LEPRECHAUN
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and stuff like that. I went
through that stage. But
from then on it was basi-
cally entertainment... any-
thing I believed in was
done in an entertaining
way. And hopefully I got
the point across."
Today, he makes his
points by mixing music
with a large helping of
humor. Although the com-
edy is often adult orient-
ed, Mr. Coden says "it's a
kinder and gentler" kind
of humor. He also tries to
avoid politics. "People get
politics in the papers.
Basically, my job is just to
entertain."
Although he laments
the diminished interest in
mainstream folk music,
Mr. Coden is finding new
and receptive audiences —
among children. Teamed
with fellow Raven alum
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When you're
hugging your
parents, dancing
or singing — the
message is coming
through.
Josh White Jr., the duo
present shows that pro-
mote family unity through
music. Mr. Coden, 50,
admits that it makes him
"feel old" to sing old songs
to young kids, but he says
it's the best way to perpet-
uate the folk tradition.
"We do a lot of the older
folk songs because the
kids haven't heard them.
At night, when you sing
"Michael Row the Boat
Ashore" or "This Little
Light of Mine" for adults,
you get one kind of reac-
tion. They say: 'Oh, I
remember that.' Then I
perform (those songs) for
kids who have never
heard them, and I get
great responses. It's
brand-new material for
them. That's the folk tra-
dition in a nutshell. It's
the oral tradition of keep-
ing songs alive."
Mr. Coden says he and
Mr. White offer family
programming that encour-
ages close relationships
between parents and chil-
dren. He hopes parents
won't drop their kids off
and pick them up when a
show is over. "It's the
closeness of the family
group that we're pushing
for," Mr. Coden says. "But
the big thing is entertain-
ment...so we do a little for
the adults and a little for
the children.
"When you're hugging
your parents, dancing
with them, or singing
songs about families —
just getting together and
loving — the message is
coming through. But it's
coming through in an
entertaining way, so we're
not beating anybody over
the head with our mes-
sage."
The children's program
offers another subtle les-
son, about understanding
the differences between
people. Mr. White is
African-American, bald
and heavy-set. Mr. Coden
is diminutive, with a full
head of hair. The contrast
allows them to make an
important point with very
few words.
"There's an underlying
theme that Josh is black
and I'm white. But we
don't make a thing about
it on stage. We talk about
the fact that we look dif-
ferent — he has a bald
head and I have hair...but
we don't say: 'Look kids. A
black man sitting with a
white guy. Isn't that
something.' By not point-
ing it out directly, we
think we're saying
enough."
The team of Coden and
White recently filmed a
family program for
Channel 56, Detroit's pub-
lic television affiliate.
"Josh and Ron's Family
Adventure" aired in
March. It featured many
of the songs from their
album "My Favorite Toy."
Mr. Coden says they're
hoping to sell the program
to other public television
stations across the coun-
try.
A self-taught singer and
guitar player, Mr. Coden
started performing at
weddings, bar mitzvahs
and other family func-
tions. He toured the coun-
try, performing as the
opening act for musical
names such as Ahmad
Jamal and Doc
Severinson. Later, he
became a headliner at the
Ice House club in Los
Angeles.
Mr. Coden received a
bachelor of science degree
in elementary education
from Wayne State
University. But the lure of
show business kept him
out of the classroom. "If
there's something inside a
person that makes him
perform, that will come
out," he says. "And there's
nothing a person can do to
keep someone from enter-
taining."