Sometimes there's a song in your heart (or head) and the music fights its way out up your esophagus and out of your mouth. That's the concept behind Jazzy Ash (Los Angelino Ashli St. Armant)'s new track, “Everybody Gotta Sing.” After spending her upbringing in New Orleans, Ash (along with her band, the Leaping Lizards) have cultivated a throwback swing sound that gets kids and parents alike on their feet and harmonizing like they just can't stop. It doesn't matter if you can play an instrument or the method you use to share your inner music, Ash emphasizes. With temperatures going higher and the end of the school year getting closer, kids are gonna need an anthem and Ash is prepared to make them dance for it.
Origami is the art of folding paper and transforming it into different things (such as a dog or even Yoda). As children get older, reaching milestones transforms them into the adults they will one day become. As Pointed Man Band (Dan Elliott) explains in his new song, "Origami," it's the responsibility of parents to correctly fold and shape our kids in the right way:
With two hands and a small piece of paper
I've got the world to create with just some folds and maneuvers
A little time, a little space
A little thought and some features
A library book on how to craft these delicate creatures
With its lively piano, organ, and horn section, "Origami" reminds kids that everybody has the right and obligation to make their mark in the world. That optimism puts the "point" in "Pointed Man Band."
In the olden days (pre-pandemic), a one-man band entertained crowds by performing with tambourines on his knees and maracas attached to his elbows, as well as a harmonica strung around his neck. The modern-day one-man band is Dan Elliott, Portland's eponymous Pointed Man Band. Dan has returned with DREAMS, a four-track EP to brighten your dreary mid-winter spirits. Dan likes to paint word pictures to the point when even a song like "Dreams" comes alive with vivid imagery ("Your mind will race with parachutes in tow").
The songs ("Winter & Co.," "Unsung," "Dreams," and "Love") aim high in celebration and camaraderie, as even the dreariest months make Dan break out into smiles. "Love" can feel in short supply when you can't see loved ones or travel any distance due to coronavirus. But "love is love no matter who you're thinking of," Dan instructs listeners. "Winter & Co." remarks on day becoming night and how the night stars are more than metaphor in something we can strive to reach:
Turning the bright lights on
Light up the sky like the moons and the sun
So turn the bright lights on and we
Aim for the stars cause that’s who we are
There's an asterisk on the one-man band aspect, as Dan is accompanied by wife Kay and son Noam (making it a one-family band, more accurately). Co-production polish was provided by Pat Hanlin (Josh and the Jamtones), with concept design and artwork by Portland illustrator Brooke Weeber.
It's the rare children's music act that sounds like the Alan Parsons Project crossed with Roxy Music. Most of you can go diving for Wikipedia or ask Alexa who I'm talking about. Or better yet, just accept that the decidedly unsharpened Pointed Man Band will drive right into your kids' imaginations.
Musician and social justice advocate Fyütch has released “Black Women In History,” a new song that calls attention to (as you might imagine from the title) impactful and powerful Black women throughout American history. The somberly-titled track features artists Rissi Palmer and Snooknuk and focuses on "herstory" throughout the centuries. Current honorees include Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris, and Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett. Past figures are Fannie Lou Hamer, Claudette Colvin, J Frankie Pierce, Rebecca Crumpler, Jane Hinton, and Alfreda Webb. The track dropped on Monday, January 18, 2021 (Martin Luther King Day). The video is here and the song is below:
Dan Elliott, the mastermind behind Pointed Man Band, wrote most of his songs on a spinet (piano without the lowest and highest keys) from Winter & Co. As the pandemic grinds on, Elliott decided to commemorate this instrument with its own song. "Winter & Co." is the first single from the band's upcoming EP, Dreams (release date February 12). The phantastical imagery that Dan creates is evident in the song's chorus:
Turning the bright lights on
Light up the sky like the moons and the sun
So turn the bright lights on and we
Aim for the stars cause that’s who we are
Click here for a video teaser. The peppy, poppy tune is available for listening here:
Father Goose, the King of the Dance Party, is producing music at a voluminous pace these days. I've realized it's not as difficult these days due to teleconferencing tools and cloud recording software. Plus Goose surrounds himself by a cadre of like-minded funkmeisters, including his own son iRiE Goose. The younger Goose returns with guest artist Vic Ross for "Skraaata Ta Ta Tar." If you ever wondered what would have happened if Musical Youth was produced by Def Jam Music, look no further than iRiE Goose. Here's the new video:
Children's music is big enough for two Peruvian-heritage performers. Los Angeles-based Twinkle (Alitzah Warren) holds daily webcasts and Instagram sessions with her fans, and New York-based Flor Bromley has packed her schedule a well.
Flor had the timing misfortune of debuting her latest release, FIESTA GLOBAL, immediately prior to the world getting slammed shut by the global pandemic (GLOBAL SIESTA would have been more appropriate). She conceived a “Fiesta Global” concept with the advent of children using technology to communicate and interact. Presciently, that's exactly how kids from Japan or Perú are now creating and celebrating together, even if coronavirus hadn't expedited the situation. You can order FIESTA GLOBAL from Flor's website.
Flor spent the past few months assembling a video for the album's song “Otoño,” which means “Fall” in Spanish. The tune extols the pleasures and treasures of the season, from the colors of the leaves, to pumpkins and apple picking. Listen to "Otoño" from Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.
Here is the video:
Dan Elliott (Pointed Man Band) gets the kids into the spooky seasonal spirit with his new song, "Halloween." Assisted by Patrick Hanlin (of Josh and the Jamtones fame), the song rocks out with a warning that candy-hungry kids are coming to your home very, very soon:
Yeah we’re knocking on your doors
Now we’re traipsing through the garden
Picking pumpkins from the patch near the old scarecrow
Now we’re running through the rows as the darkness will darken!
I've read a bunch of comparisons of Halloween to the global pandemic (it's here, be scared, etc). However Dan and friends strive to de-mystify the process, and bring it back to its core components – getting together on the one night of the year where it's okay to be scared, in the name of St. Hallow's Eve. You can grab the track at Bandcamp and make your contribution to the cause.
Dan Elliott's Pointed Man Band has released the first video for "Go!," a song from their new CD, AMONGST THE TALL TREES. Filmed, produced, and animated by Portland filmmaker Ben Popp (Noiseonfilm), the video enhances the dreamlike quality of the tune with children frollicking amongst illustrated and actual trees.
View "Go" for yourself and find the CD at Pointed Man Band's website:
Ants on a Log continue to challenge children with their music and educational lyrics. The video for "Air and Space" from their CD, CURIOUS: THINK OUTSIDE THE PIPELINE! is just out. And here it is! With dancing sock puppets!
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.
Ahava – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
Best Day Ever – Rissi Palmer
Great Day – The Not-Its!
Gypsy Whale Waltz – Pointed Man Band
I Dreamed I Could Fly – Eric Herman And The Invisible Band
My Heart Is Open – Maroon 5 Feat. Gwen Stefani
Start Of The End – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Animal Kingdom – Key Wilde And Mr. Clarke
Apodidae Reggae – Pointed Man Band
Baldy – Lloyd H. Miller
Coming Back For You – Maroon 5
Fresh Spokes (Featuring Susan Lapidus) – Hot Peas 'n Butter
Haircut – The Not-Its!
Sabrosos Colores – José-Luis Orozco
It's monster time for the Hipwaders. The twangy SoCal trio (Tito Uquillas, Hal Imbrie, and Nick Baca) have taken the opportunity to address a couple of mythical creations on their new CD single, EL CHUPACABRA VS DER KRAMPUS.
As a reviewer, I appreciated the simplicity of the two songs, "The Boy Who Cried El Chupacabra" and "All That Krampus Wants (Is High-Fives For The Holidays)" as well as the interstitial instrumental connecting them. As a Hipwaders fan, I appreciated that the band continues to produce original music that provides intriguing concepts. I can think of no other children's act that would have tackled both of these subjects, let alone on one product. "Krampus" perhaps, as it was written by Dan Elliott (aka the Pointed Man Band). As a pro wrestling fan, I appreciated the dramatic irony of the design, which mimics a Mexican luche libra poster.
What are these creations, you might wonder? The chupacabra is a legendary critter rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas, with the first sightings reported in Puerto Rico. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.
In German-speaking folklore, the Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure who punishes misbehaving children during the Christmas season, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts.
'Waders leader Tito seems to have embraced the same "release it as you record it" mentality as Mista Cookie Jar, who is on the second hand of his "song of the month" program. In the end, there was a Hipwaders collection that somehow bundled them ("Year-Round Songs"). Perhaps Tito has a larger perspective at work and the concept of recording this pair of novelties will have a dramatic payoff next spring. In the short-term, EL CHUPACABRA VS DER KRAMPUS is an early-autumn curiosity. For many, just in time for Halloween, the monsters are coming out of the woodwork. For kids, it's a chance to daydream of candy as they return to classrooms. For adults, it's a few minutes of whimsy. For the Hipwaders, it's a pleasant return to form and a way to hold their place in your kids' musical rotations.
EL CHUPACABRA VS DER KRAMPUS is available on September 29 from their website, Amazon, and iTunes, as well as in a video that will be posted to the Hipwaders' YouTube channel.
Here is the video from the band's song, "Just Not Me:
Dad Is Takin' a Nap – Keith Munslow
Forever Young – Andrew & Polly
Road Trip – In The Nick Of Time
Runaway – Ed Sheeran
Snaggletooth – Dean Jones
Sugar – Maroon 5
Tunneling To Paradise – Pointed Man Band
The Way We Gets Down – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
The Bright Side Of Me – Alastair Moock & Friends
Calling All the Kids to the Yard – Cat Doorman
Carry a Tune – Recess Monkey
From Scratch – Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
Gypsy Whale Waltz – Pointed Man Band
I Love U (Jz Remix) – Josh And The Jamtones
One After 909 – Caspar Babypants
Shake a Friend's Hand – Andy Z
The Start of Things – Alison Faith Levy
Dad Is Takin' a Nap – Keith Munslow
Ghost Riders in the Sky – Andy Z
God Bless America – Rocknoceros
Ground Food – Ratboy Jr.
Loving Cup – Cat Doorman
Pj Party – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
Rainbow Tunnel – Alison Faith Levy
Spatula Vs Sun – Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips
Tunneling To Paradise – Pointed Man Band
Apodidae Reggae – Pointed Man Band
Baldy – Lloyd H. Miller
H.B.D., Dude! – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
Mayim – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
Rocksteady – Josh And The Jamtones
Sourwood Mountain – Red Yarn
Sponges – Ratboy Jr.
That Way – Chibi Kodama
Changes – David Bowie
Farewell – Rihanna
Germs – Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights
I Love the Beach – Keith Munslow
Marsupial – Danny Weinkauf
Sittin On A Cloud – The Whirlygigs
Tunneling To Paradise – Pointed Man Band
Turned Out – Paul McCartney
Wake Up – The Neville Brothers
Farewell – Rihanna
Go Jump in the Water – Keith Munslow
Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam
Mothership – Mr. Saxophone
My Own Detective – Tom Chapin
Tunneling To Paradise – Pointed Man Band
Uh Huh – Dean Jones
You Can Do This – Hullabaloo
Alligator – Paul McCartney
Beneath The Water – Caspar Babypants
Foolish Father – Weezer
Loving Cup – Cat Doorman
Odd Socks – Dean Jones
Raise Your Hand – The Not-Its!
Red Fox – Pointed Man Band
Something I Need – OneRepublic
Archaeology – Danny Weinkauf
The Bicycle Song – Eric Herman
Domino Town – Dean Jones
Earn It – Hullabaloo
Follow The Drinking Gourd – Lloyd H. Miller
Gypsy Whale Waltz – Pointed Man Band
I Lived – OneRepublic
No More Lonely Nights – The Airborne Toxic Event
Take Your Kid To Work Day – Recess Monkey
Apple Tree – Bari Koral Family Rock Band
The Ballad of Ben – Danny Weinkauf
Free Ride Everyday – Lori Henriques
Listen To What The Man Said – Owl City
Look, Think, Guess, Know – Tom Chapin
A Million Ways to Play – Eric Herman
That's Just Us (Playing Rock-n-Roll) – Hullabaloo
Tunneling To Paradise – Pointed Man Band
The Way We Gets Down – Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips
Alligator Get-Together – Key Wilde And Mr. Clarke
Apodidae Reggae – Pointed Man Band
Blink Of An Eye – Frances England
Chicken Coop – Earthworm Ensemble
Dancing Bear – Bari Koral Family Rock Band
My Sister Kissed Her Boyfriend – Trout Fishing In America
No School Today – Danny Weinkauf
Nose In A Book – The Not-Its!
Yawn – Gustafer Yellowgold
