Locals Only: : Life of the Potty

Local singer/songwriter Joan Whittaker’s music career is veering straight towards the toilet. But don’t worry; that’s exactly how she planned it. Her new CD, Miss Joanie’s Potty Party, is a children’s album featuring 10 fun songs aimed to help kids transition from diapers to the toilet. Though it’s her first foray into children’s music, the Bowling Green, Ohio, native has a lifetime of musical experience. After high school, she lived and played music in Finland. She later moved to New York City for eight years. While intending to pursue acting in the Big Apple, Whittaker gravitated toward music, performing frequently around Greenwich Village. While in New York, she scored a job at a private school, where she taught preschool through 12th grade.

Nine years ago, Whittaker moved to Cincinnati to be “closer to family and reasonable rent.” Here, she met guitarist Jason Erickson, her longtime musical collaborator; the duo performs around town as Hi Ho Sylvia and also hosts an open mic night at Habit’s Café in Oakley.

She also picked up her career in education, working at The Child’s Place Montessori School in Deerfield Twp., where, among other duties, she teaches music to toddlers and preschoolers.

Whittaker’s résumé makes the bridging of her work with children and music seem obvious, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that the idea for a children’s album about potty training hatched.

“While helping some kids potty train, I just started coming up with little songs, and it seemed to make the transition a lot happier,” she says. “And someone suggested I do a whole album, and I thought, ‘Well, interesting subject … but why not.’ So I wrote down 10 titles that I thought were issues and made myself write the songs.”

Whittaker says “transitions” will be a theme for her future work in kids’ music. She hopes to tackle subjects like going to the dentist or moving to a new neighborhood or city on future releases.

“I really think people have to give kids credit for the way they adapt, but also realize that it’s not easy,” she says. “For adults, they say it takes years off your life — every time you move or get married, it sucks some of your life away. So for kids, it’s tough. I don’t know what it is; maybe I’m just a big kid or something, but I kind of have a sense about what they’re feeling and what they go through.”

In a sea of dumbed-down children’s CDs, Potty Party — which features guitar, production, art design and arrangement work from Erickson, as well as special guests like local Grammy nominee Zak Morgan and the duo Entheos — stands out. Erickson and Whittaker commandingly utilize a plethora of styles (from ’50s Rock & Roll and Bluegrass to Swing and Reggae), and the songwriting and production is top notch, making it a step above the rote simplicity you’ll find in most kids’ music. “Adult-friendly” is a key selling point these days for kids’ music, and Whittaker says she definitely had that in mind.

“Some of the jokes go over (the kids’) heads a little bit and are meant for parents to enjoy,” she says. “I think (with) the music, we really wanted that to be something people could listen to in the mini-van many times and not go insane.”

Just as she believes children should be given credit for dealing with transitions, Whittaker says a child’s musical taste should not be underestimated. In her experience, she finds that kids appreciate music that is layered, well-produced and, of course, highly melodic. She says that, unlike when she was growing up, popular music doesn’t always offer those things for kids to latch onto.

“There’s a lot of non-melodic music out there today, and I think little kids don’t respond to radio as much as I did when I was little,” Whittaker says. “Kids respond to songs they can remember, which is my criteria for a good song anyway. I think when it comes to music, kids are pretty much as sophisticated as adults. It’s kind of an innate quality they have.”

This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2006.