Bill Harley's Dirty Joe the Pirate

On our way to Philly last week I popped in Bill Harley's "Blah, Blah, Blah." disc. I had a feeling my three active boys would take a shine to it, but didn't expect they'd be completely attentive for THE ENTIRE TRIP! Yes, indeed there was family harmony & QUIET for an hour. Back at home my 5 yr old insisted I read "Dirty Joe the Pirate" again to him. So, I had a few questions for the Grammy Award winning Bill Harley

1) Is this story autobiographical? What was your inspiration?

Nope – I don’t have sisters – I have a brother older and younger. And really, when I started writing the poem, I didn’t know where it was going. When it was time for something to happen, Stinky Annie showed up.

2) Often in your stories siblings are big pests. How were your brothers?

My little brother was a pest, but really not horribly- I do remember enjoying getting him mad at me. My older brother was always very kind, and hardly ever teased me.

3) How did you manage to have girl pirates swipe boys underwear & keep it rated G?

Living as close as I can to what’s not allowed, but not going completely over the edge – that’s my job. And remember, I just use words – you make the pictures in your head, and I don’t have control over those. That’s what’s great about stories.

4) Speaking of rated ARRRGH, I think I found Barbie's Head. How much is it worth to ya?

Well, I’ve been offered more than one Barbie’s head – there seem to be a lot disconnected from the body. This is a little troubling to me, but I think there is a life cycle to all Barbies, and the unattached head is one of the final stages.

5) Do we have another book or CD to look forward to? What's on the drawing board?

Yep. Just finished a dvd and cd of a live performance which will be out later in the summer. I’ve got a new book, Night of the Spadefoot Toads, coming out this fall, and am working on recording of songs for the grownups, due out in November. Then I plan to do nothing.

6) Where can folks see you?

I know where I am only for tomorrow, but if you look at my schedule on my website, you can see.

Thanks Bill!

Check out the site: http://www.billharley.com/

Oh...don't miss out on the "Dirty Joe the Pirate" Poetry Contest: http://www.billharley.com/dirtyjoethepirate.htm

Thanks, Cory!

That crazy PIC.
That incredible story.
Best of all, the Fishy Wishy song: Exclusive Song Demo


Happy April Fools, everyone!

Doctor Noize a/k/a Cory, The new Wiggle!

News flash!

The Wiggles have chosen ...Doctor Noize a/k/a Cory!

Press release:

Wow, do I have some big news for you this month! Here are this month's Top Five Noizy Thingz...

1) Doctor Noize Joining The Wiggles!
I wanted the Noizemakers to be the first to know of the amazing career development that has just been presented to me: I am joining The Wiggles. It has all happened very quickly and unexpectedly, and I am as shocked as you are by all this, so let me explain...

2) The Inside Story! (Noizemakers Exclusive)
To thank you all for your support over the year(s), I have been given permission by the legal team to give you the exclusive inside scoop on all this before the official announcement in May. So here it is: Those in the know know (is writing "know know" a "no no"?) that things have been a bit squiggly in the Wiggly world for the last several months. This is because, quite simply, a creative rift occurred between the founding members of the band.

3) Murray's Choice
Hip parents know Murray. He's the Wiggle who plays an instrument. Anxious for a new creative direction after 16 years on the road with The Wiggles, Murray wanted to go in more of a "wiggly wiggly wip wop" direction to urbanize the sound and appeal more to kids in the big city streets whose parents never buy children's music. But the other three members held firm and wanted to honor their time-tested "wiggly wiggly woo hoo" style. And being a band of four white guys from Australia who can't dance, the "woo hoo's'" won out. So after this tour, Murray is bidding farewell to the band he co-founded to start his own band, which has a working title of "The Booty Cuties." Needless to say, Murray is this month's Noizemaker Of The Month, for messing up a good gig and opening the door for me to step into the block-colored shirt. Here's to you, mate!

4) My New Persona!
This is where I come in. In privately assessing a host of possible replacements, the Wiggles Management Team ascertained that I had made a quick splash on the scene but that my career was still relatively in its infancy. In other words, I was market tested, but had a small enough share of the market that nobody would really care if I stopped. So I guess you could say the stars were aligned and it was my lucky day. They rung me up and the rest is history. In marketing meetings down under, we’ve already determined my Wiggles personality: I’m gonna be Cory, the rebel American Wiggle with the Miami Vice stubble beard. Also, sometimes I will wear a striped shirt instead of a block color. Because I just can’t be contained. Exclusive for Noizemakers, here's a sneek peek of an early promo picture. Note that I'm takin' over the red shirt, but I'm takin' it in a new direction: My own!

5) My New Artistic Direction!
I realize one or two of you will be disappointed that the next Phineas CD will never be released, which means you'll never learn the end of the story (that's part of my contractual agreement). But I'm sure you'll understand that I have to do what's best for my family, which is to make a bunch of money and be off on tour most of the year meeting "Woupies" (Wiggle groupies). And the music I contribute to The Wiggles will be more geared toward the average mass market listener -- you know, the ones whose favourite classical composer is Andrew Lloyd Webber. Click here for an Exclusive Song Demo featuring some characters I'm developing for the Wiggles canon -- The Fishy Wishies, a multicultural and politically correct group of Five Fin-tastic Fishies who sing about proper behavior. I hope you love it!
More soon, I promise. Thanks for yer support from yer buddy for life,
Doctor Noize a/k/a Cory "The American"