In 2017, Jeff Klemm decided he needed a break.
After a decade of performing as a solo musician and in local bands – most notably with Maid Myriad, Diamond Kites and Jeff Klemm & The Letters – Klemm decided to take a break from what he dubbed “sad” and “heartbreaky” music.
The impetus behind this decision was the birth of his first child in 2016. “I didn’t really want to project the sadness onto my kids,” said Klemm, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls with his wife, Jillian, and their three kids. “So I didn’t really want to sing those sad songs anymore.”
This led to a career change for Klemm, who began teaching preschool in 2017. Initially, he didn’t tell many people at his job that he was a musician because he wanted to focus on learning the ropes of his new field. But once he realized how well his students learned through music, he began incorporating it into his lessons.
“You can put anything to music, and the kids will learn it better. So we were just constantly writing songs in my preschool class. … Like, we gotta learn this concept. Let’s put it to music if there isn’t already a tune to it. And then the kids just go around singing it all day,” Klemm said. “And it was something that I really, really enjoyed. It’s not very sad. It’s really happy, and it really reflects the humorous, goofy side of my personality in a way that I feel like those grown-up songs did not.”
From the classroom to the stage
In 2018, Klemm took his performances out of the classroom and began performing original children’s songs under the moniker Mr. Jeff. After years of playing “grown-up music” for crowds of laid-back and often stationary adults, performing for children was eye-opening for Klemm.
“When you’re performing for kids, they’ll let you know if they like it immediately. Or they’ll let you know if they don’t like it immediately. There’s nobody more honest than kids,” he said. “But I love that instant reaction to music that kids have. They’re not embarrassed. They’re not jaded. They’re just excited at what’s happening and what the energy is.”
On Friday, Klemm will release “Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful,” his first album as Mr. Jeff. The album is a family affair. His two older kids sing lead and background vocals on the record, and Jillian designed the artwork. Klemm will mark the release with a concert at House Three Thirty Saturday.
Mr. Jeff aims to inspire kids through music
Songs like “Loud in the Library” and “Poppin’ Bubbles” inspire kids to get up and get moving, while “Do What Big Kids Do” and “Lose The ’Tude/Relax” aim to help kids express their emotions.
The songs are fun, energetic and silly, and they’re accompanied by bright and frenetic music videos. (Klemm plans to release a music video for each song. So far, he’s released three.) And while his songs are for the kiddos, they have the added benefit of being pretty enjoyable for adults, too. Just try not to sing along to “Loud in the Library” when the second chorus hits.
“A lot of these songs are punk rock in nature because that’s some of the first music that I fell in love with,” Klemm said. “So when I started making music for kids, I sort of went back to that time in my life that made me [say, ‘Wow, this is fast, and I just wanna run around.’”
Klemm has worn many different hats in his music career, and he knows some people are likely puzzled by his foray into children’s music. After all, as he said, he went from writing songs for his “sad drinking buddies in college” to writing songs for their kids.
But for him, it’s been a wonderful (wonderful, wonderful) decision.
“I love it, Klemm said. “I’m having the time of my life so far.”
