Barbara Brousal is Back!

BBflyer_v4_lowres1.jpgIt was probably a good sign that, almost literally as I started writing this post about the first solo family show of Barbara Brousal, I got an e-mail from Brousal herself. Brousal, as many readers are no doubt aware, played guitar and sang with Dan Zanes on a number of his albums and tours. After a few years' hiatus, during which she left that band to start a family and relocate to the Boston area, she's going to play live once again. She's got a gig at the Newton Cultural Center near Boston on Saturday, May 7th at 11:00AM. You can get tickets at Brousal's website. Now, one of the best parts of Brousal's return is getting to hear her clear, strong voice on old DZAF favorites like "Malti" and "Mariposa Olé," but there will be other treats in store, Brousal revealed in a brief interview...

Big Changes Afoot in Two Kindie Bands

Jack_SPL.jpgJackieandDave.jpgIn a move that stunned many kindie music observers, late last night the popular family music bands Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players and Recess Monkey exchanged their bassists. Under the terms of the deal, Roberts' longtime bassist Jacqueline Schimmel will head west to join Recess Monkey while founding RM bassist Jack Forman will head to Chicago to join the NR4NP. Financial terms were not disclosed. Neither Schimmel nor Forman were immediately available for comment; their bandmates did not respond to press requests, either. Sources indicate to Zooglobble, however, that the primary driver in the trade was that Schimmel's contract with the NR4NP was nearing an end, and rather than have Schimmel potentially leave due to free agency, Roberts was looking to retain some rhythm section value.

KidVid Tournament 2011 Semifinal #2 (Sugar Free Allstars vs. Caspar Babypants)

KidVid11_logo2lowres.jpgToday it's time for the other KidVid Tournament 2011 semifinal. This matchup features the Ella Jenkins Regional winner, the #4 seed which busted everyone's brackets, Sugar Free Allstars' video for "Cars and Trucks," going up against last year's finalist Caspar Babypants, the winner of this year's Leadbelly Regional with "$9.99." They're both animated -- sort of -- but very different. Even if you came here intending to vote for one or the other, I hope you'll take 2 or 3 minutes and check out the competition's song and video. Polls close at 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Friday). As always, one vote per household, and play nice. Caspar Babypants - "$9.99" [YouTube] Sugar Free Allstars - "Cars and Trucks" [YouTube]

Zooey Goes All Pooh...y

Zooey_Tigger.jpgOK, I know that what I'm about to write is just my attempt to spruce up a press release and give it a fun and slightly ironic spin. But. Zooey Deschanel! Winnie the Pooh! Really, that's almost worth the exclamation points. So Disney is releasing a new movie called Winnie the Pooh on July 15. And they've recruited "Actress/Musician/Singer/ Songwriter/Lumberjack" (OK, that last one wasn't in the press release) Zooey Deschanel to perform three songs for the film -- the "Winnie the Pooh" theme song, “A Very Important Thing to Do” and the original end-credit song “So Long,” written by Deschanel and performed with She & Him bandmate M. Ward. (She also lends backing vocals to a couple other songs.) I'll spare you the silly, gushing words from everyone to say only that Deschanel apparently plays the ukulele in the theme song. Why am I writing all this? Only because the few clips you can hear of "So Long" in the YouTube clip below make it seem like Deschanel was a great choice, a worthy successor to Jenny Lewis' work on the Bolt soundtrack.

Behind the Scenes of a Yo Gabba Gabba! Episode

10_Foofa_shoot.jpgI got a nice note from Joel Fox last week. Who is Joel Fox, you might ask? Well, he creates visual effects for a little show you may have heard of... called Yo Gabba Gabba!. Yeah, that show. In any case, he thought I (and by extension, you) might be interested in his recent behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a YGG episode, in particular, the recently-premiered episode "Nature." Fox not only created the visual effects for the episode, he also co-directed it.

KidVid Tournament 2011 Semifinal #1 (Keller Williams vs. Debbie and Friends

KidVid11_logo2lowres.jpgI hope you've taken the opportunity to watch a lot of great videos and vote for your favorites at a lot of great kids music sites over the past couple weeks -- now the four videos which won their regionals will compete here at Zooglobble to finish determining the KidVid Tournament 2011 champion. The first semi-final matchup features Keller Williams, who won the Pete Seeger Region with his video for "Hula Hoop to Da Loop," going up against Debbie and Friends, the winner of the Woody Guthrie Region with "Cinderella." Two very different videos, indeed, so even if you came here intending to vote for one or the other, I hope you'll take 3 or 4 minutes and check out the competition's song and video. Polls close at 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Thursday). As always, one vote per household, and play nice. Debbie and Friends - "Cinderella" [YouTube] Keller Williams - "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" [YouTube]