Zooglobble

Ever since the New York Times used the phrase “The show is a cross between ‘Yellow Submarine’ and Dr. Seuss" to describe Gustafer Yellowgold, it's been plastered all over their promo materials. Hey, if I were them, I would too. But I always thought it was just barely appropriate -- yes, it's animated and poppy, but those weren't quite the musical and lyrical influences I was hearing on the debut DVD.

But they've posted another track off their upcoming Have You Never Been Yellow? CD/DVD set, "Beard For All Seasons," on their Myspace page. And "Beard" definitely sounds like the Beatles (a clean melody, horns, handclaps) aided by a touch of Seussian lyrical whimsy. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

(Oh, and the DVD, which comes out October 16, has an audio commentary from creator Morgan Taylor. While the idea of an audio commentary on a kids movie isn't weird at all, I'm pretty sure this is a first for the kids' music world. DVD geeks unite!)

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

35 posts about music is not such a big deal -- I'm pushing 700 here. But 35 posts in a week? Now that's impressive. That's exactly what the enterprising folks over at Z Recommends have done with their Music Week. There's a healthy list of reviews up, but what's interested me the most is the interviews: Veda Hille from Duplex, Tito Uquillas from the Hipwaders, and Stephin Merritt. And there's more to come -- Jason Trachtenburg, Morgan Taylor (Gustafer Yellowgold), and Uncle Rock. Worth your time.

Oh, and a guest review from yours truly. File under oldie-but-goodie.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dan Zanes takes a small step toward creating family-music empire, albeit in a very inclusive way.

News from Zanes in his newsletter that the next Father Goose album, It's a Bam Bam Diddly, will be released in October. In addition to help from Dan's band and many others, Sheryl Crow also makes an appearance on the disk. I'm pretty sure Crow never said the phrase "it's a bam bam diddly," which is now my favorite album title of the year.

Zanes also mentions that he's recording the next Dan Zanes and Friends CD, which will be called En Espanol, for release in 2008. He says it's "a very different type of project but even at this early stage it has a very high emotional content." No word on whether Sheryl Crow will appear on that disk as well.

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Y'know, when you're trying to blog a day sequentially in less time than you really need, you don't really get a chance to add all the random thoughts and memories that you'll end up leaving with. So here are some random memories and thoughts from Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007:

-- I am definitely not the first person to say this, but having a music festival in September in Austin is insane, unless it's part of some massive dehydration campaign on the part of a megalomaniacal evil person bent on taking over Texas. The heat and humidity is ridiculous. Or maybe I've just spent too long in Phoenix, where the heat is beyond ridiculous but the humidity is, well, not.
-- Having said that, this is a primo-organized festival. Shows started (and ended) when they were supposed to, port-a-potties were numerous, and the sound was functional. If people decide to go to a festival based on who's performing, they decide to go back (the next day or the next year) based on all the little (and big) stuff that doesn't have anything to do with the acts. Austin City Limits Festival is worth going back to.

-- Everything I said about the organization of a festival and its importance goes double for a kids show, and Austin Kiddie Limits met that higher standard. There were lots of activities for the kids to do or watch between the sets, so that staying within the grounds for 4 hours wasn't nearly as daunting as I would've expected. Best thing: cheap, healthy snacks (cheaper and healthier than in the main food court, which really wasn't bad). 2nd best thing: the shade structure over the audience area. Awesome. Worst thing: running through the sound for the b-boy and salsa lessons through the main speakers. Since the dance stage was far away from the music stage, it meant that sitting down in the audience between sets meant enduring sound that was way too loud for me, let alone the kids. Having a conversation there was a near-impossibility. Next year -- get those dancers (who were pretty awesome) their own PA.
-- Favorite set, kids' division: the Sippy Cups -- if only because the crowd on Saturday was the largest and their set really played to the kids.
-- I loved the touch of playing the "Chariots of Fire" theme and music from "Star Wars" when the gates opened up at 11 AM each day. As I'd snuck in just before then through the press gate, I got to see some of the crowds stream through. Let me tell you, those Dylan fans Sunday morning were hauling their butts to grab a primo spot stage-front, cheered on by the beer vendors close to the entrance...
-- Favorite set, adult division: Crowded House -- it reminded me just how much great music can stay with you over the years and move you emotionally 15 years or more after you first heard the music. It was the set which I felt how selfish it would have been to have Miss Mary Mack with me the entire day, and indeed, I saw very few kids hanging out there.
-- As I stood in the world's longest line waiting for the shuttle buses to leave Friday night (a line which took me about a half hour to negotiate, and I was walking for most of that time), I was amused by how silent the crowd around me was during the Killers' set... except when they played songs from Hot Fuss. Then we all sang along...
-- Other random concert memories: The lead singer for the Kaiser Chiefs successfuly negotiating a climb up and down 30 feet of scaffolding, then tripping running across the stage and twisting his ankle; M.I.A. encouraging the crowd to rush the stage during her set (then being unable to continue until the stage got cleared); the fury of LCD Soundsystem's drummer and guitarist at the end of "Daft Punk is Playing at My House."
-- Man, I wish one of these things would make their way to Phoenix...
-- Finally, thanks to Tor with C3 and Brittany with Fresh & Clean Media for their assistance in attending and reviewing this festival.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Though this is the best kids music album title (or at least most amusing to parents) since the Sippy Cups' "Electric Storyland," people who expect Dean Jones' Napper's Delight to be a traditional lullaby album or a goofy riff on a traditional lullaby album will be disappointed.

Surprise and, not infrequently, delight are more likely feelings here.

Jones is one of the ringleaders of the fabulous New York band Dog on Fleas. While it sells both this album and the band short, to call Napper's Delight a Dog on Fleas lullaby album is a good place to start in describing the CD. One of the chief attributes of a Dog on Fleas CD is its spirit of adventurousness, of lack of calculation in song selection and instrumentation. Such is the case here as well. There probably aren't many CDs that include both drum machines and traditional African instruments such as mbiras or the balafon, but they all appear here and neither of them really sound out of place.

I think it takes a few tracks to get into the CD -- the drum machine on the third track "Wheelin' and Dealin'" might not be everyone's cup of tea -- but by the time fellow New York musician Elizabeth Mitchell takes over the vocals on the fifth track, "Grow Little Flower," the CD has really started to establish a relaxed but not sleepy mood. The next track, "Bygones," struck me as a long-lost Vince Guaraldi Trio track, while the reworked 18th century folk song "Turtle Dove" gets a nice assist from fellow Dog on Fleas bandmate Debbie Lan and a couple fiddlers. By the time you get to "Hush Little Baby," which sounds like it's got a tiny calliope helping to provide musical accompaniment, you're sold. (I also adore "Filly and Dilly," a duet with Amy Poux which is a reworking of the traditional "Lavender's Blue.") The overall effect is definitely not one of a lullaby album, if only because many of the songs don't deal with unconditional love as many lullabies do. Rather, the CD creates a mellow mood that will work well as the soundtrack to many a lazy afternoon reading with the kids.

The 42-minute CD is fine for all ages, of course, but I think kids ages 2 through 8 will respond to it more. You can hear samples at the album's CDBaby page.

Napper's Delight isn't a traditional lullaby album -- it sounds nothing like it. Although it has echoes of Dog on Fleas, Elizabeth Mitchell, and the Innocence Mission, it doesn't really sound much like those, either. It is, as I said above, filled with surprises and delights. I'm not sure kids will necessarily run to pull this off the shelves. But I think a lot of parents (especially those who are regular readers here) will find this a soothing balm for family listening and, given five or six spins, will find this working its way into their brain. It did mine. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

They Might Be Giants frankly retired the category of "Best Robot Song For Kids (and Adults)" with "Robot Parade," but I'm not going to begrudge attempts by other artists to take a run at TMBG's crown.

This week's contestant is The Jellydots, who've just posted another new track from their upcoming album Changing Skies at their Myspace page. "Sad Robot" is, as the title suggests, not the happiest of tales -- a lonely robot dreams of communicating with the stars. It also features a heavy bass line and lots of guitar work. It is a considerably different track than the previously referenced "San Diego." It's more like the "Adult Version" of "Robot Parade," on TMBG's Dial-A-Song collection, perhaps. And it seems like there should be some wistful Japanese animation to go along with it...

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. I have nothing to say about the holiday, really. It is, however, an excuse to show the KidVid Tournament 2007 Champion, Captain Bogg & Salty's "Pieces of 8ight."

Regardless of whether you've never seen it or seen it a hundred times, it's worth your four minutes.

Arrrrrrr, mateys.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Man (or this man) at least cannot live on live music (and bottled water) alone. He must also have amusing videos featuring frisbie-throwing human-sized dogs and deers grilling at the barbecue.

Oh, yeah, a Carmen Miranda-style headpiece never hurts.

Here you go, the latest video from New York's The Jimmies -- "Spanimals."

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

While in Austin, I ignored my e-mail from Amazon saying that the new They Might Be Giants kids' CD/DVD, Here Come the 123s would now be released February 5, a period so far in the future the major political parties might have already selected their 2008 Presidential candidates.

Sigh.

Oh, well, not all is lost, They Might Be Giants fans. The band has noted this video which, for many reasons, warms my heart.

Song Concert

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You know, by the time you've been listening to music for about 20 hours in a 36-hour period, your focus tends to wander. Yeah, yeah, drums. Yo La Tengo, sure. Where the heck is that water bottle?

But I came here to Austin with a job to do and I'm going to do it. After all, I'm a professional.

Actually, no, I'm not.

But I'm here.

In any case, Day 3 here at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage and I'm without Miss Mary Mack, who slept in until 9 AM this morning and is relaxing back at the (metaphorical) ranch with her grandma. After filing my Day 2 report at the press tent, I dashed over to the stage, just in time to catch We Go To 11... pose for pictures. Sorry, guys, maybe next time.

Anyway, now I'm liveblogging the Farmer Jason set. I suppose "liveblogging" is probably stretching it, seeing as the stage isn't wireless-enabled I won't post this until Monday morning. But, yeah, I'm at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage without a kid and with a laptop on top of, uh, my lap.

I am such a geek.

Jason is doing some of the songs he did yesterday, some new stuff. He did perform "Forest Rhymes" again -- he was given the challenge of rhyming "triceratops" in the song, which really didn't work at all, and was not, as far as I'm aware, not really a forest animal. But, hey, the crowd seemed to appreciate it.

The sounds of Yo La Tengo are drifting over, and I wouldn't mind walking over to see them, but I'm waiting to catch a brief interview with Farmer Jason. And I don't want to miss the Jellydots. So hear I stay.

... So, after a brief interview with Jason, I head back to the front of the stage just in time to see Doug Snyder and the rest of the Jellydots walk on stage. There's a sizable crowd there, many of whom appear familiar with Doug. They turn in "Hey You Kids!," "Mister Gloom," and some other song I don't remember because I stopped actual notes yesterday afternoon (oh, wait, it was "Race Cars Go!," which ends with a tiniest bit of guitar shredding). They also played a new track, "Sunshine," which will be on their forthcoming CD, which Doug mentioned as having a Nov. 25th release date. As they launched into "San Diego," another new track, I took my leave and headed back to the shuttle bus.

OK, I wanted to catch one song from the Broken West. They led off with "So It Goes." Great song, especially live. So now there are two sets I really want to see that I'm having to miss.

So now I'm, yes, liveblogging from the shuttle bus. Talk about devoted. (That, and talk about how little time I'm going to have to blog this when I get back after escaping from household and most parental duties for 4 days.)

In reading (and writing) these posts, I've noticed just how... sequential these daily recaps have been. I heard this band, then did this, then collapsed from the heat. I'll have one more post soon with random thoughts and memories from the Festival.

I'll also have a recap of the Family Music Meltdown, so stay tuned.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

OK. It's 11:15 AM Sunday, and I'm in the press tent. I am -- of course -- sweating like a really sweaty dog. The kid-band We Go To 11 start in about 15 minutes, and I'm probably about a 14-minute walk from the AKL stage, so, uh, I'm going to be brief. (Well, probably not, but briefer than I otherwise would be.)

Miss Mary Mack and I had a leisurely morning on Saturday. Since the Bummkinn Band and Jambo were playing the first two sets on Saturday and we'd seen 'em on Friday, we took a pass. (The fact that we'd be watching music until 9 PM thanks to the Family Music Meltdown also, uh, played a role in the decision here.) So we got to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage a little into the Sippy Cups' first set of the day.

The Sippys had the most impressive stage setup of the day. Banners on the side and bright day-glo costumes to rival Bjork's for long-distance visibility. The crowd was definitely bigger today than on Friday. Must be something about that whole school is on Friday thing. Their first set was mostly covers, finishing with their reworking of "I Wanna Be Sedated," changed into "I Wanna Be Elated." Can you call it a mosh pit if nobody's actually bouncing off one another, just bouncing up and down?

For their second set, the Sippys mostly did their original songs off their latest album. The band sounded really good, but I need to highlight the Sippy Whose Name Escapes Me who does all the juggling, unicycle riding, costume-wearing, and rhythmic gymastic flag-waving. The Sippys sound good on disk, but their live show has a visual component that makes it lots of fun to see. By this time, the crowd had definitely grown even further, including a fair number of young PWOKs, or, as lead singer Sippy Paul defined them, "People Without Kids." They seemed to be on the youngish side, as if they weren't too far removed from the Sippys' target demographic. And they were to be disappointed as Austin Kiddie Limits producer and MC Tor Hyams had to make no less than 3 announcements telling them that Ben Kweller, scheduled to the special guest, had a sore throat and had to cancel.

The 3:30 set was from Farmer Jason, who rocked the crowd solo-style. Jason, "twin brother" of Jason Ringenberg from Jason and the Scorchers, was probably the most interactive of the performers, turning his "Forest Rhymes" into a 20-minute song where the kids were encouraged to tell him animals (in secret) he then turned into a rhyme (where kids have to guess the animal. Yes, he did indeed have to use the word "peyote" as the key rhyme for "coyote." (After that marathon song, he played an old Jason and the Scorchers song as penance for making the adults sit through a 20-minute-long song.)

Andrea Echeverri came up and played a guest set at the end of Farmer Jason's set (bringing along a good 100 fans to hear some Colombian folksongs, but by that time Miss Mary Mack had had enough of the heat and humidity, which, believe it or not, was even worse than the day before. And we had a Family Music Meltdown to get to.

Gotta run. More music to hear today (including the Jellydots!), then a drive back to Dallas and a flight home and a wife and son to reconnect with...

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"I love the Austin Kiddie Limits -- that's great. It's because nobody in the audience is reading the blogs saying, 'That guy is over.' They're either crying and asking mommy to go home or they love it." -- James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem at Austin City Limits Festival 2007

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'll spare you the rest of the story about "Day 0" -- the flight to Dallas was fine, and although I was overly optimistic about getting out of the Fort Worth area ahead of the rush hour traffic, it was an uneventful drive through central Texas. Really, it was stuff that makes for poor website reading and I don't have the time.

So the next morning, Miss Mary Mack (yes, that's the name I'm giving her, thanks to loyal reader Katy for the suggestion -- she loves that song) and I got in the car and drove to downtown Austin. We got there around 10:30, boarded the shuttle bus and took the long, slow drive to Zilker Park.

After securing my pass, we went in a side gate for press and others, thereby passing the crowds here, which, I didn't realize at the time, were waiting for an 11 AM entrance. We got inside, then all of a sudden I heard the theme music for "Chariots of Fire" and the gates opened up and people started streaming in. Nice touch.

After wandering around a bit (a common theme for the day), we headed on over to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage to catch the first act of the day: Sara Hickman.

I think we actually missed a couple songs, because we came in while some dad was doing his best Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video impersonation, going through sing-along cards. Hickman then brought some teenagers called the Super Pal Universe (click on the link to learn more) as a backing band. They ripped through a song called "You & Me" which made me wonder if I shouldn't have brought earplugs (to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage!). She played "Red Wagon" (which she covered on Big Kid), then left the stage for Super Pal Universe to play a couple songs.

After the set, we wandered the Austin Kiddie Limits area, which definitely had its attractions. At various points in the 30-minute gaps between sets in the afternoon, we: colored a bag, bought the cheapest food at the festival, painted a tile, watched breakdancers, and played with beach balls. (In case you're wondering, you can't get into that part of the area without a kid, which made me sad as I'd've loved to get another liter of that Gatorade stuff they were selling.)

Oh, and we sweated. Goodness gracious we sweated. You spend long enough in Phoenix, and you forget just how miserable 90 degrees can be when it's paired with, oh, 167% humidity. There was a shade structure in front of the stage, which helped, but you can't shade humidity.

Next up: the Bummkinn Band out of LA (though their lead singer Kimber Breaux was born and raised in Texas). Their set of country music went down well. They had a lot of uptempo songs that I wasn't familiar with, and it turns out the reason I wasn't familiar with many of them was because I hadn't heard most of them -- they're going to be releasing a new album this fall. I liked "Swing Set" (a broken heart song for the elementary school set) and "Crab Bit My Toe," which sound more like Southern rock than country. (It was my daughter's favorite set of the afternoon.)

The next act was Jambo, a bluesy folk rock band from LA. I was really only familiar with the name, not the music, so it was nice for me to actually hear someone new (which is, after all, part of the point of these festivals). They've got a new album, Lucy's Parade, coming out very soon, and I'm curious to hear how the tunes sound on disk. Live, they were fun. (That's Austin Kiddie Limits producer Tor Hyams on keys.)

The final act we saw at the stage was Daddy-A-Go-Go from Atlanta, who brought his touring band -- his two teenage boys and another kid he used coach soccer on drums. They have a loose, classic rock sound, and I liked the opportunity to hear songs from his four albums prior to his most recent one. Of course, because they're teenagers, they're also more likely to want to rock out, so they covered Kings of Leon and Chuck Berry, too.

I wish I could say we saw more than just a few minutes of Big Sam's Funky Nation (the afternoon's special guest, who turned in a great New Orleans-styled version of "Hokey Pokey") or Paul Green's School of Rock All-Stars, but I needed to get Miss Mary Mack (who held up remarkably well throughout the afternoon) to the pick-up/drop-off point, where a family friend would pick her up and get her back to my mom's house.

After taking care of that, and waiting for a while to get back in while the security personnel to give us the go-ahead to enter the grounds again after a fire temporarily disrupted the festival (meaning, they wanted to keep the roads clear for the emergency vehicles), it was my turn.

And all I can say is that if these festivals had existed when I was in college, or single, or living someplace where music happens a lot, I'd've spent a lot of time at these things.

Crowded House was great -- live, they bulked up the sound -- 2 minutes into "Mean To Me," I was wondering why in the world I ever got rid of their self-titled debut.

LCD Soundsystem rawked. You wouldn't think a dance punk act would rock, but they do. The drummer and guitar player played furiously, and the end to their slightly-speeded up "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House," was just intense.

I only caught half their set, unfortunately, because the one adult band I absolutely had to see was Spoon, and they were at the other end of the park. Off I tramped, got a decent place reasonably close, and finally saw the band live. They might be my favorite band right now. They're not much for crowd jibber-jabber (Neil Finn and James Murphy were much better), but the band sounded tight and they brought out horns... Great 16-song set.

Those three sets were great, and I'm really glad Miss Mary Mack wasn't there -- she'd have hated the crowds and the distances and the fact that the music didn't speak to her. She can watch me jam to Spoon at home.

I saw part of The Gotan Project and Bjork sets, but by that time, my mind was fried. I had the longest line I have ever been in ahead of me (for the shuttle buses), and sleep to catch.

And I would love to write more, but I need to have some lunch and get back to the park for Day 2 (and the Family Music Meltdown)... Let's be careful out there...

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm sitting in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, availing myself of their free Wi-Fi, and I'm proud to say that the first 90 minutes of this trip has gone off without a hitch. Without a hitch, I tell you!

Boarding passes retrieved? Check!
Last-minute bathroom run made? Check!
First snack selection given my daughter's A-OK? Check!

My goal for the flight? To get to Dallas with everyone happy and with a website name for my daughter so I don't have to constantly call her "my daughter."

With any luck, I'll have a Day One post sometime Saturday morning.

Gotta go -- they're boarding.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

How to describe Jump in the Jumpy House, the recently-released third CD for kids from San Jose, California-based artist Mr. David?....

How about... "this album sounds like nothing else you've heard all year."

Well, yes, but that's what I said about his last album, The Great Adventures of Mr. David, so perhaps I need to find different words, because it doesn't sound like that CD, either.

Whereas the previous album had a strong folk and folk-rock influence, the new album has more diversity of sound -- the garage rock of the title track, aided by the propulsive guitar work of Greg Lisher from Camper Van Beethoven; the gentle Spanish guitar on "Miss Pila"; the early New Wave sounds of "Hey! It's Lunchtime!" Mr. David (real name: David Alexandrou) does a passable Johnny Cash impression on "Them Devils," or at least is obviously inspired by him there. I also love the brief "Ragtime Honey," a sweet little ragtime instrumental that's a nice palate-cleansing (or aural-cleansing) at the center of this 31-minute album before plunging into the second side.

In an interview here last year, Mr. David said he was proud of "putting out a kind of children’s music that really is different." There's no doubt he's doing that. There are times on this CD when I wonder if it really isn't a little too different. "Cabin Blues" is pretty abstract for a kids' song, about passing the days in a (vacation) cabin. The leadoff "Crocodiles Are Hungry" is almost stream-of-consciousness, barely touching on crocodiles and ending with a tribute to "John, Paul, George, and Ringo." (Favorite line: "People always ask me, 'How can you spend so much time up in your hammock?' / I say, 'Because man, I got pink lemonade!'") I think this is one of those albums that will probably divide listeners. Some families will absolutely adore this album for its adventurousness while others might think that "Jump in the Jumpy House" rocks and "Little Girl" is a sweet little song and the rest is just a little too weird.

The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear (and download) "Hey! It's Lunchtime" and "Jump in the Jumpy House" at Mr. David's Myspace page or hear samples of all the tracks here.

Jump in the Jumpy House is another wildly imaginative album from Mr. David. It's got some fun beats and lyrical pictures. Even if the album isn't quite your family's cup of lemonade, though, you have to hand it to Mr. David for indeed stretching the boundaries of what kids music can be. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Even though the White Stripes have cancelled their Saturday night show at the Austin City Limits Festival, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that the Deedle Deedle Dees will abandon their 8 PM-ish slot at the Family Music Meltdown to fill the Stripes' 8:30 slot.

Again, to repeat, the Deedle Deedle Dees will be playing at the Family Music Meltdown Saturday night, not at Austin City Limits.

Thank you for your concern.

(Oh, and thanks Jumping Monkeys for the plug. They had nothing to do with the whole Deedle Deedle Dees rumor.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

OK, not endlessly, but it's an honest-to-goodness tour. Those of you in Pennsylvania (sorry, that was today), Kentucky, Texas (including something called FAMILY MUSIC MELTDOWN -- c'mon and join us!), Arkansas, and Virginia, come on out and see The Deedle Deedle Dees. Lots of fun.

The tour, with some notes from Ulysses Dee himself, Lloyd Miller.

Sep 10, 2007 10:00 AM Barnes & Noble Pittsburgh, PA -- The Dees return to the venue Ulysses S. Dee calls "the nicest Barnes & Noble in the country. It feels more like a yarn outlet in Western Massachusetts than a chain store."

Sep 11, 2007 9:00 AM elementary school show Frankfort, KY

Sep 13, 2007 4:00 PM Austin Public Library: Spicewood Springs Branch, Austin, TX
Sep 14, 2007 9:00 AM elementary school shows Austin, TX
Sep 15, 2007 10:30 AM Austin Public Library: Terrazas Branch -- The home library of Joanna Nigrelli, the reigning champion of American library science.
Sep 15, 2007 2:00 PM Austin Public Library: Harmon Branch
Sep 15, 2007 6:00 PM Ruta Maya -- The Dees' first trip to the home of Ulysses S. Dee's original songwriting partner, Greg "El Mato" Helmick.

Sep 16, 2007 3:00 PM Little Rock Zoo Little Rock, AR -- The co-author of "Henry Box Brown" lives in Little Rock, but no longer in the zoo.

Sep 19, 2007 TBA TBA Lexington, KY

Sep 21, 2007 5:30 PM Charlottesville Pavilion Charlottesville, VA -- A benefit for the Virginia Discovery Museum. The show is free for the whole community, but if you can please donate to this awesome family destination.

Sep 22, 2007 11:00 AM Jammin Java Vienna, VA -- First show in the DC area. The Dees are thrilled to be visiting the greater metropolitan area of the third and current home of the nation's capital.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Austin's Biscuit Brothers start their 3rd season of their awesome TV show tomorrow morning (Sept. 8th) at 8 AM on Austin's KLRU. Fans in the rest of the country where the show airs will have to wait until October.

As for fans in the other parts of the country where the show doesn't air, write your PBS station and tell them to get the show on the air, pronto. You can tell them they can have it for free. (Really.)

Oh, and even if you don't live in Austin, check out Tiny Scarecrow's latest blog entry. "Except I did not get to go to Singapore." Dude kills me.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's free music all over the place, but here's an opportunity to get it all in one place...

The first 100 people to fill out this survey who filled out (the survey is over) will receive an 8-track -- WAIT A MINUTE, PEOPLE, LET ME FINISH -- an 8-track CD featuring 4 songs from the Blankies and 4 songs from Teacher and the Rockbots. The two groups are kinda a like Gorlliaz for the elementary school set, with the Blankies more of a pop/R&B approach and the Rockbots more, uh, a rock approach. (I tended to prefer the Rockbots tracks, but that's just me.)

If you like kids music with an educational approach (or at least a more overt educational approach), this may be right down your alley.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Spend 2 minutes and 16 seconds, listening to "Educated Kid," the title track and leadoff single from the Bay Area trio The Hipwaders' latest CD, Educated Kid, and try not to move or sing along in some way. Go ahead, try.

See, can't do it.

It's a great example of a pure power-pop song retrofitted just enough to allow the kids to groove to it, even get something out of it lyrically ("pursue your passion / do what you love / perservere / you'll rise above"), while retaining enough musical flourishes (the "uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh" of the chorus, the handclaps) to make the older power-pop fan smile broadly.

While the rest of the disk doesn't quite reach the sugary heights of the title track, there are a number of other good songs on the CD, which was released this week. "Little Baby Brother" has a snappy "ba-ba-bas," "whooooos" and a dead-on kids-eye view of a child's response to a little brother ("Please don't break my toys / And I'll love you forever"). "Aidan's Train" is a sweet Beatle-esque melody. A lot of the tracks have a very XTC vibe -- "The History of Declan Rae" sounds like something from XTC's later period while the angluar "Art Car" and "Speed of Love" have early XTC influences -- in other words, it sounds like a Futureheads kids CD. Guitarist and songwriter Tito Uquillas continues his fascination with sharing educational facts in some songs. It could drag the disk down but it usually doesn't -- the facts typically come off as "hey, here's this really cool fact!" rather than overly didactic and some songs ("History of Declan Rae," in particular) pull it off rather well.

Kids ages 5 through 10 will most likely appreciate the songs and subject matter on the 39-minute CD. You can hear (and download) four of the tracks at the band's Myspace page or samples of all tracks at the album's CDBaby page.

Educated Kid marks a big step forward for the band. In reviewing their previous, self-titled CD, I said "they're not at a Ralph's World level of polish and songcraft yet, but give The Hipwaders time. They may just get there. " Folks, they're getting pretty close. Definitely recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Clearly, I'm a big fan of Seattle's Recess Monkey, so I won't apologize for posting every time a band member sneezes, but they've put a new song from their upcoming double album Wonderstuff on their Myspace page, and "My Pet Rock" is a simple, Beatles-y blast. I love me some "la la la la" choruses.

Oh, and for those of you needing video stimulation, watch Jack do his best Buddy Guy impersonation -- not playing blistering blues guitar, mind you, just leading kids on a conga line during "Monkey Bars" while the rest of the band vamps

Monkey Bars Conga Line at the Fremont Fair

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Posted by SAShepherd at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hey, I'll have stuff from my whirlwind Austin Kid's Day sojourn coming up soon, but for now, why don't you stop by Offsprung and watch Neal Pollack and his son Elijah consciously (and badly) rip off Adam Sandler. (Elijah's by far the more natural talent.)

Oh, and if you haven't visited lately, more Offsprung columns are being added weekly, it seems. Shopping, movies, health, it's all there.

Finally, check out my swanky new Offsprung banner. I'm so proud. (Or, rather, as proud as anyone who had very little to do with the actual putting-together of said banner can be.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mary Had A Little Amp was originally released waaaaaaay back in, er, October 2004. OK, it really wasn't that long ago in the cosmic scheme of things. But if it's not quite the paleozoic era to the current mesozoic era, it does seem like it comes from a different time.

The big thing about the current wave of kid-comps (kids' music compilations) is that the CDs tend to be composed of songs recorded specifically for the CD. It's not a hard-and-fast rule, mind you, and some of the songs on those CDs aren't specifically "kids music," but, more often than not, when the artist or band went into the studio, they had a pretty good idea of who their audience was going to be. Or, at the very least, the track listing makes some sense.

Not so with Mary Had A Little Amp. The songs here seem to have been compiled as much by the artists' affinity for for the album's benefactors (proceeds go to support preschool education projects) as by the appropriateness of the songs. "We Walk," for example, is a perfectly kid-safe song from R.E.M. (or at least as far one can tell in Michael Stipe's earlier, mumblier phase), but its appropriateness for a kids-music album is somewhat remote. You can count Moby's "Anchovie" and "Sing Along" (the Blue Man Group along with Dave Matthews) as songs whose lyrics are reasonably kid-safe, but probably not of much interest to kids.

Which isn't to say there aren't some stellar tracks on here, they just tend to be the ones that are more suitable for a kids-comp. The Dixie Chicks' cover of "The Rainbow Connection" is almost worth the price of the CD by itself -- sweet, with sufficient banjo to make fans remember the original. Jack Johnson turns in an early, laid-back version of "The 3 R's," revved up later on the Curious George soundtrack. Madonna's "Little Star" is surprisingly good and Rosanne Cash's "How To Be Strong" is by far the best original.

The album is probably best-suited for kids ages 3 through 9, though I doubt any kid will really get into the whole CD, there's such diversity in age-range here. You can hear snippets all over the internet and here.

With an overall mellow mood and a collection of slightly older stars, this collection might make a good gift for your older sibling who had a child of their own a little after you did. While it's a decent lineup of artists, compared to some of the more kid-centered (and rockin') compliations that followed it, Mary Had A Little Amp is, well, a little unplugged.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)