As I sat amongst roughly 49,000 other fans last night at Chase Field watching the hometown Arizona Diamondbacks thoroughly dominate the Milwaukee Brewers 8-1 to force their playoff series to a Game Four, it occurred to me that there are two places where praying publicly is tolerated or even expected -- church and your local sporting stadium ("oh please, oh please, turn the double play").

I'm not sure there's a direct connection, but those are the two places where you can expect to hear group singing on a regular basis.

In the Christian church, regardless of whether you're singing Ralph Vaughan Williams or some modern praise song, there will likely be at least a couple points where your vocal participation is encouraged. And every sporting event will start out with the national anthem (two, at most hockey games), with sing-song chants (or actual songs) used to varying degrees in different stadia and sports.

I have long sung the praises (so to speak) of singing in groups. Bill Harley suggests that "singing is an expression and fostering of community." In that regard, it's not that surprising that religion and sports -- two realms in which community is an essential component of participation and enjoyment -- still turn to communal singing as ways of bringing and keeping its attendees in the fold. Singing those centuries-old hymns that I may never have heard before but sound so familiar anyway -- that's one of the things I most enjoy about church.

And sports? I suspect that one of the reasons I have little taste for pro basketball (and to a lesser extent pro football and hockey) is that after the national anthem, the crowd is mostly silent, relentlessly pummeled by a sound system cranked up to loud volumes in order to generate a simulacrum of energy. College sports (at least when and where I went to school) generally had more crowd participation, at least in certain sections, as the cheers and songs were crowd-driven -- between the fight songs and the bands playing the same dozen or so popular songs game in, game out, I did a fair amount of singing on fall Saturday afternoons and winter Wednesday evenings.

Two of my favorite sports -- baseball and soccer -- may just be the biggest encouragers of song and chant in the sporting world. Soccer matches around the globe have songs and chants echoing through the stands for the entire game. And in baseball, besides the chants which seem every bit as important to some kids' rhythmic development as patty-cake ("here we go, D-Backs, here we go!") and which occur more often, it seems, than at other professional sporting events, we have at least one other song where it's exepcted that everyone sings. Even better, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is sung across Major League Baseball, so even if you're visiting another stadium you're guaranteed to be able to sing it. (And now you often get "God Bless America" thrown into the mix, a song which, regardless of your take on God's blessing of America, does have a pretty cool melodic line and is quite fun to sing.)

I'm not going to suggest that you take your kids to church -- no way am I stepping into that discussion -- but I am going to suggest that you take your kids to a baseball game for their musical development. I don't know if Bill Harley would agree, but I'm willing to bet he's a baseball fan...

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Time once again for all the news that didn't fit into a separate post due to time, interest, contractual, or legal obligations -- it's your favorite pun-titled file folder of a blog post, the Ketchup Report! Yaaay! (Cue Kermit the Frog wild arm-flailing here...)

The World of Happiness single, the "We Are the World" of the kids' biz, "A World of Happiness," is here. Except your kids might actually want to listen to this new song when they become parents themselves. Sales of the single, produced by Tor Hyams and Joanie Leeds, benefit Autism Speaks. The single includes a whole host of folks besides Leeds and Hyams -- Molly Ledford (who gets the honor of leading off the track), Frances England, Ralph Covert... it just goes on and on. A bunch of the participants will be recording a concert later this month for broadcast on Sirius/XM Radio later on. Anyway, it's $1.29 well-spent right here.

I could probably start a whole separate post listing all the recent crowdfunding projects in the kids music world. Heck, it's almost getting to the point where I could start a blog listing all the recent crowdfunding projects in the kids music world. I've been partial to Kickstarter, of course. The two most recent projects have been a Professor Banjo and his successful second-album project and Ryan SanAngelo and his not-one-but-two-Kickstarter-projects. But other sites do the same basic thing. Van Oodles didn't quite succeed in making a video for a song of his, but LA indie-rockers Ellen and Matt and Chicago's Laura Doherty are both looking for funds for their next disks. Should you feel so inclined, help out Ellen and Matt here and Laura for her new album Shining Like a Star in the widget there to the side.

-- For a limited time, Doctor Noize's "Bananas" iWhatever app is free. Download the ever-so-slightly-educational app here. (Note: may no longer be free.)

-- Finally, with Earth Day coming up, a it's time for Earth Day-related tunes. Dan Zanes has a new, original tune, "Hail the Creatures" written by Zanes for a new exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo. You don't need to be near Philly to enjoy the track, just near an iTunes-enabled gadget that can download this, with proceeds benefiting the Zoo. (More details on the tune and the Zoo's new exhibit here.)... Bill Harley is offering a free download of "Keep It Green" from his 1996 album Big Big World -- you can get it here... And finally, DARIA is offering a mini-CD of 6 "earth friendly" songs, free just for the price of an e-mail address (and an earth-friendly suggestion).

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another collection of random bits from around the kindie-webs...

-- Perpetual Grammy nominee Bill Harley is offering up another free track. This one is - gasp! - a quarter-century old. It's "I'm On My Way" from his 1986 album 50 Ways To Fool Your Mother and it's a nifty re-working of the old traditional tune...

-- The long-in-the-making "We Are the World"-style jam "A World of Happiness" is finally making its way to the light of day. Joanie Leeds and Tor Hyams released a YouTube video explaining the project, which basically boils down, "a whole bunch of kindie artists lending their talents to a single song to raise money for charity." That works for me. Originally pegged as a Haiti-relief song, now the charity of choice will be picked by a vote.

-- The Wales-based animation studio Planet Sunday, best known here probably for their animation work for The Hipwaders and Debbie and Friends, also helps run their Animation Academy. The Academy (now a non-profit organization, shows kids ages 8 and up how animated films are made and gives them the chance to make their own films. Their most recent workshop resulted in a music video for The Hipwaders. According to Planet Sunday founder Greg David, "The kids and parents really got a lot out of it, and it really improved the format of the day."

They've got two workshops lined up this month, on the 23rd and 25th February. One band is already interested, but they're looking to get someone else on board -- i.e., another kindie band. While David says they try to keep the costs down for kids as much as possible by getting grants and other funding to cover the cost of equipment and materials, etc., if a band would like to make a donation of either money and/or goodies for the kids it'd be much appreciated. (And, I suppose, that would go for anyone, regardless of their kindie-rocking status.) If interested, drop 'em a line here.

-- I normally wouldn't like this video from L.A.'s Mista Cookie Jar -- it's way too overdone for my own tastes -- but they all combine into something... else. It's probably the tune, which is earwormy, and downloadable for free (or donation) right here...

Mista Cookie Jar - "Joey the Dogg" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that the 2011 Grammy nominations have been announced, it's time once again for the now-annual concert featuring many of the 2011 Children's Grammy Nominees. On Saturday, February 12th, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am at The Mint in LA (as opposed to the Grammy Museum). For this year’s concert, the nominees are donating their performances, with net ticket proceeds going to Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Music nominees confirmed include Justin Roberts, The Battersby Duo, and Judy Pancoast. Spoken word nominees include Bill Harley and Steve Pullara (with Oran Etkin). More folks will be announced soon. Tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door, with non-walking babies ages one and under free. (Is there a test on this last part?) Should be fun. There's also a networking lunch after the show for folks in "the biz." If you're interested, drop Beth Blenz-Clucas at Sugar Mountain PR a line.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First you'll need to get to where you're going. Jim Cosgrove is offering up a free download of his song "Gobble Across the USA" here (enter "gobble" as the checkout code). As Cosgrove notes, it's not really a Thanksgiving song, but it features a lot of gobbling and a lot of food, which seems appropriate enough for me.

Then, once you get there, the prayer, courtesy of Bill Harley. His poem is called "Thanksgiving Prayer" and regardless of your religious affiliation (or lack thereof), I think you'll appreciate it.

[And here's a second blessing of sorts, this one coming from the Harmonica Pocket -- it's called "Give Thanks" and you can download it here.]

Continue reading "Thanksgiving Feast, Family Music-Style" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Ketchup Report, slathering kids music news all across the internet with all-natural ingredients.

-- Bill Harley channels a little Dylan and Guthrie on his song "Enough Is a Feast," which he's now offering as a free download here through Thanksgiving. (If you want to contribute to or volunteer at a food bank at this time of year when food is maybe even more important than it usually is, Harley suggests finding one here.)

-- I'm a longtime fan of the Tricycle Music Fest, even after its cross-country move to San Francisco. Check out the videos from last month's edition here, including "Tricycle," of course, from Frances England and other videos from Charity Kahn and the Time Outs.

-- Twin Cities folks, heads up, Clementown, the Okee Dokee Brothers, and Adam Levy are playing a benefit show on Saturday, December 4 for friends of Clementown's, Krista and Terry, who've both been diagnosed with cancer. Great lineup, good cause. More details here.

-- I'm also a fan of the "Listen To Your Buds" campaign encouraging kids not to turn up their speakers (or headphones) to 11. This fall's performers? Oran Etkin, who's performing in Philadelphia public schools this week and Brady Rymer.

-- Gustafer Yellowgold, back on (off-)Broadway! Gustafer Yellowgold’s Infinity Sock will have a run of Saturday performances (11 AM and 1 PM) at the DR2 Theatre, 103 E. 15th St. New York City, from February 26 through April 2. It apparently will include the song "Wisconsin Poncho," which is "set in an all-cheese clothing store." This, friends, is why I love kids music.

-- The Kindiependent concert at the Seattle Public Library some of you may have heard about? 1,500 people, folks. Strength in numbers, that's what it's about. The group's got a couple new concert series coming up in the Seattle area starting this fall, too...

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reviewing the Grammy-winningBill Harley in concert seems a little bit like reviewing Bruce Springsteen. He's been playing shows for so long -- thirty-plus years, as he noted early on in his show this weekend at Phoenix's Musical Instrument Museum -- that his proficiency at doing his thing live isn't questioned at all, and trying to find new things to say about songs your family may have heard dozens of times before can prove vexing.

Better, then, for the reviewer, to try to find new things to appreciate, like Harley's nifty guitarwork on "Down in the Backpack." Or his commitment to being in the moment -- always a good thing as a parent to being reminded of -- such as his decision to turn his guitar into a mbira of sorts for the Ghanian song "Tuuweh" (poor spelling entirely my fault), rarely performed by Harley. Or even his ability, physicially, to make himself appear small when necessary so as to make himself more credible as a kid-sized narrator.

The set list focused more on Harley's classics, such as his long story "Teachers' Lounge," "Pea on My Plate," and "Is Not Is Too." He wrapped up the show with "Somos El Barco," recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, among others. I would've been happy to have Harley extend his 75-minute set a little bit longer, but it's probably a good length for the younger folks in the crowd. As with any good storyteller, Harley's gift of being able to communicate -- listen and share -- with others is best experienced live. A fun time.

By the way, here's my recap of Harley at Kindiefest. And while I don't have any video from the MIM, here's Harley at Kindiefest performing "Pea on My Plate," which he also did here in Phoenix.

Disclosure: I was provided tickets for the show. Photo of Bill Harley at Cincinnati Playhouse by Thom Luce.

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

Not quite sure how I've managed to write this website and not review a disk from Bill Harley. Well, that ends now.

Harley's latest disk The Best Candy in the Whole World and Other Stories, out this week, is a disk of four stories (with a song mixed in for good measure). It features Harley's typical sense of impish humor, vocal stylings, and, most of all, humanity. In a couple different stories, Harley uses the phrase, "his/her heart went out to her/him," a lovely phrase that underscores Harley's approach to telling stories. When he's getting at the heart (pun intended) of familial or larger rivalries, Harley always sees the person underneath. There may be heroes and there may be villains in his stories, but they're almost never entirely so.

All of which makes the collection sound a little dull, which it's not. The stories (some original, some borrowed) are funny and imaginative. You can see the ending of the title track coming perhaps a minute or two before the actual ending, which is both neatly wrapped up and open-ended. You think you see the ending of the "Jack and the Singing Leaves," about ten minutes into the 25-minute story, but then Harley acknowledges what you're thinking (in the context of the story) and then takes it in a somewhat different direction.

The stories will be most enjoyed by kids ages 4 through 9. You can hear samples here. Bill Harley's albums of stories are usually good an hour's worth of silent attention broken by the occasional giggle or guffaw, and The Best Candy in the Whole World is no exception. Recommended.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review from Harley's PR folks.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Most Bill Harley material is good stuff, so even a random free track from him would have a good chance of getting mentioned here.

But "Down in the Backpack"? One of Harley's most well-known songs? Almost guaranteed to get a grin out of your 7-year-old? (And probably you, too?)

Just go here, where "Down in the Backpack," the title track from Harley's 2001 album, is free 'til the end of the month.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everything I so enjoy about Bill Harley is wrapped up in this picture. The Kindiefest panel that I'd moderated that included the amazing group of Bill, Suni Paz, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Kathy O'Connell had wrapped up some time before. I found myself talking with Bill near the exit and looked down at the garbage can just outside the window and saw my name card -- and just my card -- discarded on the top. "Aw, man!," I said, jokingly, and decided I needed to get a picture of the proof of my impermanence. At which point Harley said, "No, wait -- I need to get my card out and in the picture." We then ran outside like a couple of giddy 7-year-old boys, he found his own card in the trash, arranged it artfully on top, and then I took the picture.

It's that ability to see the absurdity and humor in the day-to-day life of us all that makes Harley such a beloved performer. He's a hard worker (he said at the panel that he sets aside an hour or two each day to write), but it's that essential humanity (honoring the child, as he said) that's given him such a long career, I think.

On Sunday, Harley performed at the public showcase. It was a fun set, though I was a bit distracted because I had to leave for the airport and so spent part of the set saying my last goodbyes. But I had fun, as did the rest of the crowd. Harley also let his friend Keith Munslow, who backed Harley up on keyboards, do a song of his own. Good stuff all around. Maybe that Bill Harley placecard's on eBay by now...

Bill Harley (w/ Keith Munslow) - "Everybody's a Baby About Something" (Live @ Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube] (my favorite part of this -- also generally indicative of Harley -- is that he teaches the crowd to whine. In harmony.

More pictures (of the actual Bill Harley) after the jump.

Continue reading "Kindiefest 2010: Bill Harley" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This isn't really a video per se -- it's Bill Harley staring into the camera telling a story.

That's good enough, though, because although Harley's storytelling needs no visual accompaniment, Harley's facial expressions are a sweet bonus. This is "You're Not the Boss of Me," collected on Harley's Play it Again disk in which lessons are learned (and promptly forgotten).

Bill Harley - "You're Not the Boss of Me" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I mentioned previously that registration for Kindiefest was open, I wasn't 100% sure that I was going myself. I mean, I had lots of fun last year, and this year promises to be even better (more panels, a keynote, a chance to hear 14 different artists playing live). But it's a really long flight from Phoenix, and a weekend away from the family essentially working.

Having said all that, I'm going. And now the panel I was asked to moderate is starting to take shape, I might've been willing to go to Brooklyn for that experience alone. The panel "Old School Meets New School," will talk about the generations of family musicians -- those who've been doing it for 3 years and those who've been doing it for 30 -- and their perspectives on making music for families in today's world. At the moment, the panel includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Suni Paz, and Bill Harley. Not to mention Kids Corner's Kathy O'Connell. (And I don't think the panel's quite complete.)

Yeah. You read that right. My chief goal in being moderator will be shutting up and not getting in the way.

Anyway, earlybird registration for the conference ends next Monday, so if you haven't seen the burgeoning list of speakers and artists, I encourage you to do so. See you in Brooklyn.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This is how big Bill Harley is. While waiting for NPR to air his essay on singing the national anthem, Harley has a backup NPR piece ready to air. Seeking to join the kids music fight against H1N1 spearheaded by the Jimmies and Chromeo Harley writes a song about washing one's hands ("Wash Your Hands," natch) for airing on NPR. You can listen to a clip in the embedded player below, but you may as well just go to Harley's website and download the mp3 for free.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I mentioned a few weeks back that Bill Harley had started a new blog and I've been checking it out occasionally ever since.

What I like about Harley's blog, besides it being well-written, funny, and spell-checked -- I'm lucky if I get two of those three -- is that he's been taking a very big picture view of things. He's been interested in songs, and kids, and culture, big topics that don't lend themselves to quick posts, snappy one-liners, and links to other folks' comments. Things, if you haven't noticed, that I tend to rely on.

So I was quite pleased to see Bill's recent post on singing together, because it says better than I could how wonderful making music together can be.

Singing together is what people have always done. There’s less of it today – we leave it to the “professionals” (me?) and forget that we’re happier and healthier if we open up our mouths and belt it out with the people around us. This has nothing to do with virtuosity, or perfect pitch, or being a soprano or alto or whatever. It has to do with being human.

So I'm hopeful to hear in Harley's post that there are still groups of people who get together and sing for the pure joy of it. As he puts it, "Singing is an expression and fostering of community." While I spend most of my time talking about how professionals craft songs and experiences for our families to enjoy together, I hope that you are all also taking the opportunity to sing your own songs, no matter how silly or out-of-tune you may think they are. Because they're probably not, and even if they are, it doesn't matter.

Well, this wasn't quite quick, but there was a snappy one-liner or two, and a link. Two out of three ain't bad.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

... or, in more search-friendly terms, writing about music -- ie, blogs -- by kids musicians. I know that Warren covered this last week, but I've had this on my to-do list for awhile, so I'm going to press forward with a highlighting of another wave of kids musicians turning their thoughts to the blogosphere. Some have a lot to do with the kids music genre, some very little. But I'm guessing at least one of 'em will be of interest to most of you and/or your RSS reader...

-- Ann Torralba, best known as Little Miss Ann, is trying her hand writing about kids music at littleshouldersmusic, focusing in particular about music in the Chicago area where Ann lives.
-- Bill Harley has long been one of the most talented wordsmiths in the kids music field, so I'm glad to see that he's started a blog. He tells his stories very well, and anyone interested about the arts and school culture generally will find this of value.
-- Robert Burke Warren had a long career making music for adults before starting to make music for kids as Uncle Rock. Now he's got a blog in which he's every bit as thoughtful on paper as he is in person.
-- Debbie Cavalier records music for kids under the moniker Debbie and Friends but her day job (OK, other day job) is Dean of Continuing Education at Berklee College, so, uh, yeah, she knows something about music education. She has not one, but two blogs. One, on Music, Education and Technology, is geared more toward Berklee's students, but occasionally deals with stuff of interest to a broader audience, while the other, Kid's Music Matters, is a pretty good example of an artist blog, mixing self-promotional stuff with more behind-the-scenes stuff.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I already mentioned the winners of the 2009 Grammys for kids audio. A couple follow-ups...

First, here is where you can watch the Grammy ceremony. The kids audio categories are about 42-43 minutes in. If you don't want to bother loading the video, I've embedded a copy of TMBG's comments below. Afterwards, backstage, John Linnell was quoted as saying

"The money is in children's music," he said. "Those kids are loaded... Even with music sales down for adult music, a lot of parents are willing to pay for songs for their kids," he said.

"And maybe just to set a good example, they're less likely to steal it." There's also special joy, for him, he said, in making music for tots. "A lot of adults are walking rock critics. They always compare the music to what they've heard before. Kids don't do that. They're hearing it all for the first time."

As for Bill Harley, a lot of these comments have been seen elsewhere, but it's nice to pass on. Harley notes that "no matter what you're thinking before ("I could win!", or "I should win!", or "There's no way I'll win!" ) - you're still surprised when someone calls your name. In this case, it was particularly pleasing to hear my two dear friends, Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink, make the announcement... This was a very competitive category this year, and I know a lot of people had to vote for me. Thanks to them, and those who support me, and the couple generations of parents, kids and teachers who have put their trust in me."

Harley also said he he hung out with Ezra and Keith of Trout Fishing in America -- the three of them introduced ourselves to Brenda Lee as her new band and she says she wants to make a kid's recording. And in one of the funnier lines of the week, Harley noted this e-mail from a fan: "My husband and I were discussing your nomination earlier today and Emma (5) overheard us talking. She said, "Doesn't Bill Harley already have a Grammy? Why does he need another one?"

Video of TMBG after the jump.

Continue reading "Grammys 2009: A Follow-Up" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)