More about Greg Wiggle

I'm a bit surprised at my reaction to the news about Greg Page leaving the Wiggles. I dealt with it by doing some Wiggles-surfing--looking for pictures of Greg's replacement, Sam Moran, and for Wiggles videoes of Sam on YouTube. I wasn't all that successful, but I found a sweet article about a mom's reaction (and kids') reaction to when Sam understudied for Greg this summer. It made me realize why the Wiggles have captured my household. When this mom got to the concert with her kid, it was announced that Greg was ill and wouldn't be performing. She reported that the kids were disappointed, but that they enjoyed the concert, anyway.

It also impressed her that the Wiggles honestly and clearly explained what happened and why, and the kids accepted it. They never talked down to the kids and pretended that Sam Moran was Greg. I wondered yesterday if they're gonna call the new Yellow Wiggle "Greg," or use Sam's name. I suspect they're gonna use Sam's name, since it fits with their practice of not demeaning or talking down to children. I think that's one of the things I appreciate most about these guys. They deserve every bit of their tremendous success.

I read a hilarious article entitled "My First Sober Concert," also about a Wiggles concert experience. The author says it best here:

In the cesspool of children's entertainment the Wiggles are quite tolerable. In part this is because they appear organic - not the product of a corporate boardroom meeting. That would be the opposite of the terrifyingly insincere and creepy Barney or the Wiggles rip-off The Doodlebops - a soulless pre-fab show with two flaming gents with mops on their heads and a chubby girl dressed as a piano. Everything about The Doodlebops suggests it was designed to sell albums, concert tickets and merchandise.

This describes another reason I appreciate the Wiggles: they developed naturally, much like a rock garage band. They developed their career like a college band. They're committed to their audience, and they're the real deal.