Another week, another Dial-A-Song song and video that might be from the upcoming They Might Be Giants' kids album Why?. If "Definition of Good" doesn't warm your parental heart, then, well, you probably had a really frustrating morning getting the kids off to school.
Also: this is best viewed on a smartphone, I think. Most appropriately, in any case.
They Might Be Giants - "Definition of Good" [YouTube]
Play Date We All Shine album cover
For whatever reason, kindie pop-punk has tended not to be nearly as boundary-pushing as its adult counterpart. I'm not expecting every song to be about challenging or countercultural notions, but more of this subgenre covers familiar topics than I'd expect.
Play Date, the duo of Greg Attonito and Shanti Wintergate, is no different. On their new album We All Shine, they tackle a song about colors (er, "Colors") and four variations of public service announcements for "Fruits & Vegetables." The musical packaging is novel (it's a PSA as delivered by circus barker), but the notions are common fare. More intriguing to me, then, are the songs that break those familiar molds to varying degrees. "Ninja Pajamas" is about, well, stealthy pajamas, but brings in Minneapolis hip-hop artist P.O.S to rap some of the lyrics. "Cardboard Box" rocks hardest, and follow the "show, don't tell" dictum -- by listing all the different things the box can be, it more effectively demonstrates the power of imagination. And sometimes all you need is a simple story song, like the grunge-pop of "Stevie the Fox," which kicks off the album.
The 41-minute album will have most appeal to kids ages 3 through 7. We All Shine fits the kindie pop-punk mold quite nicely, with an ear for crunchy melody. Come for the songs about fruits and vegetables, stay for the songs about ninja pajamas.
Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.
Josh and the Jamtones Rocksteady album cover
Kids music is generally not a field for the low-energy musician. Maybe it's the coffee right before the 10 AM gig, maybe it's the bright morning sunlight, maybe it's the incredible bundles of energy that are your favorite 4- or 7-year-old, but whatever the reason, artists with calm approaches like Elizabeth Mitchell or Raffi stand out for their comparative rarity.
Still, in a field of high energy performers, Boston's Josh and the Jamtones stand out. Live, they bring it on like few kids' musicians do, mixed with a lot of stage banter and interplay between leader Josh Shriber, drummer Patrick Hanlin, and the rest of the band. On record, their music had captured some of the energy and some of the humor, but hadn't fully translated their live concert experience to the home listener.
Until now.
The band's new album Rocksteady takes that energy and humor, wraps it in a ska-pop package, and sends it out into the world, ready to sweep up everyone in its path and deposit them gently on the living room rug, worn out from forty minutes of dancing (with occasional comedic skit breaks). This is an album, after all, whose first full song, "Race U," almost literally ends with the singers pantomiming that they're out of breath. There are a dozen or so songs here, mostly revved up ska tracks, with very little purpose other than to move the feet and bodies of whoever can hear the music. Sure, there's some call-and-response on the title track and some shouts-out to classic tracks like "Sloop John B" and Toots and the Maytals' "Monkeyman" (both of them featuring Jesse Wagner from the Aggrolites). But really this is just a straight-ahead piece of entertainment, no learning necessary. (Other songs of note: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo joining in on the AutoTune-d "I Love You" and the totally rocking "Tailfeather.")
The album will be most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You watch videos for a number of their songs at the band's YouTube channel.
Have I made it clear enough that Rocksteady is a party, through and through? Because it is, enough so that your kids probably won't even need that lullaby album to fall asleep to after dancing like crazy. Definitely recommended.
Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review.
Many moon moon moons ago, Laurie Berkner was on a TV show (Jack's Big Music Show) that aired music videos featuring her (and other artists). Now, Berkner's been devoting her energy to making videos for airing on YouTube, and while the audience might be a little smaller, in the long run, I'm guessing more folks have watched (or at least will watch) her videos there than on cable.
With the impending release of her new album Laurie Berkner's Favorite Classic Kids' Songs on October 23 (it's a huge album, 57 songs in all), I'm guessing we're going to see quite a few videos for the album in the next few months. The first video specifically tied to the album is for "Froggie Went a Courtin'," and since it features cute young kids acting out the song, it should definitely draw your favorite preschooler's attention. (And Berkner's pleading for you to subscribe to her YouTube channel is worth sticking around to the very end.)
Laurie Berkner - "Froggie Went a Courtin'" [YouTube]
The Bazillions - On the Bright Side album cover
Minneapolis band The Bazillions have an ear for power-pop hooks. Or, like, 23 ears, because each album of theirs has more hooks than one ear could possibly handle -- even one of those punks' ears with safety pins all over.
Their third album, the recently-released On the Bright Side, does not stint on the hooks. "Superhero Rock Band," which kicks off the album, is like one of those movie pitches ("They're superheroes from DC and Marvel... but they play in a band!") that is so high-concept that song quality would scarcely seem to matter, but luckily for the power-pop enthusiast in the family, it's got crunchy guitars and a catchy singalong chorus, too. That's followed by "Family Tree," a roots-pop song celebrating, well, family -- along with the album closer "Sons and Daughters," it's the first I've really heard the band try for something more emotional.
Of course, at this point, it wouldn't be a Bazillions album without several educational songs, including the jangly "Use a Contraction," the shimmering "Ed (Been There, Done That)," and their first science-related tune, "Water Cycle." Longtime readers will know my general antipathy towards songs that have such an explicit educational bias unless the melodies and lyrics are really tight, but listen to the chorus for "Favorite Book," which is really just a reading-positive song, and tell me it isn't precisely constructed for maximum earworm.
The 37-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 10; you can hear three of the tracks from the album here. As with their previous albums, On the Bright Side includes a number of power-pop and jangle-pop melodies that stand up to repeated spins, regardless of whether you need to learn some 2nd grade concept. Whatever educational value they have (and is enhanced by their catchiness) is just a nice bonus. Definitely recommended.
Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.
Josh Shriber and Patrick Hanlin of Josh and the Jamtones
Josh Shriber and Patrick Hanlin of Josh and the Jamtones
If your family has never seen Josh and the Jamtones live, then it's possible you have a realistic view of a "high energy" concert. If you have seen the Boston-area ska/punk/rock kids' band, however, your definition of "high energy" is entirely unrealistic. The band BRINGS IT, and in addition to being very danceable, they've got a great sense of humor.
The band released ROCKSTEADY, their latest album, last week. The new album captures that live energy (and some humor) for those fans who can't catch the band live. I talked with bandleader Josh Shriber and drummer/producer Patrick Hanlin about the origins of the band, the interaction between the live shows and recording music, and being the only guy in Music Together.
Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?
Josh Shriber: I remember taking road trips -- listening to the Beatles and Billy Joel when I was 12, driving from Mississippi to Indiana
Patrick Hanlin: Playing piano in kindergarten. Oh, and listening to Simon and Garfunkel in the backseat of the car on road trips. "Feelin' Groovy."
Josh: We totally agree on "Feelin' Groovy."
What was your musical background?
Josh: Early on, my grandma had a baby grand piano, and I'd play on that at her house -- then she convinced my mom to move it to my house. I took years of piano lessons. I always loved practicing and playing -- the classical music I put up a little bit of fight against -- but I played everything.
I'd go to summer camp and Jewish summer camp, and at temple I was always watching the song leader. That was my first way of performing, picking up a guitar in front of a group, going up front.
Josh Shriber of Josh and the Jamtones
As a cantor?
Josh: No, I never wanted to be a clergy member as a cantor. But in the [Jewish] reform movement, the song leader teaches the songs, leads the group in singing. Making a living [doing that] wasn't on my mind until I realized that there was money in doing that, and I could do that in the morning, leaving the evenings free for other music.
When did that change -- when did you start to move full-time into kids music?
So I'd do the temple thing on Sunday, plus another couple hours during the week, and I'd think, "How can I find forty hours a week of this?" So I went to a local preschool, and I started to do Music Together. That was great, though the Music Together leaders would sometimes say, "play a little less guitar."
Yeah, we did several sessions of Music Together with our kids, and it's definitely not a performer's showcase.
Josh: Right, but the moms were happy to hear someone. There weren't many guys doing that -- I'd be the only guy except for the janitor. I think some parents thought it was cool to have [their] sons see a guy singing.
So my preschool and private lessons grew, to the point where I was hiring other teachers, and after a couple years of Music Together, I branched out on my own. I was incorporating other original music of my own, and rented space to incorporate all things I was doing. Pat had come in by then as a teacher.
Pat: The program grew really fast -- now it's JamBaby, JamKids, drama classes. Every semester -- and semesters are four times a year -- we'd do a CD featuring new songs. So after 3 years we had 100 songs.
Then we started getting asked to do gigs. The Jammin' With You band became the Jamtones. The Jamtones are now different -- not educational, just entertainment.
I had never engineered a band before in my life -- now I've done about 30 albums.
Josh and the Jamtones
Is there a change from focusing on the daily classes and doing stuff with the band?
Josh: They all feed each other. People who attend a Jamtones show may sign up for class; the biggest promotion for Jamtones shows are in our center. The classes are me with a guitar, while the Jamtones shows are some 2-piece gigs, but generally guitar-drum-bass, sometimes steel drums. It's always good to practice songs -- get the extra rep, get better and try new songs.
How did the new album come about -- were these new songs?
Pat: Last year, we put out Fall, Winter 1, Winter 2, and Spring [semester] albums, physical CDs for the class. But for the Jamtones, once [the] Bear Hunt [album] came out, we thought our demographic wasn't 2-4 years old. So we went crazy with the cheese whiz -- we had new songs we wanted to put on a slammin' ska record.
Josh: About a quarter of these we'd work on in class.
Any favorite memories from recording?
Pat: I remember tracking the best bass player in the city. I wrote horn parts, which is something I hadn't done before.
Josh: We collaborated with Jesse [Wagner] from the Aggrolites. We collaborated with [Secret Agent 23] Skidoo -- he's awesome.
Pat: We'd work hard during the day, let loose at night, have a couple beers. The beatboxing was fun.
Recording with other artists, we've started to think about developing JamHouse Records [with other artists].
What do you enjoy more -- recording songs or playing live?
Josh: Both are exciting -- writing and recording songs that new, you're working on your own, and you hope it's going to explode. The audience is where we get energy -- we've played in front of 600 kids or more. [It's fun] to see parents whip out their phones to take pictures because the kids are going nuts.
Pat: One wouldn't be as fun without the other... One year I played on the Warped Tour, and playing 45 minutes a day, 7 days a week, that got boring. When you've got that balance between recording and playing live, that's really great.
What's next for the band?
Pat: World domination! [Laughs] Lots of videos -- after we did the Kickstarter [for Bear Hunt]. we got names of 40-50 animators. We love our video content, now we want to put out a show with them. We want to develop other acts.
This [new] record came out 18 months after Bear Hunt -- we don't want to wait that long for the next album.
Josh: This is our first summer working with [booker] Rebecca Allison, and she's great -- we've got lots of shows.
Pat: We want more places for classes. Lots of stuff going on, we're busy, that's how we like it.
Photo credits: Eric Barry
Zooglobble
Zooglobble helps you find kindie music -- news, videos, mp3s, reviews -- for your whole family.
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