My older son's super power is phenomenal memory. His love of music, over time, brought me to blogging and reviewing and the rest is history. However what makes him different from many young adults is a diagnosis of high-functioning autism. Texas children's advocate and musician SaulPaul respects non-conformity and is releasing an EP entitled OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT on May 14 on 8 Lb. Gorilla Records. In anticipation of the EP, SaulPaul has dropped the first single, "Best Day Ever" (a common title, but totally different, I promise). The video uses popular bitmoji (personal avatar imagery) mixed with fun situations and characters, a perfect premise as the world begins to open up from pandemic restrictions. You can grab the song at Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
But I don't want to give it all away – take a gander at the new video below:
Speaking up the world opening up, Peruvian power pop purveyor Twinkle Time (Alitzah Wiener Navarro Dallas) is bringing her live Kids Club concert series back with in-person performances. Nine weeks of family fun starts Saturday, June 5 at 11 AM at the Sherman Oaks Galleria with Twinkle herself. The following weeks include Tik Tok star Michael Rayner (June 12), Ashley Mills Monaghan (June 19), Baila Baila (June 26), Kymberly Stewart ( July 3), Jason Mesches (July 10), Zany Zoe (July 17), Megan the Bubbeologist (July 24), and Arty Loon (July 31).
"I'm excited to be producing and hosting such a diverse lineup of the hottest entertainment in SoCal," Alitzah explained. "Families can't wait to get out of quarantine and start dancing and neither can I!"
Twinkle continues to host a weekly two-hour children's music Top 20 Countdown. Artists on recent shows included Mista Cookie Jar, the Lucky Band, Recess Monkey, Wendy & DB, Andrew and Polly, and way too many to list. The show is available on Pittsburgh's family-friendly radio station Jump 105.3 on Saturday mornings at 8 AM ET and can be downloaded as a podcast from Apple, Audible, Podbean, and iHeart.
Reality In Motion – Tame Impala
La Brea Tar Pits – Weezer
That's My Style – The Bazillions
What Kind Of Fruit – Dean Jones
Glue – Frances England
Racecar – Uncle Dox
Winter Bird / When Winter Comes – Paul McCartney
Golden – Harry Styles
Can I Believe You – Fleet Foxes
Die For You – Justin Bieber Feat. Dominic Fike
One – Aaron Nigel Smith
It's A Wonderful Life – Kepi Ghoulie
Go – The Black Keys
It takes a village to raise a family. But it doesn't take an entire orchestra to show children the entertainment and educational value of classical music. Former alt-rocker Tracy Bonham was touring the Blue Man Group when she decided to pivot to children's music in 2006. She opted to use her training as a violinist and begin teaching private lessons and launched Melodeon Music House (MMH). Tracy began testing her curriculum at the Brooklyn Preschool of Science in 2015, where she shared her revelation that "This is the age before kids start believing the words 'I can't.' Kids are totally game to express joy while learning about music."
When the pandemic shut down Tracy's tour in March 2020, she and bassist Renee Hart flew home to New York on an empty plane and made the decision to focus on MMH, making it accessible online. With Renee and former student Jasmyne Lawrence-Hart, Melodeon's program is inspired by the 1970s children's music convergence of The Electric Company, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, School House Rock, and Free To Be You And Me. Tracy hundreds of livestreamed classes. These hours of online engagement also set the stage for her new release, YOUNG MAESTROS, VOLUME 1.
My experience with classical music education started and ended with a well-worn double-sided LP of "Tubby the Tuba" and "Meet the Orchestra." Tracy applies the Free To Be model of humor to distract kids from the knowledge that – hey, they're gaining a little knowledge. For instance, have you ever thought about time signatures? Definitely important if you're passionate about drumming but generally a factor that falls through the cracks. Tracy tackles that concept on "Beats To a Measure" and uses a similar technique with solfeggio (tones) on "I Am A Moveable Do" (as in do-re-mi).
The packaging of YOUNG MAESTROS (if you go for physical CDs) comes with a lyric instruction sheet and an illustration of five blackbirds perched on groups of two and three piano keys so kids can play along on "All The Blackbirds." If you want to avoid a sensitive conversation about cover songs, don't mention that "I Like Big Beats" (about the rhythm section) was derived from Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1992 "Baby Got Back" (otherwise known as "I Like Big Butts"). Then again, if your kids have been exposed to Megan the Stallion and Cardi B, that battle's already lost.
For a few years, my mother pushed the Little Orchestra Society (around for 74 years) as a gateway to classical music for children. They've gone virtual during the past year but lack the interactive approach of MMH. As the pandemic theoretically winds down, Tracy Bonham and MMH offer a firsthand passage to an appreciation of instruments and the world of music through YOUNG MAESTROS VOLUME 1.
Beth Jean brings a touch of Broadway and showmanship into your child's life with her latest release, LET'S PUT ON A SHOW! If you're ever heard a song (before seeing its video component) and imagined your own vision, you'll understand what Beth Jean is attempting to accomplish. Now, back in my own preteen days (or let's be generous and say a generation before that), there was no music television and Sesame Street was just a glimmer in Joan Ganz Cooney's eye.
Prior to YouTube and "everybody is a star," the concept of children's music was limited to Tubby the Tuba and a bunch of well-worn songs the kids I knew were sick of hearing. It's a whole new world and children's music has benefited from a widening circle of genres, from jazz artists (Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari) to dance music (Twinkle Time) to Tin Pan Alley (Beth Jean). Finding inspiration in her love of musicals and theater, Beth Jean gently pushes her audiences to picture the scenarios behind songs like "The Best Mustache In Michigan" and "Waddlin' We Go (the Penguin Song)," a recent Grand Prize Winner in the children's category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
A Midwest Emmy-winner for her PBS children’s show "The Friday Zone," Beth Jean is taking the proverbial "bus ride to the big city" to make her pitch for a nationwide following. She is undergoing this process both figuratively and literally, as the video for the title track shows her stepping off a bus and making her Broadway theater debut (with flamingos). Over the course of the pandemic, Beth Jean wrote and sang all the songs, played a variety of instruments, recorded and produced three songs entirely by herself (She also costumed, filmed, and edited accompanying music videos). Co-producers Pat Hanlin (of Josh & the Jamtones) and Brian King joined her for the remaining seven tracks on LET'S PUT ON A SHOW!, making the album a collaborative delight for theater nerds and newbies alike.
Beth Jean empowers kids to use their imaginations, even if their visions contradict the "official" video of a favorite song. For anyone who's ever been corrected for singing the "wrong lyrics," we can completely sympathize. LET'S PUT ON A SHOW! lets every kid be the star of their own home- or car-bound channel.
In celebration of Earth Day 2021 (Thursday, April 23), musician Esther Crow has released the bio-friendly song, "It's So Easy Bein' Green." Yes, the title plays off Joe Raposo's iconic Sesame Street tune. In June, Esther is stepping away from Thunder & Sunshine, her funk-rock ensemble, to promote her upcoming solo CD, ALL TOGETHER NOW. The project, spearheaded by kids' music über-producer Dean Jones, promises songs about environmental justice, social justice, and animals. Esther is releasing a video next month to commemorate Endangered Species Day on May 21.
Featuring her seven-year-old son Vincent, "It's So Easy Bein' Green" addresses ways to bring about positive change, in line with this year's slogan, "Restore the Earth." The duo talk about such easy-to-accomplish tasks as eating less meat, riding a bicycle to reduce carbon emissions, and utilizing reusable water bottles:
It's so easy bein' green
Living' low waste, using LEDs
Picking up bottles on the beach
Whatever you can do, to help make it clean
As Esther points out, “If each of us made these small adjustments in our lives, we could have an impact."
The post-pandemic spring blast of children's music continues next month with the release of SLOW CLAP, a new CD from Koo Koo Kanga Roo. To prepare audiences for what's coming, they've dropped the first video, “Ice Cold Lemonade.” Making their case for a summer anthem about the citrusy kids favorite, the song was produced by Lazerbeak (who worked with Lizzo, among other notables) and features a guest verse from Murs, a Los Angelino who knows a thing or two about sunshine. The kaleidoscopic video shows the duo of Bryan and Neil dressed as oversized lemons in a park, a playground, and on a boat. Because lemons love boating, mmkay. Watch the video here:
The last time Michael & the Rockness Monsters put out a CD, they were looking back at a century of music, which was ironically called SEEING LIFE IN 2020. Obviously, Michael Napolitano could not foresee what would actually occur during our pandemic year. But he used his quarantine to livestream a variety show for children called "House Party," with songs written with contributions from all over the world. Those compositions make up the heart of SIMILARITIES, the new release from the Family Napolitano – Michael, wife Heather, and their daughters, Emilia (13) and Sienna (11).
Not to put too fine a political point on it, but a divisive, dysfunctional administration polarized the country over the past four years. The Rockness program seeks to unify and nurture listeners with positive influences. Hence, the title track on SIMILARITIES focuses on cultural parallels and what brings us together. Although Zoom meetings posed some challenges, engaging with children allowed Heather to perpetuate their Rockness Music education program, a female-owned family business.
Rockness channels a Story Pirates vibe with their comical tune, "This Is Not a Song About Unicorns" Band drummer Edd Duran croons in his native Chilean (Spanish) on the acoustic "Perezoso." Rockness draws material from four generations. The son of a professional drummer, Michael pays tribute to his grandfather on “Italian Farmer.” Similar to last fall's SONGS WITH MY DAUGHTERS from Elliott Park and his three teenagers, Michael sought inspiration from his kids. Sienna co-wrote "The Fox and the Feline" about a pair of unlikely friends. Both girls co-wrote the final two tracks, "Campfire" and "Together," which became a familiar singalong on their YouTube variety shows.
The pandemic brought together many artists to interface on their respective releases. This CD features a cover of Credence Clearwater Revivial's "Down on the Corner" that will get your kids jumping (unless you're driving). Two-time Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari and Americana roots musician Red Yarn provide vocals, with blasts from the band's horn section. Über-producer Dean Jones guides SIMILARITIES with a steady hand, resulting in one of the Rockness Monsters' strongest CDs in their 10 year-plus history.
Helicopter Leaves - Ants Ants Ants
The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala
Racecar - Uncle Dox
Here Comes The Rain - Weezer
Fanga Alafia - Aaron Nigel Smith
No Such Thing as Waste - Formidable Vegetable
Shine A Little Light - The Black Keys
Didya notice things have been kind of strange for the past year-plus? When the pandemic hit, Animal Farm decided to release a new video for their song "It Always Could Be Worse." Experts ascertained that COVID-19 was going to be bad, really bad. The Animal Farm guys felt the tune, from 2018's We Are One, hit just the right mark – reminding kids that their situations are rarely unique, and look inconsequential in the larger picture. The video (below) was directed by Charlie Malave of Chicago's Mucca Pazza and pitches the whimsical refrain, "Try an attitude of gratitude, it's really not that hard."
Whether or not the world ready for ecologically-friendly electro-funk and swing, it's already here. That distinctive sound is delivered by Australia's own Formidable Vegetable, the first band so environmentally-aware that they refused a slot at the Gastonbury Festival, concerned about their impact on the surrounding area. Their upcoming six-song EP, GARBAGE GUTS, is their first on the new children's music label 8 Pound Gorilla Records.
The self-proclaimed globetrotting troubadour Charlie Mgee realized a decade ago that music is one of the best tools for bringing about cultural change. Charlie dedication to "pop with purpose" has directed him to compose tunes on his ukulele that address climate change, food security, and regenerative sustainable living (got that?).
There's enough Fishbone in "Shoogieman" (about sweets and sugary snack foods) to offend vegans. "Fonky Food" signs the praises of fermentation. Their video and single “Get a Goat” is the dance-tastic "when animals rule the world" anthem. "There's No Such Thing As Waste" breaks down how "waste is stuff in the wrong place" and how people should all do their part as global citizens. “Our Street” gives a Dixieland tinge to the concept of a neighborhood fully invested in growing food, raising produce, and reusing and recycling, complete with some Cab Calloway scat singing:
Milk and honey, vegetables, so many tasty treats
It's all right here, growing on our street
I don't want to draw "ok boomer" chants – Formidable Vegetable has grown and sustained a well-earned fan base in 20 countries and seeks to bring the United States into the fold under the current EPA-friendly administration. Support their cause by downloading digitally and giving a green grin.
Spring is rabbit season. More precisely, the kids' band Rabbit! has returned with HAPPINESS IS SIMPLE, an eight-song EP of new material from children's music label 8 Pound Gorilla. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that location is a state of mind. Songwriters Ashton Allen (currently in Orlando, Florida) and Devin Moore (living in Seattle Washington) spent a decade writing catchy tunes for TV shows and advertisements. When clients asked for bright, sprightly upbeat pop, they heard themselves in kid-centric commercials. One thing led to another which led to live shows, two CDS (CONNECT THE DOTS and GO FOR IT!), three EPs, and the early pandemic anthem, "We Are All In This Together."
With the world breaking free from COVID with vaccines and smart mask-wearing, Rabbit! delivers eight little parables in funlicious, preteen-digestible mouthfuls. Self-determination is on the agenda with "Let's Get Started," the title track, and "Tough Enough." Introspection is a metaphor when you step inside your personal “Submarine.” Obedience versus unconditional love is the topic for pet lovers in "Dogs Like These." Sometimes you need to go with the flow, as evidenced by “(I Let the) Wheels of the Bus” taking listeners on a ride. And parents tired of endless Google Meets and Zoom meetings will appreciate the sentiment of “Hush Heard ‘Round the World”:
Quiet is now trending
And I know it sounds absurd
That there's something counter-culture about being taciturn
The rascals behind Rabbit! draw their inspiration from a generation of "bubblegum" performers who spoke to audiences without stumbling over political correctness or fear of being too smart for their own good. We're all gone through a tough time and we all want to believe that happiness is simple. Not to where world hunger can be solved in a 2:25 song, but maybe that tune can get a youngster to stop tantruming or complaining, take a deep breath, and do something constructive. If parents can accomplish that with an eight-song EP, then indeed HAPPINESS IS SIMPLE.
Even When.... – Ratboy Jr
Dead Roses – Weezer
Village d'Ãtoile – Dog On Fleas
Save It For Me – Jeff Tweedy
Hold On – Justin Bieber
I Like Big Beats – Tracy Bonham & Melodeon Music House
Taco Tuesday – The Lucky Band
Stars – Ants Ants Ants
The Kiss Of Venus – Paul McCartney
Lo/Hi – The Black Keys
Natural Disaster – Jeff Tweedy
Off My Face – Justin Bieber
Bird With A Broken Wing – Weezer
Beats To A Measure – Tracy Bonham & Melodeon Music House
If you've ever asked a child to make up a story, or tell their version of a popular story, they can make left turns when you least expect it. My kids used to start imaginary tales, then look at me as if to say, "The third act's on you, pop." That's the tremendous responsibility the Story Pirates have undertaken for the past decade-plus, actively engaging with young creators and bringing their works to life as sketches (for their weekly podcast) or songs. The Story Pirates' fourth family music album, THE STRAWBERRY BAND, is by far the trippiest collection the troupe has released.
Story Pirates' cofounder Lee Overtree admitted that everyone was ready to let loose after one full year into the pandemic. "We invited kids and our creative team to express themselves in the wildest and wackiest ways they can," Overtree explained. "The Story Pirates offer a space where this is encouraged.”
The title track, reprised in two sketches, recounts the adventures of a British rock band with the confounding calamity of transforming into strawberries whenever they perform (based on a story by five-year-old Californian Nathaniel). Unfazed, they resolve to put out a record – and it happens to be the Story Pirates CD. How very meta of them! There's even some backwards looping and sound effects on the reprise that leads into album-closing "I Have A Cookie," featuring Broadway vet Eddie Cooper talking about a snack that is taking him years to finish...and may outlive him at 100 years old.
Part of the fun for adults with the Story Pirates is figuring out all the allusions and origins. "The Night I Started Sharing A Room With My Sister" is a prepubescent outtake from an Alanis Morissette album. "Blue Night" mixes and matches Lorde and Enya (or Celine Dion, if that's too esoteric a reference for ya).
During the pandemic, the Story Pirates' Creators Club helped keep nascent minds firing on all cylinders with livestream workshops, radio shows, and podcast bonus activities. The fourth season of their podcast launched last fall and is available on major streaming platforms. With THE STRAWBERRY BAND, the Story Pirates stretches young minds like taffy and produces songs that are just as tasty.
'Cause I'm A Man – Tame Impala
Finally – Franz Ferdinand
Inkpot – Kepi Ghoulie
Anything Can Be A Hat – Ratboy Jr.
Me Symphony – Tracy Bonham & Melodeon Music House
9 to 5 – Tragedy
Parenthood often leads to career pivots. Nickel Creek founding member Sara Watkins drew inspiration from her daughter's birth and the onslaught of the pandemic to assemble the 15 tracks on her new solo project, UNDER THE PEPPER TREE.
A career Americana music performer with Nickel Creek and I'm With Here (both Grammy-winning groups), Sara brings new life to classics such as "Pure Imagination" and "When You Wish Upon A Star." Sara's three-year-old daughter appears with her on "Edelweiss." She breathes new life into chestnuts "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Moon River." Backed by bandmates in Nickel Creek, Sara revives "Blue Shadows on the Trail," a pastiche western genre tune penned by Randy Newman for the fondly-remembered 1980s comedy Three Amigos starring Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short:
Blue shadows on the trail
Little cowboy, close your eyes and dream
All of the doggies are in the corral
All of your work is done
Just close your eyes and dream little pal
Dream of someone
Sara decided to release a vinyl version of UNDER THE PEPPER TREE after watching her daughter's fascination with vintage children's albums like Winnie the Pooh. She hopes that kids will be enticed into spending more time listening to music and being swept away by their own pure imaginations.
The sounds of Sara Watkins's childrens' music harkens back to the kindie-styled songs of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger recorded several generations ago. Taking her listeners by the hand, Sara strolls through the great American songbook, reintroducing "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Beautiful Dreamer" to audiences that probably would never hear them otherwise. With UNDER THE PEPPER TREE, Sara Watkins confidently steps into the shoes of Dan Zanes' original version of kindie.
The Wiggles are 30 years old and boy, do I feel old. The veteran children's group from Down Under have released a collection of 40 of their songs, dubbed WE'RE ALL FRUIT SALAD! If you don't find yourself singing along within the first couple of tracks, you're full of apples and bananas.
There are musical acts on my bucket list who I still have not seen in person. But I can brag that I've seen the Wiggles – who traveled to America from Australia – four different times with three children (my two sons and one of their cousins). The first time that the Wiggles danced down the aisle at Westbury Music Fair (or whatever they call it now), my son Matt studied them like the Zapruder film (google it). There they were, in the flesh (except for Dorothy and Wags, who were in the cloth).
Matt watched the Wiggles 2.0, consisting of Anthony with three new members – Emmy, Lachy, and Simon. But the OGs (original guys) – Jeff, Murray, and Greg – still make appearances from time to time.
WE'RE ALL FRUIT SALAD! traces the evolution of the four-person human group (plus larger ensemble that includes Captain Feathersword and a number of costumed creations) over three decades. From the relatively simple "Fruit Salad" and "Toot-Toot, Chugga-Chugga Big Red Car" to the more complex "I've Got My Glasses On" and the title track, an effusive anthem about inclusion that uses the band's eponymous original song as a stepping-off point:
We're all fruit salad
We're all in the same bowl
All the colors of the rainbow and the bowl is the world
It takes all kinds of fruit to make the perfect bowl
Both of my sons (nine years apart) became enthralled by the Wiggles. The band is now gearing up for an anniversary tour of Australia and New Zealand (which seem to have virtually conquered COVID). For us stateside, it will take a while longer until we can rockabye our bears with the colorful quartet from the other side of the planet. But it remains a simple fact, whether it contains kiwi or not, we're all in the same bowl.
