Tim Kubart Builds Uplifting, Empowering Environment

The irrepressible, effervescent Tim Kubart is back to engage youthful audiences with his new CD, BUILDING BLOCKS. As with his past releases, it's a homogenous mix of dancing, sweat, and tears (the latter mostly for parents). It's hard to believe that Tim is a youthful 57, except I made that part up. The title is a double entendré of the tender kind, first as literal "building blocks" that children play with, and also for community outreach (i.e., growing your children and their neighborhood).


One of Tim's specialties is songs about childhood firsts – "Hold On" fits into that category on BUILDING BLOCKS, dealing with the elation of learning to ride a bike without training wheels. "Ready For You" is about developing enough maturity to deal with caring for a family pet, in this case a dog. "Day One" tackles taking the school bus, and the realization that the child/parent relationship evolves when full-day school starts.

There's a fine line between sentimental and maudlin and Tim likes to dance right on the razor's edge. Surefire weepers include "We Are Growing," "Day One," and "A Good Friend's Hard to Find," which features violins, so you know it's practically expected that you're gonna bawl full-faucet in front of the kids:

Don't always win even when I do my best
Sometimes my thoughts and feelings feel like such a mess
But you listen whether I laugh or cry
Oh a good friend's hard to find.

A roster of talent from Tim's (and kindie's) past and present contribute to the boisterous bounciness. Blue's Clues (and STEVENSTEVEN frontman) Steve Burns duets on "It's Going Up," about the excitement kids unearth with the discovery of local excavations and construction sites. "Block Party" wraps BUILDING BLOCKS with a full-force explanation/dance explosion with guests Carly Ciarrocchi (From Sprout's Sunny Side Up), Genevieve Goings (formerly from Choo-Choo Soul on Disney Kids), and rapper Drue Davis. The smallest celebrities are the kids from Woodward Parkway Elementary School (his alma mater in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York) who provide the chorus on "We Are Growing."

Tim has come a long way from sharing his spotlight with a tiny yellow hand puppet (Chica). With a Grammy under his belt, he now cohosts Highlights Hangout and flies across the globe (recently in Nigeria) spreading his mirthful, musical message. In his own way, Tim's BUILDING BLOCKS is only one avenue he's traveling on the path to teach and educate a new generation.

BUILDING BLOCKS is available from Tim Kubart's website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Here is the video I shot at September's Kidstock of Tim performing the new song, "We Are Growing":

StevenSteven Clue In Mind-Bending Kids Tunes

Okay so wait, that's Steve Burns, I mean Steve from "Blue's Clues," and like, he's singing about poop. Yes, pooping in the toilet bowl. And it's a kid's song. Well, yeah, it is. Thankfully not blue poop. That would be weird, right?

The psychedelic fairy tale that has been Burns' career takes a new turn this month as the multi-faceted performer teams with Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd to launch StevenSteven and their debut CD, FOREVERYWHERE. That's where you can find the aforementioned "OK Toilet Bowl," as well as the also pseudo-informative "If You're Ginormous And You Know it."

The Steves hyperactive imaginations have gone into overdrive, with the surreal '70s sound sensations of "Mimic Octopus (Secret Wizard Of The Sea)" and "The Happy Then Sad Then Triumphant Spider." If you were a fan of Harry Nillson's "The Point" or Donovan or more recently, Bob Schneider's THE L or Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's Grammy-winning INFINITY PLUS ONE, then your mind will readily grasp the phantasmagoric concepts behind FOREVERYWHERE.

Friends for a few decades now, the Steves decided it was high time to aim both barrels of their musical arsenal at children worldwide. Burns has a few generations of Nickelodeon acolytes giving him cred and the Flaming Lips draw listeners from the deep end of the indie pool. Working together, FOREVERYWHERE is trippy and tuneful and a thoroughly unexpected treat.

The duo are performing at an exclusive album release party on Sunday, February 26 at the Brooklyn Bowl (click through for details).

FOREVERYWHERE is available February 24 from StevenSteven's website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is their debut video for the song, "The Unicorn and the Princess Rainbow":