Hangin' with Mr. Richard

How do you get one-hundred young kids into a bookstore to sing and dance at eleven in the morning? Book Mr. Richard and his band to play.

Coming into the café area of Borders Bookstore on Friday morning it was easy to see that this wasn’t your run of the mill storyteller or children’s performer. Richard Peeples, or Mr. Richard, is the foremost children’s act in the greater Orlando area and he is expanding from show to show. The store was packed and every kid was dancing and singing his songs, pretty much word for word.

“The kids seem to know the songs better than me sometimes,” Peeples joked when asked about his following. “We have an e-mail list of about 1,300 and were hoping to expand it to 5,000.”

With the way things looked on Friday that does not seem like a far stretch.

Peeples’ show lasts about a half an hour and he performs around eight songs. Children are free to come up to the dance area, which is right in front of the band, and dance and sing their hearts out. Peeples is very interactive with the kids and he knows the regulars by name.

Peeples got into performing for children about eight years ago when he was a storyteller for the Orange County Library. Since then he has recorded three albums of children’s music and as you can tell by coming to one of his shows, they have become very popular.

Formerly a solo act, Peeples has now assembled a band. His bassist is Rachel Webb who joined the band last December when her daughter was put in a video for Peeples and he then found out she was a bass player. His drummer is Rick Hartig and he joined the band around the same time as Webb. His kids were already big fans of Peeples’ music.

“He has such a huge following,” said Webb when asked about the success of Mr. Richard. But Peeples and his band are still looking to expand.

Peeples plays on average about five shows a week and has performed in New York, Connecticut, and New Orleans, just to name a few. Peeples is also in the midst of recording his fourth album, the first with his new band.

Peeples’ music is described as kid’s music but with a more ‘pop’ feel to it. It’s not your run of the mill cheesy children’s music like The Wiggles. He has a label based out of New Orleans that distributes his CDs but he does most of his work at his live shows where he hands out stickers, T-shirts, and copies of his album.

“My kids get so excited when I tell them that Mr. Richard is coming to our area,” said Margaret Wilde of Altamonte Springs, “It’s really a great show and the kids have so much fun with it.”

When it comes to children's music in Orlando, Mr. Richard is ahead of the pack but he isnt't satisfied as he is still looking to play more shows and to a wider group of children.

Peeples plays shows at bookstores, fast food restaurants, or children’s parties. You can find out more about where he is playing and what is going on with his music at ttp://www.mrrichard.net where there is more information on him.