Ben's Playlist - Thursday, January 1, 2015

Batteries Not Included – Recess Monkey
It Suits You – Gustafer Yellowgold
Iko Iko – Father Goose
If I Could Fly – Riff Rockit
I'm a Shark (I Rock, I Swim)  – ScribbleMonster
Fill It Up – Josh And The Jamtones
Nobody's Business – Rihanna Feat. Chris Brown
Closer To You  – Michael Franti & Spearhead

Kindie Quick Hits: Wake Up to Hear Suz Put You to Sleep, Alex Parties With His Baby

Sleep is a funny thing. Parents crave it, kids run from it. To get to a happy medium, countless children's musicians have crafted a host of lullaby and bedtime CDs. The latest artist to trek down that noble path is Suz Slezak, wife and co-proprietor of David Wax Museum.

Sounding like Enya on some tracks and a breathless Lisa Loeb on others, Suz uses a diverse range of influences on WATCHING THE NIGHTTIME COME. "That's No Way to Say Goodbye" comes by way of Leonard Cohen. "Caballito Blanco" is driven right from across the Mexican border. "Leather Winged Bat" resurrects a traditional American tune that most will have never heard about.

It's not a pure bedtime CD, more a quiet time disc for the evenings when the older folk want to defuse "bouncing off the walls time" with folk music. You even get some genuine cowboy music with "Jessie's Waltz," which would not be out of place in a period drama from the 1880s.

Suz was homeschooled in rural Virginia and has a natural affinity to the selections on her first solo CD. The self-styled "Mexo-Americana" music that Suz and her husband David's band create and perform has developed a celebrated niche. Play WATCHING THE NIGHTTIME COME at dusk so you can experience the day winding down in your family room.

WATCHING THE NIGHTTIME COME will be available February 10 from the David Wax Museum website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Alex Mitnick (of Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band) has debuted "Having a Party," a new video from his album, LOVE SONGS FOR MY BABY. You can watch the video below or order the CD from his website.

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Everything I Didn't Say – 5 Seconds of Summer
Duck Ellington – Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band
My Sister Kissed Her Boyfriend – Trout Fishing In America
Ice Cream Girl  – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Toothloser – Gustafer Yellowgold
Bird in an Airplane Suit – Caspar Babypants
Bigga Bagga – Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke
Life In Color – OneRepublic
Half Of Me – Rihanna

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 30, 2014

First Day of School  – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries
Light of Love  – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
A Million Ways to Play  – Eric Herman
Banana Pudding  – Sugar Free Allstars
Caught in the Screen  – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Kangaroo!  – Alex & The Kaleidoscope Band
Something I Need  – OneRepublic
Diamonds  – Rihanna

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 29, 2014

Be a Little Angel – Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips
Slow – Trout Fishing In America
Domino Town – Dean Jones
Motorcycle Mom – The Not-Its!
Metaphor  – The Alphabeticians
Groove – Lori Henriques
A World Alone – Lorde
I Lived – OneRepublic

Kindie Quick Hits: Billy Jonas Returns, Jefrey Au-Go-Go Debuts

Five years is an eternity in children's music. You can miss a whole generation and suddenly there's a new audience that has no awareness of you. Say "Billy Jonas" to the parent of an under-eight child and the most likely response is, "Which one of the Jonas Brothers was he?"

Putting those references to rest, Billy Jonas has returned to the recording studio with his full ensemble – the Billy Jonas Band – for BUILD IT BACK AGAIN. First off, Billy does return to the quirky wordplay and serious frivolity of "What Kind of..." that he initially generated in 2002 with "What Kind of Cat Are You," his breakout, signature song. The new release has "What Kind of Bear Are You," which moves from bears to fish to bats.

Billy has yet to meet a pun he didn't want to include in his music. "Hairy Things" is not necessarily about hirsute people or animals. For instance, Hogwarts isn't about hairy, it's about Harry. You get the picture. The full band allows Billy to produce some sweeping harmonies and simply messaging on the title track and "It's Good For You And Good For Me":

Mama always held my baby sister in her arms.
She said, "I'm scared she'll stumble. I must shelter her from harm."
One day she let her go, she fell, it was for the best.
Sister learned to walk and mama's shoulders got a rest.

If you're into ecology, into people, into music that only sometimes takes itself seriously, then you'll be happy to hear that Billy Jonas is back in business.

BUILD IT UP AGAIN is available from Billy's website, Amazon, iTunes, and CDBABY.

Here is the video of their song, "Fireworks of Applause":



When your target audience ages out at 7 or 8, you really better like little kids. They have short attention spans and while basic stuff impresses them, if it comes off as phony to their parents, you're through. Jefrey Au-Go-Go (Jeff Siler) seeks to be a Pee-Wee Herman in the truest form of the notion – a character with character, but not a joke.

Our younger son is right in that "sweet spot" now. He's four and loves to listen to music. First it was only his older (13) brother's stuff. But as the older one turned to Rihanna and Five Seconds of Summer, the little nipper decided to pursue his own tastes. So far, he did not seem impressed by Jefrey. Perhaps that's due to exposure to so many children's artists. Perhaps that's due to the setting – we were having dinner at the first listening. But then again, he's burst into spontaneous singalongs just when we thought he was tuning something out.

Finally, perhaps it's just that after you've seen the Wiggles, it's tough to introduce a one-man operation, especially without the video component. I'll introduce the YouTube rendition of "Peter the Pushy Pup" and see if that does anything. But once again, if you've ever tried to force a youngster to have medication, you know that they can sense when something is being forced down their throat. So far we have to give Jefrey an A for effort and a C for connection on this end.

JEFREY AU-GO-GO is available at Jefrey's website, Amazon, and CDBABY.

Here is the video from "Peter the Pushy Pup":

Ben's Playlist - Friday, December 26, 2014

Don't Stop – 5 Seconds of Summer
You Can Do This – Hullabaloo
Take Your Kid To Work Day – Recess Monkey
Copycat – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow
Free Ride Everyday – Lori Henriques
Don't Touch My Stuff! – Trout Fishing In America
Team – Lorde
Mama Don't Allow – In The Nick Of Time
Love Runs Out – OneRepublic

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, December 25, 2014

Lucky Penny – The Whirlygigs
Duct Tape World – Recess Monkey
Tacky – Weird Al Yankovic
Buzzcut Season – Lorde
Gratitude – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
Counting Star – OneRepublic
How Great Can This Day Be – Lori Henriques
Riverside – Baze And His Silly Friends

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Another Good Year  – Lori Henriques
Clean  – Taylor Swift
Raise Your Hand  – The Not-Its!
Stay in the Pool  – Jason Didner And The Jungle Gym Jam
Tomorrow's People  – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Road Trip  – In The Nick Of Time
Do Ya Thang  – Rihanna
Bonsai  – Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Smile in My Heart – Suzi Shelton
Space Kid And Banana – Ratboy Jr.
Let The Records Play – Pearl Jam
Brick By Brick – Recess Monkey
Big Green Party Machine – David Heatley
Best Friend – In The Nick Of Time
Farewell – Rihanna
Blank Space – Taylor Swift

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 22, 2014

Beach House – The Good Ms Padgett
No School Today – Danny Weinkauf
Coral Reef – The Whizpops!
Flannel Jammies – The Not-Its!
Gettin' My Ya Ya's Out – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Lightning Bolt  – Pearl Jam
We All Want Love – Rihanna
Welcome To New York – Taylor Swift

Ben's Playlist - Friday, December 19, 2014

The Girl With the Squirrel in Her Hat – Caspar Babypants
Potted Plant Guy – David Heatley
Bionic (feat. Shiz & Lady Asha) – Father Goose
Backyard – Riff Rockit
Robots From The 4th Dimension – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Banana Pudding – Sugar Free Allstars
I'm a Shark (I Rock, I Swim) – ScribbleMonster
Domino Town – Dean Jones
Can We Buy a New Car (So I Can Have a Balloon) – Eric Herman

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, December 18, 2014

Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes – Kristin Andreassen
Heartbeat  – Laura Doherty
Danceology – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Rock Melon – Gustafer Yellowgold
Blink Of An Eye – Frances England
Copycat – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow
Big Green Party Machine – David Heatley
I Got This! – Princess Katie & Racer Steve

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Lucky Penny – The Whirlygigs
If I Could Fly – Riff Rockit
Lightning Bolt  – Pearl Jam
The Hustle – Van McCoy
Ice Cream Girl  – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
This Island Life (Music) – Big World Audio Theatre
Tacky – Weird Al Yankovic

Kindie Quick Hits: Bungalow Tales, Herman Video, Tasteful Mista Cookie Song

One of the childhood experiences that has stuck with me surrounds a weathered LP that stayed in our family's record collection for more than 25 years. In fact, the only reason my mother finally recycled "Tubby the Tuba" is because it was so overplayed that the grooves no longer tracked, making it unsuitable for donating to a charity drive.

How strange to receive two CDs within one month's time that want to revive the concept of children's theater of the mind. First Eric Herman with THE INCREDIBLY SPACED-OUT ADVENTURES OF JUPITER JACKSON, and now Big World Audio Theatre with THE PECULIAR TALES OF THE S.S. BUNGALOW. Dozens of people gathered to concoct the engrossing story of the Museum of Maritime Wonderments and Nautical Oddities and a time-honored story about an old treasure hunt.

The two discs are divided into "story" and "song" for easier listening options. Visitors hear the story of Sleepytime Greg and the creaky boat he transforms into the S.S. Bungalow. They then learn a "valuable lesson," but let's not spoil anything by jumping ahead. The troupe toiled and tweaked the tale for many a day and used a Kickstarter campaign to complete funding. While press materials say it's not available until after the holiday season, it is according to various distributors. Set your sights on the mainsail of the S.S. Bungalow.

THE PECULIAR TALES OF THE S.S. BUNGALOW is available from Big World Audio Theatre's website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Speaking of Eric Herman, he recently released a new video from the JUPITER JACKSON album, "The Math Game." The simple premise is that kids compete to answer math questions on a televised game show. The twist is that those "easy" questions are kind of twisted. Enjoy!



Mista Cookie Jar returns for his (third) monthly song drop. For the holidays, he is releasing "Got the Spirit." This is an interesting experiment in drop-releasing timely material. I'm waiting to see if the songs stay seasonal or if CJ takes an opportunity to release a current commentary (in the future) about something (that has yet to happen). But then again (I may be projecting). You can "Got the Spirit" yourself by clicking through the link.

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Changes – David Bowie
Stay in the Pool – Jason Didner And The Jungle Gym
It Suits You – Gustafer Yellowgold
Show Me A Sign – Michael Franti & Spearhead
Space Kid And Banana – Ratboy Jr.
Metaphor  – The Alphabeticians
Shutterbug – Recess Monkey
My Favorite Sneakers – In The Nick Of Time

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 15, 2014

Alive – Eric Herman
DJ All Day – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Like a Bird Must – Hullabaloo
Mama Don't Allow – In The Nick Of Time
No School Today – Danny Weinkauf
Alligator Get-Together – Key Wilde And Mr. Clarke
Fill It Up – Josh And The Jamtones
Got the Spirit – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
Sunglasses – The Que Pastas

Ben's Playlist - Friday, December 12, 2014

Start Of The End – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Lucky Day – Stacey Peasley
Just a Normal Day – Lesley and the Flying Foxes
Don't Stop – 5 Seconds of Summer
Caught in the Screen – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Rock Melon – Gustafer Yellowgold
No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band
Banana Pudding – Sugar Free Allstars
Uh Huh – Dean Jones

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, December 11, 2014

Together We Can Fly – Danny Weinkauf
Unwind – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Domino Town – Dean Jones
Robots From The 4th Dimension – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Bird in an Airplane Suit – Caspar Babypants
I Got This! – Princess Katie & Racer Steve
Gratitude – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
Mothership – Mr. Saxophone

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Lucky Penny – The Whirlygigs
Pumpin Blood – NONONO
H-U-L-L-A-B-A-L-O-O – Hullabaloo
NOW That's What I Call Polka! – Weird Al Yankovic
Flannel Jammies – The Not-Its!
In The Group – Tom Chapin
Fill It Up  – Josh And The Jamtones
Let The Records Play – Pearl Jam
Here Comes Peter Cottontail – The Hipwaders

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Boo! – Trout Fishing In America
Wake Up – The Neville Brothers
Paper Moon – Laura Doherty
If I Could Fly – Riff Rockit
Lazy Raisins – Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke
Light of Love – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Shutterbug – Recess Monkey
Another Good Year – Lori Henriques
Metaphor – The Alphabeticians

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 8, 2014

Changes – David Bowie
Space Kid And Banana – Ratboy Jr.
Midnight Memories – One Direction
Heartbeat – Laura Doherty
The Ballad of Ben – Danny Weinkauf
Copycat – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow
Gettin' My Ya Ya's Out – Brady Rymer & The Little Band That Could
Free Ride Everyday  – Lori Henriques
Sunglasses – The Que Pastas

Ben's Playlist - Friday, December 5, 2014

First Day of School – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries
Bird in an Airplane Suit – Caspar Babypants
The Best Parts – Eric Herman
Closer To You – Michael Franti & Spearhead
Bigga Bagga – Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke
No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band
New – Paul McCartney
Groove – Lori Henriques
Now Let's Dance – Elizabeth Mitchell & Dan Zanes

Kindie Quick Hits: Making Music, Videos This Season

Walter Martin has released a new holiday song, "I Walk Slow (Under the Mistletoe)," featuring vocalist Kat Edmonson. The song (not entirely for kids, obviously, based on the title) is available for a free download at Walter's website. He will be performing the show on Thursday, December 18 at Joe's Pub in New York. Is that not enough of a lure? Then watch the video, below.


Your child plays a musical instrument? Wonderful! They want to experience working with others? Excellent! You don't know where to look? No problem!  Come Join the BAND! is a free, and free-wheeling, high-energy show where current performers in children's music acts play with aspiring musicians.

An after school program for kids ages 4 - 18, you can sample the experience on Sunday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m. at DROM (85 Avenue A in New York City). Bands at the January show -- The Um-Mazing Emeralds, U.S.A. (Unusual Squad of Awesomeness), Futurist Robots, The Dragons, Absolute Zero, and Infinity Soil -- will perform. Audience members will be encouraged to dance, sing along, and help write an original song.

Registration is open on an ongoing basis for classes on Mondays and Fridays at UltraSound Studios, 251 W. 30th St., with a shuttle that runs from the Upper West Side. Free trial classes are available. Registration forms may be found on the Come Join the BAND! website.

The Good Ms. Padgett has released a video for her song, "Dance Party Pizza Party!" It's perfect for the post-Thanksgiving, pre-holiday season. Take a gander:



And hey, can you take one last video? This one is from the musical Twigs sisters, for their song, "Sunshine":

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, December 4, 2014

In All Of The World – Papa Crow
Brick By Brick – Recess Monkey
Great Day – The Not-Its!
Let The Records Play – Pearl Jam
The Hustle – Van McCoy
Working On A Bridge – Lloyd H. Miller
How Great Can This Day Be – Lori Henriques
Banana Pudding – Sugar Free Allstars

Great Day: Back to the Future With Lori Henriques

"Well kids, here's a new CD that I'm going to review – HOW GREAT CAN THIS DAY BE."

"This doesn't sound like a CD for kids."

"It's jazzy."

My wife interjects, "It sounds like something from the '60s."

Leave it to Seattle's Lori Henriques to throw a curveball into the genre of children's music. I've lost count of the number of "rockin'" kids groups. I've forgotten some of the "message-y" concept CDs. But I can count on one hand the syncopated albums that sound like they were recently transferred from period vinyl from the MAD MEN era – and that speaks to the intelligence and ingenuity of Henriques.

The CD works on many levels, from the basic premise of "kids music" ("Monkey Monkey Monkey") to language lessons ("Beau Paris") to a frisky frug ("I Say Woo"). Henriques praises the efforts of Jane Goodall ("Dream Jane Dream") and Fred Rogers ("I Am Your Friend"):

I'm so glad that you befriended me
We'll be friends 'til we're 103.
I love the feeling that's inside of me
I smile so big when I remember we
Are really friends
It's not pretend
I am your friend.

You could slip HOW GREAT CAN THIS DAY BE to kindie-haters and see if they could even discern that it's aimed at their kids. Henriques is serious about making not-so-serious music that appeals to children and those who are still kids at heart. For those of us who sometimes feel old just watching our kids run around, the title track bustles and sonically brays the way we feel – being around the impetuousness of youth. For any children's music CD, that's a pretty keen goal and many miss the mark.

HOW GREAT CAN THIS DAY BE works as both a soundtrack for your child's playdate and as an educational aid to alternative music stylings – a blessing for those of us who cringe at "world music." Who ever thought that adults could learn something by spending 30 minutes with a piano teacher (That's one of Henriques' day jobs). And gee, he added sarcastically, there's nary an appearance from a hip-hop guest artist. Go back in time and bring the family. It's a short DAY but it's worth the trip.

HOW GREAT CAN THIS DAY BE is available from Henriques' website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is the video to the title track, HOW GREAT CAN THIS DAY BE:

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Voodoo Doll – 5 Seconds of Summer
Brave – Sara Bareilles
My Dad – Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights
Riverside – Baze And His Silly Friends
Everybody Out There – Paul McCartney
Bonsai – Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs
First Day of School – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries
No School Today – Danny Weinkauf
Me Time – Chibi Kodama

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Wake Up – The Neville Brothers
Germs – Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights
Look, Think, Guess, Know – Tom Chapin
You Can Do This – Hullabaloo
Marsupial – Danny Weinkauf
Don't Stop – 5 Seconds of Summer
Here Comes Peter Cottontail – The Hipwaders
Lucky Penny – The Whirlygigs
Rock Melon – Gustafer Yellowgold

Brady Rymer & Co. at the Long Island Children's Museum

It was a long weekend with lots of food and family. But where was the occasion to get off your feet and work off some of that inertia? We found it at the Long Island Children's Museum on Saturday, November 29 with an energizing performance from Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could.


We're seen Brady and company going back years, at our earliest attendance at Kindiefest (then called Stink for some reason). Since then, my YouTube videos with Brady's troop have been among my most-viewed. And when the kindie movement hit Port Washington a few years ago with Kidstock, it gave us a chance to introduce his music to our younger son.

Now things have come full circle. Our older son is "aging out" of children's music (although he still enjoys attending live performances) and our younger son is becoming a sponge for everything he hears. Our living room has become the home to his personal collection of guitars of all sizes, shapes, and imaginary (and real) playing. He came home from the show and promptly went about recreating it, down to the banter.


For the second show on Saturday, Brady was accompanied by drummer Larry Eagle and accordianist/singer Claudia Mussen. The trio comprises half of the band – but it was a low-key gig, and we didn't go into the small auditorium expecting to be blown out by the whole ensemble.


Once again, it was a personable family gig. The kids in the first row were up and dancing, the parents were relaxed, and everyone was entertained. And for a family show smack in the middle of the long Thanksgiving weekend, that's all you really want. Rock on, Brady and friends.