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.

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 1, 2014

No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band
Mothership – Mr. Saxophone
Time Machine – Eric Herman
What's My Name? – Rihanna Feat. Drake
Now Let's Dance – Elizabeth Mitchell & Dan Zanes
Coral Reef – The Whizpops!
Best Friend – In The Nick Of Time

Ben's Playlist - Friday, November 28, 2014

Together We Can Fly – Danny Weinkauf
Uh Huh – Dean Jones
Backyard  – Riff Rockit
Up In Cat's Room – David Heatley
Mind Over Matter – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Fill It Up – Josh And The Jamtones
Jump On The Moon – Human-Tim + Robot-Tim
PSA – Eric Herman
Alligator Get-Togethe – Key Wilde And Mr. Clarke

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, November 27, 2014

DJ All Day – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Toothloser – Gustafer Yellowgold
Flannel Jammies – The Not-Its!
My Daddy's Record Collection – Sugar Free Allstars
Iko Iko (feat. Josh and the Jamtones & Little Goose) – Father Goose
Pretty Crabby – Caspar Babypants
My Dad – Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights
If I Could Fly – Riff Rockit

Eric Herman Blasts Off With Spaced-Out Comedy for Kids

If you've ever wanted to see a joke die a horrible death, tell it to a child. Because of their remarkably delicate built-in BS monitors, most kids respond to awful comedy like normal people act when they encounter bill collectors – smile awkwardly and back-pedal furiously.

The good news about Eric Herman's first comedy album for kids, THE INCREDIBLY SPACED-OUT ADVENTURES OF JUPITER JACKSON, is that it passes the BS monitor test. There was stuff that went over our kids' heads but they mostly enjoyed the sketches, ads, and end-of-CD songs.

First the premise: Satellite station XYZPDQ (funded mostly by Healthy Grains, the makers of Super Sugary Sugar Flakes) is running its regular slate of programming. There's a news report ("ELECTRICAL STORM" has odd audio drop-outs that serve as an opportunity for listeners to devise MAD LIBS), a game show ("THE MATH GAME") which will confound your expectations, and an NPR-style talk show ("ARCHAEOLOGY HOUR") that goes off the rails from the first caller.

The title track is a sci-fi battle between Jupiter Jackson and his arch-nemesis, Max Mullet. In reality, it sounds like two kids running around a shopping mall. But that could just be my adult perspective. Jupiter and Max, incidentally, are voiced by Trout Fishing in America (Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet). Kindie musician Roger Day also surfaces in ELECTRICAL STORM in a cameo as the Mayor. I would be remiss if I didn't mention MONSTER LEAGUE BASEBALL and how it crams an endless array of puns and ghoulish jokes into one 10-minute routine. Invite Dracula and aliens to "Who's On First" and you wind up with MONSTER LEAGUE BASEBALL.

With more than 50 million YouTube views, Eric obviously has tapped into something primal that kids understand. While many children's musicians have attempted to work comedy into their recordings (ScribbleMonster comes to mind), Eric has chosen the obvious but riskier route of presenting the comedy UPFRONT (with a couple of comic songs as an encore). In that respect, JUPITER JACKSON is a success. Whether he can further cultivate his audience and develop "children's comedy recordings" into more than a niche category may be the most incredibly spaced-out adventure of 2015.

THE INCREDIBLY SPACED-OUT ADVENTURES OF JUPITER JACKSON is available from Eric Herman's website, CDBABY, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is the video for the sketch, MONSTER LEAGUE BASEBALL:

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Amnesia – 5 Seconds of Summer
International Smile – Katy Perry
My Own Detective – Tom Chapin
Caught in the Screen – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Word Crimes – Weird Al Yankovic
Domino Town – Dean Jones
Be a Mime – Eric Herman
Shake It Off! – Uncle Rock

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Paper Moon – Laura Doherty
The Girl With the Squirrel in Her Hat – Caspar Babypants
Together We Can Fly – Danny Weinkauf
NOW That's What I Call Polka! – Weird Al Yankovic
Everything I Didn't Say – 5 Seconds of Summer
Closer To You  – Michael Franti & Spearhead
Mama Don't Allow –  In The Nick Of Time
Rock Melon – Gustafer Yellowgold
Space Kid And Banana – Ratboy Jr.

Ben's Playlist - Monday, November 24, 2014

Playlist for Matthew's Fourth Birthday!

In All Of The World – Papa Crow

H-U-L-L-A-B-A-L-O-O – Hullabaloo

Lightning Bol – Pearl Jam

My Favorite Sneakers – In The Nick Of Time

Copycat – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow

Right Now – One Direction

No School Today – Danny Weinkauf

No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band

Blink Of An Eye – Frances England

Ben's Playlist - Friday, November 21, 2014

First Day of School  – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries
Shutterbug – Recess Monkey
Just a Normal Day  – Lesley and the Flying Foxes
Lucky Penny  – The Whirlygigs
I'm a Shark (I Rock, I Swim)  – ScribbleMonster
Alligator Get-Together  – Key Wilde And Mr. Clarke
Bird in an Airplane Suit  – Caspar Babypants
Road Trip  – In The Nick Of Time
Smile in My Heart  – Suzi Shelton