Spencer the Gardener’s Organic Gangster Returns
Second Album of Kid-Focused Songs About Food, Farming, and More
Spencer “the Gardener” Barnitz remains a fixture of Santa Barbara’s homegrown music scene, which the Mesa-raised singer/songwriter entered back in the 1980s. A decade ago, after years of playing sunshine-kissed, Latin-infused, utterly unique pop-rock-jazz-funk, he busted into a brand-new genre — children’s music — by releasing Organic Gangster, a fun-loving, singalong album of catchy tunes about food, farming, nature, and more.
This year, Barnitz unveiled Organic Gangster Vol. 2, and has been hitting the family-friendly circuit hard. Here, he reflects on this unlikely evolution.
What prompted you to record music for kids? When I released the first Organic Gangster in 2009, I had no idea how many bands and solo artists had recorded kid and family-type records. Almost everyone! If I would have looked into it, I might not have continued.
