"I spend a lot of time with kids," he says — including his two sons, who begin fourth grade and kindergarten this month, and the students he works with as a teaching artist in the St. Louis Public Schools. "I'm really at home with that population and want to amplify their voices — not just to tell them whatever I can teach but to glean from their experiences."
All of which is to say, when Mark Pagano tells you what kids are into, you should listen. And his tip for late summer 2023 is one word: axolotl.
Don't let the complicated-looking word scare you; it's largely phonetic (ax-uh-lotl). If you'll pardon some anthropomorphism, the Mexican salamanders who carry the name might be the cutest little buggers you've ever seen, with a little ring of appendages that look like tufts of hair and wide, friendly cartoon-like eyes.
Pagano's older son's classroom had a pair of axolotls last year, which gave him insight into their popularity (not to mention their care — a dirty tank sent one of the class pets into an early metamorphosis, which is not recommended). When an axolotl was introduced on Minecraft last year, Pagano knew he was onto something. He's now convinced his catchy new single, "Axolotl," has viral potential. "TikTok, here we come," he jokes.
The single is part of Pagano's new album, Aqua Phonic, which received support from the St. Louis Regional Arts Council and debuts on streaming platforms August 13. It also fits neatly into Pagano's personal mythology. As lead singer for the family friendly St. Louis band Fire Dog, Pagano helped craft the earworm "Hellbender," which celebrates the battling-back-from-endangered Missouri salamander. And Pagano's solo release as Marko Polo, 2020's Mammal Music, contained a winning track called "Salamander Moves." "I feel like there's a larger salamander work in here," Pagano jokes. (Actually, he's probably not joking.)
As with Mammal Music, Pagano traveled to upstate New York to record Aqua Phonic, working with Grammy-award-winning producer Dean Jones, who specializes in children's music. It offers eight tracks of Pagano's characteristically singable tunes — songs that kids love and adults may find to their surprise they actually like, too.
No matter what happens with the release, for the 42-year-old Shaw resident, it's already been a pretty great summer. Pagano released Mammal Music in March 2022, which may seem pretty recent but felt like a different world thanks to the lingering pandemic. He was able to book some gigs last summer, but they all came with asterisks noting they could well be canceled if COVID-19 case counts surged. That era is finally over, and he's also finally been able to make up some of the gigs that were canceled back in 2020.
"This is really the first summer that libraries are back to full capacity," he says, and when you're a kindie rock artist, public libraries are among your best venues. Pagano has recently played at libraries in Kansas City, Joplin and Columbia, as well as St. Louis city and county. "It's a good network to get into for performers," he says. "It's an opportunity for libraries to provide services for families, to get them into the library and get them some books. And it gives parents a nice cool place to take their kids." His trip to Columbia yielded back-to-back shows with 100-plus people at each. (It's not always like that, he hastens to add. "The libraries never really know who's going to show up.")
Libraries are also a good fit for an artist who wants to educate. Pagano's tracks don't just teach kids about science, although intelligent lyrics about animals are an ongoing theme. He's also interested in helping kids be good people who understand their sometimes raging emotions. "I try to have multiple layers of substance to dig into in a song," he says. Mammal Music's "Be Brave," co-written with Pagano's third-grade students at Washington Montessori Elementary, offers one great example.
"Axolotl" offers an equally good example of how Pagano doesn't just take inspiration from young people, but actually works with them to write songs. He credits middle schoolers in St. Louis Public Schools' Springboard to Learning program as co-writers on the track.
"I get a window into the kid world by working with them that way," he says — and that's what good kindie music is all about. Well, that and lots of salamanders.
You can stream Aqua Phonic wherever you get your music (including SoundCloud) beginning August 13. Pagano may also release a CD of the album; see markopolomusic.com for updates.
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