s just very fascinating to see how they all vary. I don’t have one specific one, because I’m not gonna pick any favourites.
FMM: I know your toddler is quite young, but I'd love to know what she thinks and if she thinks she has the coolest Dad with your Reef Rave Tour?
Lenny: With her, because my twin brother, her uncle, is the Purple Wiggle, so she’s been at their studio often and John always comes here, but she’s not starstruck or anything at all. I think with lots of toddlers, they don’t have that bone in them. They don’t feel starstruck. They don't put people above anybody else, which is really fascinating, so I don't know if she thinks that yet. She's just like, so isn't everybody on TV or isn't everybody doing that?
FMM: And lastly, without giving too much away, tell us what you have in store for the the Reef Rave tour.
Lenny: Lots of new remixes. I'm trying to stick to the theme of underwater. We've got a massive inflatable octopus on stage. Lots of other inflatables, lots of games. So if you miss out, you just miss out on the fun. No one wants to have FOMO, right? You don’t want to miss out on a moment that could just go viral on TikTok, you know? Because once you’ve seen it on TikTok and it’s already happened, it’s too late to go back and wish you went to that.
