Quick Hits: New Videos from the Oot n' Oots and Jessa Campbell

Hi! Hey! The Oot n' Oots have debuted a new video for the title track of their 2018 children's music release, Electric Jellyfish Boogaloo. It's like having a kid's party in your living room or your car or wherever you play music for your young uns. Anyway, here it is!

Jessa Campbell and the Saplings are about to launch their latest children's music release, CAN YOU FEEL IT? Get ready for a mix of ecology, psychology, and vibeology. And here's the debut video of the title track:

Nathalia and Alina Celeste, Bilingual Separately and Together

A pair of bilingual children's music releases came across my desk at virtually the same time. Since they address many of the same themes (albeit in subtly distinct ways), I decided to put them side-by-side in one article. Colombia native Nathalia has released her fourth CD, EN LA RADIO and Alina Celeste shows her Cuban family influences on LOVE IS TE QUIERO.

Both performers came to children's through through educational backgrounds; Alina teaching music in the Miami-Dade County public schools and Nathalia doing the same in Los Angeles. The powerful allure of writing and performing original material as a platform to promote positive messages brought Nathalia to the stage and Alina to YouTube and a host of venues, from a petting zoo to a renaissance faire.  

For EN LA RADIO, Nathalia uses the premise of the songs existing all over the dial, so to speak, in English and Spanish, with ID breaks along the way. To show the range of the spectrum, "El Monstruo Verde" shares the stage with its English equivalent, "The Green-Eyed Monster." The CD starts with the summery "Sounds of the Seasons," and blurs the bilingual demarcation with "Amor Amor," a lilting acoustic song. "Little Hermit Crab" tells the tale of a tiny crustacean tot, but you know who Nathalia is really talking about. Families can engage in English or Spanish or both languages, while it's easy enough to piece together what you may not completely understand.

Alina Celeste's LOVE IS TE QUIERO has a more razor-focused concern: the power of love through sharing and singing music. "Clap Hands" is innocently simple, while "Vaca Lechera" recounts a magical milkshake-giving cow (written in 1943 by Fernando Garcia Morcillo).

"Love Is" kicks off the CD coveying different ways to display affection, such as opening up a rainbow when it's raining. "I've got nothing to say here, since nothing much rhymes with up," Alina adds. "Te Quiero" delivers a similar sentiment in Spanish. But the point is made, nonetheless. "Stardust" talks about things being bright, and no, it's not the Hoagy Carmichael number (Willie Nelson if you want to get more current by about 40 years).

There is a burgeoning and under-served demographic for bilingual children's music. Lucky Diaz and Sonia de los Santos help to fill that void, and these two performers are certainly up to the job. Alina has the Florida panhandle (and a nation of YouTubers) at her disposal. And Nathalia has the West Coast ready for her CD rollout. Armed with guitars and goodwill, they are prepared to make your kids smile and sing along, in two languages.

EN LA RADIO is available May 31 from Nathalia's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

LOVE IS TE QUIERO is available from Alina Celeste's website and Amazon.

Here is a recent video of Alina leading a singalong for "Zoom Zoom I'm Going to the Moon":

Lissa Schneckenburger Celebrates Adoption

Buzz around children's music for any period of time, and you'll see pretty much every topic covered with the nth degree of sincerity. Whether or not that's in your wheelhouse is one thing. Whether or not you want to share those sentiments with your child is another thing. Lissa Schneckenburger's wheelhouse is foster parenting and adoption. Take a deep breath and we'll continue.

Adoption and foster parenting is an important factor in our lives. Even blockbuster movies such as Shazam! face foster parenting head on. When times get hard and people can't cope for various reasons, the most innocent among us are the most vulnerable. Schneckenburger (say that three times fast) is intimately involved in that community and her new song cycle, THUNDER IN MY ARMS, addresses its issues head-on, in collision mode, with violins and piano. It's a precocious cacophony and meticulously mimics the aspects of the process, from the viewpoint of the disillusioned youth who feels thrown away in "Look Away" (I know/you cannot fool me/nobody wants me) and "On My Own" (I used to have a father once/He doesn't live like me), to the accepting adult who offers inconceivable, unconditional love on "Since the Day We Met":

Everybody makes mistakes and

We get up and try again

But make no mistake, you were no mistake and

I've loved you since the day we met

Simple, stark arrangements surround the songs "They Sent Me a Picture," "Feel Better," and "I Need Us Together." As for the deep breaths, you need to be prepared when "I'll Stick Around" opens with the line "When my mother left me it was for my own good" and "Blow Out the Candles" begins "You flew in on a plane from Korea, to Anchorage, to me."

THUNDER IN MY ARMS is a tribute and testimony to the adventure of foster parenting and the special people who undertake its responsibilities. Schneckenburger has the tenure and tone in the movement and enlisted friends and extended family to chronicle her experiences. It's rare that a bold statement can bring me to tears in my car. THUNDER IN MY ARMS is that exciting exception.

THUNDER IN MY ARMS is available from Lissa Schneckenburger’s website, CDBABY, Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is a video of Lissa performing "I'll Stick Around":

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Setting Sun – Bears And Lions

Have You Ever Been Real – Dean Jones

Stars – Ants Ants Ants

White Whale – Kepi Ghoulie

Buenos Dias-the Lucky Band  – The Lucky Band

Watch Petunia Dance – Caspar Babypants

What Will I Be? – The Not-Its!

Pointed Man Band's New Age of Kid's Music

What if you woke up in a world where the Alan Parsons Project and King Crimson recorded children's music? Well, have no fear – Pointed Man Band (Dan Elliott) had the same vision and his latest release, AMONGST THE TALL TREES, delivers exactly that sort of perception, interwoven with childlike wonder and whimsy.

The TV series Twin Peaks showed that the Pacific Northwest is a region of profound mystery and hypnotic music. In that vein, Dan Elliott's music as Pointed Man Band celebrates the customs and culture of growing up, without sentimentality, conjuring up comparisons to the late Harry Nilsson's quick flirtation with children's music (essentially the soundtracks to The Point and Robert Altman's Popeye). 

Children's music has fragmented to where there are now whole categories – folk, rock, jazz, blues, World, and experimental new age (STEVENSTEVEN) and Pointed Man Band.  Elliott captures the sound of a daydreamer, sharing his vision on songs like "Pint Size," "Eagle Creek," and "Vs. People," which sounds like Brian Eno producing Yes. For the jaunty "Dark Divide," the title doesn't precisely jibe with the inner argument of nature versus nurture:

Oh! Hey! Hurray for the rain that will wash it all away!

For the rivers and streams and the nature of things

Who can remain unseen through the decades.

To the moss and the ferns and the moisture in turn

Amongst the tall trees and the pristine

Between the dew and the pines you find that animal minds

Go beyond what they may seem.

The artwork of AMONGST THE TALL TREES captures your attention as well. Portland illustrator Brooke Weeber delivers cover paintings that harken to Roger Dean's famed fantasy landscapes for Yes and Asia. The scope of Elliott's vision has also attracted performers such as Recess Monkey's Jack Forman and Johnny Clay (Ants Ants Ants) on tracks like the mostly instrumental "April Fools." The album is a singular, genial message of fun and exploration through "new age" music sensibilities. Your youngest may miss the forest, but they should still enjoy their time amongst the trees.

AMONGST THE TALL TRESS is available from Pointed Man Band's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the full Pointed Man Band performing their song "The Cardoons":

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Sounds of the Seasons – Nathalia

You Do You – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

I Need Us Together  – Lissa Schneckenburger

Kitty Catchie – Alina Celeste

Who, What, When, Where, Why – The Bazillions

Disco Hippo – Caspar Babypants

Rymer Opens Umbrella Over A Big World

At its core, children's music is inclusive. Large categories of "adult music" are meant for rainy days, individual listening, and internalizing. Children's music, by contrast, is generally upbeat, sunlit, and built for a larger community.

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could (Claudia Mussen, Liz Queler, Seth Farber, Larry Eagle, Jeremy Chatzky, and Dan Myers) walk the walk, dance the dance, and celebrate the community on their 10th release, UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA.

Brady does tons of work with special needs children, which resulted in his 2011 CD, LOVE ME FOR WHO I AM. The band's latest release folds that student population into the bigger worldwide melting pot for a master class in inclusion, with songs such as "Different Is Beautiful (Yeah Yeah Yeah)" and "Different is Beautiful (Like A Rainbow)." And yes, those are two completely different tunes. Universal kindness is a key precept of Rymer's thesis, as every good deed counts as a "Drop In the Bucket":

So let’s fill it up with stars and love

Let’s fill it up to the top

Let’s fill it up with all we’re made of

‘cause it’s a drop (it’s a drop)

It’s a drop (it’s a drop)

in the bucket

There's an international flavor running throughout UMBRELLA. "With a Little Help From My Friends" features UK children's recording artist David Gibb. There's a bilingual duet with Sonia de los Santos on Woody Guthrie's "Don't You Push Me Down" and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's surprisingly malleable "You Can Get It If You Really Want." UMBRELLA also includes a previously-released sweet, horn-driven cover of the Diana Ross classic "I'm Coming Out," which lists a slew of children and their real-life "coming out" moments, such as "being a good friend" and "wanting to be a dancer."

My family has a long-standing relationship with Brady and Company, going back a decade to Kindiefest at Brooklyn's Jalopy in 2009 (and a video of "Jump Up!" with 3,000 views). Ben has gotten so immersed in performances that he joined Brady on the mic last summer – unprompted – at one local concert. UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA seeks to accomplish figuratively what the band did literally with my son – make him feel included and part of the musical community. Open or closed, there's always room under that umbrella.

UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA is available on May 17 from Brady Rymer's website, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the video for the band's version of the Diana Ross classic, "I'm Coming Out":

Ratboy Jr. Remains Sincerely Silly

It takes a village to produce consistently entertaining children's music and Ratboy Jr. lives is such a village. Tim Sutton and Matt Senzatimore like raucous and ridiculous concepts, which makes their fourth CD, LUCKY FOOT AND SUNNY MOON, a delightful addition to their oeuvre.

Take "Rap Van Winkle," which is about exactly what we all think it is – a guy who slept for 20 years and wakes up rapping. "Play Us On the Radio" is the guys' version of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" and a plea to call SiriusXM Kids Place Live (and other outlets) to request their music. The proficient guiding hand of überproducer Dean Jones polishes such amusing gems as "Flexible Brain" and the hard-rocking (with tinkly toy piano) anthem about "Dirt."

Mark Twain once said that jokes are like frogs. You can dissect them, but then you've killed it. To that extent, it's best to accept Ratboy Jr.'s premises at face value. "Anything Can Be a Hat" indeed. And when life is like juggling in the circus, you want to put on your "Clown Shoes":

When you're down, you just gotta laugh a lot.

It's the only thing we have.

So let's go fix this circus.

It's like running uphill with your clown shoes on.

Artwork for LUCKY FOOT AND SUNNY MOON is by Anton Refreigier, a notable Works Progress Administration (WPA) muralist and sculptor whose last cover was for the Weavers in 1959. But he was also Tim's grandfather, so that was quite the door opener. His most famous work, "The History of California" is nothing less than that, chronicles in 27 panels in downtown San Francisco's Rincon Center. It took eight years to complete and is still on exhibit.

Recording songs is an intricate, mysterious process. It's like watching popcorn in a microwave oven – you never know quite when it's done. Tim and Matt took two years to assemble the enjoyable, voluble tracks on LUCKY FOOT AND SUNNY MOON. It may not be their master opus, but Ratboy Jr. are more inclined to make you rock out then to sit and think about dangerously serious stuff. Flip on your flexible brain and pull on your sock hat for the boys – glad to have you back!

LUCKY FOOT AND SUNNY MOON is available on May 17 from Ratboy Jr's website, CDBABY, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the video for the band's song "Sponges:"

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Brighter Side – Gustafer Yellowgold

You Do You – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Inkpot – Kepi Ghoulie

Even When....  – Ratboy Jr.

That's My Style – The Bazillions

People Watching – Dean Jones

Anything For You My Love – Caspar Babypants

Ben's Playlist - Friday, May 10, 2019

Bright Morning Song – Dan Zanes

The Beautiful Dream – George Ezra

Anything For You My Love – Caspar Babypants

Window – Gustafer Yellowgold

Give You a Call – Jack Forman

You Can Get It If You Really Want – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Randy Kaplan Gently Shakes Those Delta Blues

It's been a long day's journey into the delta for Randy Kaplan. For more than a decade, Randy has mixed and merged humorous storytelling with an affection for traditional delta blues. That might not seem as delectable a snack combo as peanut butter and chocolate. But the distinctive Kaplan touch allows adults to snicker at references to Joan Didion while kids laugh at slide whistle sound effects (in a modernization of "Little Brown Jug," a song that dates back to 1869).

Randy's love of the blues is tangible, his persona is affable, and the results are laughable – for all ages – on SHAKE IT AND BREAK IT, his latest release. The educator in Kaplan (a much-credential teacher) can't resist giving deep background on the origins of his songs (giving shout-outs to Charlie Patton on the title track and Blind Blake of "Doing a Stretch").

Randy is flexible at adapting material for younger listeners. "Doing a Stretch" was originally about serving time in prison. In this new incarnation, narrator Kaplan does a series of body-contortion exercises, accompanied by the aforementioned sound effects. Blind Boy Fuller's "Been Your Dog" comes straight from the pooch's mouth – with a canine-voiced verse, to boot. It's an appropriate song to hear on a car ride from New Jersey to Queens – heading for the Long Island Expressway as you hear it described in song. Family dynamics are investigated in comic detail in "From Four Until Late," as Randy recounts spending weeks with his grandma when his parents would go away on seemingly endless trips. And the stripped-down version of the classic "Swinging on A Star" features singing donkeys and fish and a Google-worthy mention of Carol Dweck (I did it for you).

My folks were keen on introducing me to classical and folk music using TUBBY THE TUBA and WOODY GUTHRIE FOR KIDS. Randy follows through on this template for delta blues, renewing the works of Mississippi John Hurt ("Candy Man Blues") as well as the better-known John Lee Hooker. Part of the fun is trying to recall the original intent (and lyrics) that Kaplan appropriates to get across his versions. A six-minute "Little Brown Jug" closes the collection with a literal cavalcade of references that require the assistance of Siri, Alexa, or your friendly neighborhood scholar. And yes, an acknowledgement of Mance Lipscomb, who started recording delta blues in the 1960s.

SHAKE IT AND BREAK IT is a throwback to early Kaplan releases like FIVE CENT PIECE, with sparse arrangements showcasing an acoustic guitar and vocals, and a stray harmonica solo offering counterpoint. Listeners get ample aural and entertainment value, plus a level-headed offering of information about why the delta blues remains so enticing to performers like Randy. And why the genre still has the ability to entrance a new generation of listeners.

SHAKE IT AND BREAK IT is available on May 10 from Randy Kaplan's website, CDBABY, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the video for Randy's song "Crew Cut":

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, May 9, 2019

Go! – Pointed Man Band

Dirt – Ratboy Jr.

Loving & Kind – Aaron Nigel Smith

New Pair Of Shoes – The Bazillions

With a Little Help From My Friends – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could w/ David Gibb

Humans Are Still Evolving – Dean Jones

Dozen Good Reasons – Danny Weinkauf

Ear's Sean McCollough, Tennessee Kid at Heart

Music is everywhere. No really just walk down a street and wait for cars with open windows to drive by if you don't believe me. Taking that one step further, children's music is everywhere. When I think "Tennessee," I generally think of Ben Rudnick's "Live in Lexington" CD, but he's from Massachusetts. If you want to go native, you have Knoxville's "Kidstuff" radio host Sean McCollough and his latest, EARWORM.

Now an actual earworm is a pretty disgusting thing, but in this context it's a song that you just can't get out of your head. Sean is joined by fellow music makers Molly Ledford (for the pleasing monument tune "Sunsphere") and Billy Jonas (the little kids's safety number, "Green Means Go").

Sean's tunes hit the sweet spot for the very young, with plenty of repeating choruses and singalong verses. He's got the confidence from seven years of hosting "Kidstuff" radio, a weekly recorded show of kids music with monthly live programming featuring guests.

EARWORM gives Sean the opportunity to share his concepts, including a pair of goat songs, "Her Name Was Lady" and "Don't Let 'Em Get Your Goat." He delivers a version of the "Kidstuff" theme song for non-listeners of the program and the sympathetic "Car Sick" for anyone whose ever suffered from motion sickness on a family drive.

Sean's music is decidedly off the cuff (perhaps those shirts got too close to the goats) and accessible for the little ones in your brood. How you feel about earworms in your home is entirely up to you, of course. Sean just wants to pass along some down home, easy listening folk music from East Tennessee.

EARWORM is available on May 11 from Sean McCollough's website, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and CDBABY.

Here is the video of Sean McCollough and friends performing "The Rattlin' Bog":

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Get What You Get – Bears And Lions
Little Bit of Time – Like Father Like Son
Cloud Skateboard – Mo Phillips
Flexible Brain – Ratboy Jr.
One – Aaron Nigel Smith
Inside I Shine – Danny Weinkauf
Stick Up Stand Up – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Q&A: Underneath Brady Rymer's Inclusive Umbrella

Children's recording artist Brady Rymer is a perennial favorite around my home. His music has been a nearly constant presence in both my son's lives. We have seen Brady (and the Little Band That Could) in different counties and boroughs across the state of New York for the past decade and we've never heard a bad set. This month, Brady is releasing his 10th studio release, UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA, which serves as a melodious metaphor for inclusion, and recently discussed the evolution of this project.

Brady Rymer in his home studio
(Photo by Randee Daddona)

Which came first - recording children's music or your interactions with the special needs community?
They happened simultaneously. I began to explore the children’s music scene in the late '90s, writing songs and performing live. My friend Monica Osgood asked me to bring my guitar out to New Jersey and sing at Celebrate the Children, the summer camp she created for kids with special needs. We had a blast that day! The camp developed into the school, and I still return once or twice a year – performing and writing with the kids and teachers. That's when my relationship with the special needs community and my interest in working with them started.

In your experiences, are kids just kids as far as music goes? I.e., is music an equalizer?
Yeah, sounds good to me! Looking out from the stage I’ve seen it equalize – and energize – a room. That’s what I love about a rock band; songs and the concert experience as an art form. It allows everyone to feel, move, and interact as one. It can be very moving and bonding – bringing everyone together around a common beat, melody, or lyric. When we play something like "Love Train," everyone hops on, joins hands, and goes for the ride together.

You've already covered special needs with "Love Me For Who I Am." How did that message transform into inclusion (for "Under the Big Umbrella")?
I wrote UtBU for Lincoln Center’s Big Umbrellla Festival in 2018 – a celebration for families living with autism. This metaphor of "everyone is included and valued and recognized under the umbrella" spoke to me. I was reminded of the work that’s being done in schools these days – creating cultures of kindness, acceptance, and compassion. This, along with an amazing concert at a school which practices inclusion, inspired the rest of the songs for the new album.

I even asked the students for some lyrical ideas. They came back with "You Do You" and "Different is Beautiful." They fit into the theme perfectly, and I saw that the basic idea of acceptance and diversity is not only for the special needs community. These are ideas, concepts, and issues everyone is working with every day – in our schools and communities. Especially in these times when there’s a lot of divisiveness, it's an important message to sing about. I know it’s definitely on the minds and in the hearts of students at many, many schools.

You recorded with Sonia De Los Santos and David Gibb on "Umbrella." How did those collaborations come about? Do you see yourself doing more work with other artists in the future?
I love working with other artists. Yes, I hope to work with many more in the future! I’ve done things with Sonia and David in the past and I really connected with them as people, friends, and also with their music and with them as artists. I loved what we collaborated on. So I was excited as I worked on these tunes and imagined David’s and Sonia’s voices on these tracks. I love what they contributed, and I think they add so much to the tracks – Sonia singing Woody Guthrie's "Don’t You Push Me Down" message in Spanish is very empowering, and David taking the role of John and Paul, and me being Ringo, was a blast. It reinforces the idea fo friendship.

Do your son and daughter show any interest in following your lead into music/children's advocacy?
My daughter plays music and sings. She’s more interested in communications, journalism, video production – that kinds of stuff – but she is an advocate! She participated in the Women’s March and has been active in school things down in Tulane University where she's a sophomore. My son has been a pro scooter rider for many years now – starting in junior high school. He did it all himself, built a fan base on YouTube and then toured, mentored, and became a popular sponsored rider. He eventually made it to the world finals. So I’m super proud of both of my kids and how they just go out there and do! They follow their hearts and pass along their passions.

UNDER THE BIG UMBRELLA is available on May 17 from Brady Rymer's website, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.

Here is the sample of the new single from Brady Rymer's new CD, a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want":