Who is James Funnyhat? Well my actual name is James Patterson and I am a children's musician & storyteller based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Typically, I perform for 300 - 500 children every week. That may sound a bit crazy and extremely exhausting but I love every minute of it. Young people have such an overflowing, genuine enthusiasm they give back all the energy many times over. At the end of the day, I still have lots to give to my beautiful and inspiring wife, Kathy, our daughter, Sage, and son, Reed.
For some reason there was always an inherent ability to connect with children. I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba back in the 70's when things were not quite so organized and structured as they seem to be today. Instead of a regime of lessons and classes kids had much more unsupervised free time to run around in parks and play independently.
Later, as a teenager, I developed a passion for music and learned to play guitar, piano, accordion, and other instruments. This turned into a life-long hobby that brought much satisfaction but that I never expected would turn into a career.
At one point, a friend of ours asked my wife and I to play music for her toddler. We were happy to do it but wanted to open it up to the whole neighborhood so we joined up with another friend of ours and put on a show for the public in cafe.
Today, I am constantly learning new songs, writing new songs, writing stories and learning new stories to tell. I feel very privileged to be able to use my talents fully with the most spontaneous and joyful audience on earth: children.
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