First, let's get the technical stuff out of the way -- here is the list of the nominees for Best Children's Album, with the winner to be announced Feb. 12:

All About Bullies... Big And Small - Various Artists (James Cravero, Gloria Domina, Kevin Mackie, Steve Pullara & Patrick Robinson, producers)
Are We There Yet? - The Papa Hugs Band
Fitness Rock & Roll - Miss Amy
GulfAlive - The Banana Plant
I Love: Tom T. Hall's Songs of Fox Hollow - Various Artists (Eric Brace & Peter Cooper, producers)

OK, now that I have that out of the way.

WHAT???!?

Now, let it first be said that I totally expected the GRAMMYs' decision to combine 2 children's categories into one to spell a death knell for independent artists. I was obviously completely wrong, seeing as all five nominees are independently produced. So make of that what you will regarding my understanding of the GRAMMY process.

Continue reading "54th GRAMMY Nominations: Best Children's Album" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Recording Academy, otherwise known as the folks who put on the annual music recording industry confab called the Grammys, announced today that after a year-long review review they were restructuring the Grammy categories for the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012. Reducing from 109 to 78 categories, the Academy reduced the 2 categories in the Children's Field to one, eliminating the separate awards for Musical Recording and Spoken Word.

On the one hand, this can clearly be seen as a shot at the Children's Spoken Word recordings -- some other changes in the voting process indicated that low numbers of relevant album submissions were clearly a concern, as categories with fewer than 40 entries will now have just 3 nominees, and entries with fewer than 25 will be suspended. The Spoken Word category has, for the past few years, hung around in that 25-40 range, while the Musical Recording field always has well more than 100, often approaching 200, entries.

Oddly enough, however, it's that small number of recordings that may just give the spoken word recordings a disproportionate share of the nominees in the new, combined category. Fewer nominees, easier to vote for. And that's not even getting into the discussion once the nominees are announced, when the "famous name" aspect of the spoken word category may make it even harder for great, "non-famous" musical artists to break through.

I could be wrong. I hope I am. But I think the likelihood of independent family musicians getting nominated for 2012 just went down fairly substantially.

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I didn't watch the pre-telecast awards ceremony for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards this afternoon -- for one thing, I already had other plans, but I also had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who would win the Best Musical Album for Children. When Pete Seeger is nominated in your category, you'd probably best just get out of the way. He was my pick when the nominees were announced and sure enough, he won this afternoon for his album Tomorrow's Children. This article says Seeger was surprised -- "I never thought in a million years we'd win a Grammy," Seeger is quoted as saying -- but I wasn't. I liked Tomorrow's Children and gave away a copy of the album, but didn't feel it was quite as good as Justin Roberts' Jungle Gym or Here Comes Science from They Might Be Giants. Still considering it's only the fourth Grammy for a man who should have so many that he's using them as holders for spare rolls of toilet paper, it's not surprising that he's picking up a few late in his career.

And, yes, as predicted, Julie Andrews also won a Grammy for Julie Andrews' Collection Of Poems, Songs, And Lullabies, beating out Bill Harley and the Healthy Food for Thought kid-comp. Again, hard to begrudge Julie Andrews winning anything at this point...

Congratulations to Pete, Julie, and all the nominees...

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:20 PM | 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)

Could we draw some sort of inference from the inability of the GRAMMYs to get their complete list of nominations up until a good 20-25 minutes after they were promised? Some broad reluctance to get into the digital age? Probably not. But still annoying for the multitudes of folks who wanted to see the winners at 11 PM East Coast time as promised.

Anyway, I'm over that now. The nominees, with some thoughts, after the jump. The main GRAMMY awards are Sunday night, Feb. 13 -- most of the awards (including this category) are typically awarded that afternoon.

Continue reading "53rd Grammy Nominations: Children's Music (and Spoken Word)" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As I noted about 3 months ago, I'm always interested in seeing musicians take more responsibility for the GRAMMY process, and a key deadline is coming up in a couple weeks. October 1st is the last day for musicians (and others in the industry) to join The Academy and receive the first round voting ballot. Lots of really good albums this year deserving of a nomination for Best Recording for Children -- including maybe yours -- so if you've been thinking of joining, now would be a good time, no?

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Longtime readers know that I care about the voting process for the Grammys more than I probably should. But seeing as it is the music industry's biggest self-congratulation event, I think it's important that family musicians care about it and take pride in the artists nominated for their genre's big prize(s). The Grammys get pounded when the general membership makes a poor selection for a winning entry, but the musicians in the genre can help ensure that the nominee pool makes it impossible to make a poor choice. (Last year's nominee list was a big step forward in that regard.)

Karen Rappaport McHugh of Muddy Girl Productions was recently elected to the Los Angeles Chapter Board of Governors for the Recording Academy and says she's "really going to try to enhance the visibility of kids music." (As you might expect, the LA chapter might have some outsized importance in the field.) So, here are some dates for musicians to consider as they plan their 2011 Grammy campaigns. The key date -- if you want enter your disk online, deadline for membership in order to do so is Wednesday, June 30. Other note: last year had an 11-month eligibility window -- this year and this year only it's 13 months, from Sept. 1, 2010 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010.

Continue reading "Grammys: This One's For the Musicians" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, the Grammys are almost upon us, and once again the Grammy Museum is hosting a Children's Recording concert. It's tomorrow, Saturday, at noon, and for $10 a pop, you'll get to hear music from all six kids' music Grammy nominees -- Ziggy Marley, Buck Howdy, Milkshake, Jonathan Sprout, Greg & Steve, and Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer with Christylez Bacon. That's a pretty good lineup for $10, plus Dean Pitchford and Buck Howdy will do some readings from their Best Spoken Word-nominated albums.

Grammy weekend has always had a bit of a convention-week feel for folks in the industry, and the kids music folks are capitalizing on it, having another breakfast on Saturday that'll bring together musicians and other folks in the industry. For a variety of reasons, I won't be able to make it this year, but I will soon...

Now, as for the actual awards, the Best Children's Musical Recording and Spoken Word awards will be handed out on Sunday at 1 PM Los Angeles time. As they were last year, these not-ready-for-prime-time (or at least, not shown-on-prime time) will be streamed live GRAMMY.com. You'll be able to follow folks like Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer on the interwebs throughout the weekend.

As for who'll actually win, as I said right after the nominations were announced, I think Ziggy Marley has to be considered the favorite taking into account the long Grammy history he has, but Cathy & Marcy could pull off an upset. Maybe next year there'll be 10 nominees.

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, it's just me, really. But after looking at the nominees for this year's Grammys (to be awarded Sunday, January 31), a few additional thoughts:

1) First, congratulations to all the nominated artists.
2) Well, I already said it, but I was surprised that Peter Himmelman wasn't nominated for My Trampoline. Quality of the album aside (and it's a great album), he was nominated last year -- surprising that he wasn't nominated again.
3) Because being nominated before definitely helps -- Cathy & Marcy and Buck Howdy both have previous nominations in the category (with C&M winning twice before), and Ziggy Marley's won 4 Grammys as well.
4) It looks like Milkshake took the "Brady Rymer" slot I had the Sippy Cups pegged for. I thought their constant touring to places like LA and NYC would help them. Insufficiently, it turned out.
5) Preschool teachers around the country are cheering Greg & Steve's nomination -- seriously, those guys' disks are in literally every classroom at Little Boy Blue's preschool.

Here are the three final points:
6) People more closely tied to the industry had some sense this would happen -- not only did Buck correctly pick Milkshake (not so surprising) and Greg & Steve (very surprising), but I'd also heard about Jonathan Sprout getting some attention.
7) Of the 6 artists nominated this year, 4 of the 6 played the Grammy Museum kids' series. Only Greg & Steve and Jonathan Sprout did not. I'm thinking booking agents should be calling to offer their clients' services for the 2010 series, because it couldn't hurt to play in front of Grammy voters, no?
8) Finally, the arcane voting rules make it hard to project what might happen in selecting a winner. Folks can only vote in 8 of the 29 fields. That means that people have to want to vote in the kids' category and that will keep Ziggy Marley from running away with the award. It means, in basest vote-gathering terms, that Marley needs to convince his reggae fans in the Academy to crossover just as it means that Cathy & Marcy need to convince their folk fans in the Academy to do the same. My money's on Ziggy (note: not actual money), but I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Cathy & Marcy take the award.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well, Buck Howdy and I make excellent Grammy predictors, but only one of us got two Grammy nominations tonight... the nominations for the 52nd Grammy Awards are out, and in the Children's Field they are...

Best Musical Album For Children

American Heroes #3 - Jonathan Sprout
Banjo To Beatbox - Cathy & Marcy With Special Guest Christylez Bacon
Family Time - Ziggy Marley
Great Day - Milkshake
Jumpin' & Jammin' - Greg & Steve
Pete Seeger Tribute — Ageless Kids' Songs - Buck Howdy

(Very surprised that Peter Himmelman isn't there...)

Best Spoken Word Album For Children

Aaaaah! Spooky, Scary Stories & Songs - Buck Howdy
Captain Nobody - Dean Pitchford
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales (Various Artists) - Sharon Gelman, Michele McGonigle & Alfre Woodard, producers
The Phantom Tollbooth - David Hyde Pierce
Scat - Ed Asner
Through The Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There - Harlan Ellison

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, the Grammy Award nominations are being announced Wednesday night, and for what it's worth, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the 5 nominations for the Best Musical Album For Children. (I miss doing my Oscar pool, perhaps.)

This list isn't a list of my top 5 favorites, or top 5 best -- it's the list of the 5 albums I think are most likely to be nominated from the list of eligible albums. Now, that list is missing some fairly obvious candidates. For example, They Might Be Giants' Here Comes Science, which would be a shoo-in given that, you know, it's really good and the band won the category last year, isn't on the list, tripped up by the Aug. 31 cut-off date. Lunch Money's Dizzy isn't on the list, either -- the band simply didn't submit it. Other folks, previous nominees especially, will take their place.

But here are five albums I wouldn't be surprised to see make the list (none of which would be an embarrassing choice):

Ziggy Marley - Family Time
Peter Himmelman - My Trampoline
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer w/ Christylez Bacon - Banjo to Beatbox
Buck Howdy - Pete Seeger Tribute
The Sippy Cups - The Time Machine (hey, somebody's got to fill the Brady Rymer slot this year, right?)

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A brief note for you NARAS members looking for guidance on your Best Children's Recordings portion of your Grammy ballot, which hit members'boxes about a week ago. There are lots of really good recordings on the list. (There are some really good recordings that aren't on the list, too, but that's another issue entirely.) I've already seen probably a dozen artists promote their album via Facebook, and I'm sure there's more, too. (I can handle lobbying for Grammys -- it's the lobbying for the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll that I dislike.) But look around here -- there are a number of good albums on that nominations ballot that have been reviewed on the site that will give you some guidance as to what to listen to further. And if you're eligible for NARAS and want to vote on the final ballot -- you still have time (Nov. 2, to be exact).

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A brief note for you NARAS members looking for guidance on your Best Children's Recordings portion of your Grammy ballot, which hit members'boxes about a week ago. There are lots of really good recordings on the list. (There are some really good recordings that aren't on the list, too, but that's another issue entirely.) I've already seen probably a dozen artists promote their album via Facebook, and I'm sure there's more, too. (I can handle lobbying for Grammys -- it's the lobbying for the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll that I dislike.) But look around here -- there are a number of good albums on that nominations ballot that have been reviewed on the site that will give you some guidance as to what to listen to further. And if you're eligible for NARAS and want to vote on the final ballot -- you still have time (Nov. 2, to be exact).

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No sooner do I stop talking about the 51st Annual Grammys than I start talking about the 52nd Annual Grammys. The Recording Academy announced yesterday that next year's awards will air on January 31st, 2010.

Which means that the award window will be just 11 months long, from Oct. 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2009. We're halfway through the award window right now! Oh. My. Goodness.

Anyway, what that means for the rest of the awards process is as follows:

Continue reading "One Grammy Window Closes, Another (Shorter) One Opens" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I already posted some thoughts -- mostly from other people -- about the 2009 Grammys. And, yeah, I was glad They Might Be Giants won -- it was my favorite of the five nominated albums, and one of my favorites of the year, period. I'm glad Brady Rymer got nominated, and I wouldn't have been sad to see Trout Fishing in America to win as sort of a "career achievement" award. And Bill Harley is, well, Bill Harley. Hard to argue with that win for Best Spoken Word Album for Kids.

But the weekend of the Grammys also saw a group of kids music folks get together for a brunch to talk about the genre and ways in which the children's music community can work together to foster awareness of the genre.

Karen Rappaport McHugh at Muddy Girl Productions sent me a summary of the event, which included more than 30 artists, managers, media, marketing and PR consultants. I've posted most of that summary below for your perusal and thought. These aren't the answers, but they're some thoughts of folks who've spent a lot of time thinking about the genre. While the first point deals with more Grammy-related issues, the stuff after the jump is relevant to musicians regardless of their interest in the Academy.

Reactions to the summary are welcome in the comments below.

Or, if you'd like, you can go to the very end and see some Grammy trivia put together by Cathy Fink. Quincy Jones - who knew?

*****

1. RECORDING ACADEMY
As a result of our initial meeting in 2008, the first GRAMMY Children’s Music Showcase at the Grammy Museum was established to build excitement around the category... To continue this process, we will work to have this event included as an “official” Grammy event in 2010 such as other categories receive including Grammy Salute to Classical and Grammy Salute to Jazz.

In addition, it was recommended that individual artists become active in their local chapters and approach them about hosting children's music events in several of the top markets for its membership: Nashville, Austin, Chicago, New York and San Francisco were mentioned as possible locations as members from each of these chapters were present at the meeting. Creating local events on a chapter level during the year would really help artists reach into their own membership, which is tremendously helpful during award nominations. Cathy Fink and/or Karen Rappaport are available to artists who are interested in working on this project to expand it beyond the one Grammy week concert. Although the Recording Academy is unlikely to sponsor concerts, recommended events might include:

A Children's Music Listening Party and Meet & Greet Workshop/Seminars, such as:
1) The elements of an excellent recording for children
2) Call for all genres to discuss children's music
3) "Get Up To Date" in the Children's Music Field

For workshops like these, it may be best to bring in outside speaker(s) along with local folks. Contact your Chapter’s Director for a meeting and to discuss options.

Finally, it was noted that people who are not eligible to become voting members can join as associate members and still have a voice within their chapter – this would include MEDIA, MANAGERS, PUBLICISTS, etc. and would be extremely helpful to the children’s music community. As Cathy Fink noted, “the Recording Academy is a membership organization and is there to serve you. You have to let them know what’s important to you and the more members who are part of the children’s music community, the better.”

Continue reading "Post-Grammy Thoughts on the Genre" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Every now and then I'll post something just because I can. Friends going up on stage to accept a Grammy Award totally fits that criteria.

Here, then, is video of the Phoenix Chorale and artistic director and conductor Charles Bruffy accepting their Best Small Ensemble award at the 51st Annual Grammys for Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary.

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:41 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)

They Might Be Giants for Here Come the 123s (Best Musical Album for Children) and Bill Harley for Yes To Running! (Best Spoken Word Album for Children). Congratulations to them both.

Now I'm on pins and needles waiting to see if my friends in the Phoenix Chorale won a Grammy for one of their four nominations... And they did! Best Small Ensemble! w00t!

Oh, pictures of TMBG and Bill picking up their awards after the jump, courtesy of Beth Blenz-Clucas

Continue reading "And the Grammy Goes To..." »

Posted by SAShepherd at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

OK, a nation isn't really reacting, but the nominees are. Some thoughts from some of the nominees... (Ed: Now with bonus Brady Rymer thoughts!)

The prize for wittiest reaction goes Richard Perlmutter, the guy behind the oft-nominated Beethoven's Wig series:

The greatest composers on high
Looked down from their perch in the sky
"Who's Perlmutter?" Bach said
Mozart just shook his head
Then Beethoven said, "One lucky guy!

Continue reading "Children's Grammy Nominations: A Nation Reacts!" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So the nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards have been announced, and for those of you who remember the push for membership, I think you'll be pretty pleased. I mean, your favorite CD of the year might not have been nominated, but there aren't any stinkers in there...

Best Musical Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)

Beethoven's Wig 4: Dance Along Symphonies - Beethoven's Wig [Rounder Records]
Big Round World - Trout Fishing In America [Trout Records]
Here Come The 123s - They Might Be Giants [Disney Sound]
Here Comes Brady Rymer And The Little Band That Could - Brady Rymer And The Little Band That Could [Bumblin' Bee Records]
The Shoe Bird - Gerard Schwarz Conducting The Seattle Symphony [Brilliance Audio]

Best Spoken Word Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)

Around The Campfire - Buck Howdy With BB [Prairie Dog Entertainment]
The Big One-Oh - Dean Pitchford [Random House Audio/Listening Library]
Brown Bear And Friends - Gwyneth Paltrow [Macmillan Audio]
The Cricket In Times Square - Tony Shalhoub [Macmillan Audio]
Yes To Running! Bill Harley Live - Bill Harley [Round River Records]

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If they get nominated, I don't think that Justin Roberts or Laurie Berkner are going to be performing at the big Grammy ceremony on Sunday, February 8, but at the very least a nomination will get them a Grammy weekend performance. Word from Muddy Girl Productions' Karen Rappaport McHugh that all 2008 Grammy Award nominees in the children's music category will be invited to perform at Los Angeles' new Grammy Museum. (The museum is so new, it isn't even open yet -- it opens December 6.) Anyway, the nominees will perform on Friday, February 6 (for school-children) and Saturday, February 7 (for families) from 10 to 11 AM. Spoken word nominees will also be included in the event.

Even potentially more interesting (if you're in the LA area, at least), the Grammy Children's Music Showcase is just the first in a new concert series at the Museum. Rappaport McHugh's been planng a monthly children’s music series which will take place in their 200 seat theatre. The series will focus on a different genre of music each month. They've already compiled a list of bands that the museum is interested in inviting to perform, but artists who believe they fit into a particular month's genre are still welcome to contact Karen at "muddygirlproductions AT verizon.net."

The schedule by genre is as follows:

Continue reading "It's Not A Performance On Grammy Night, But Still..." »

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is where my investigatory nature conflicts with my respect for intellectual property rights.

I have a number of the 51st Grammy Entry List ballot forms listing Grammy-eligible albums for the awards coming up in February 2009. But those ballot forms also have that tiny little copyright "C" at the bottom of the page, which makes me think that just printing the whole thing would probably not be a good idea. (Hey, I never said that this conflict would be a particularly exciting one that would make for a gripping and occasionally humorous movie starring George Clooney.)

So, after the jump I'm going to tell you about a few kids music albums that definitely won't be winning a Grammy next year.

Continue reading "So Who Might Those 2008 Grammys Go To?" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I mentioned a while back that for those musicians who wanted to have a bigger say in the Grammy Awards now was the time to join the Academy.

Well, with the big election less than a month away, I just thought I'd update you on the status of the Awards. According to Karen Rappaport McHugh, the deadline for registering to select the Grammy finalists in each category has passed -- it was October 1. But the deadline for selecting the winner among the finalists/nominees is December 1. (Nominees are announced Dec. 4.)

Even if you don't have an album in the running (it's too late to submit yours this year), you musicians and producers and art directors should sign up now... The 51st Annual Grammy Awards are set for Feb. 9, 2009.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got an e-mail from Karen Rappaport McHugh, who through her Muddy Girl Productions manages the Bummkinn Band, produced the kids stages at Stagecoach, and is otherwise a well-connected person in the kids music biz. She is also, probably thanks to the Bummkinn's 2 CDs, a newly-minted Grammy voter.

I thought the e-mail, which encourages every kids musician to a) become a member of NARAS, and b) vote in the Grammys (particularly the kids fields), was worth distributing to hopefully a wider audience, because she makes the important point that if you're a musician or producer and you don't like the results of the Grammy voting -- or even the category itself -- it's up to you to participate. (Sadly, there's no voting category for blogger/gadfly. I checked.)

The full letter is below.

Continue reading "It Is Election Season, After All: Grammy Membership" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I realize that the Grammys have been over for more than a week now, but I wanted to put a few final thoughts down for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards and, in particular, the kids music field...

I've already shared with you Buck Howdy's thoughts on his trip to the awards, but Buck wasn't the only one visiting. Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer paid a visit, too. The duo has won Grammys before, and Cathy was a nominee this year for Best Traditional Folk Album, with Banjo Talkin'. They attended a number of events and took a bunch of photos. I don't think I ever quite appreciated how much like a convention the Grammys are for the music industry.

And my friend Joel Rinsema, executive director for the Phoenix Bach Choir, nominated for five Grammys along with the Kansas City Choir, did win one award, sort of -- Best Engineered Album, Classical, which goes to the engineer. Still, that's a "Grammy Winner!" sticker they can slap on the CD. "We are thrilled," says Joel, who goes on to say...

"We had an absolute blast at the Grammys. The whole thing was surreal; from the Biltmore Hotel, to the pre-telecast and telecast award ceremonies and of course the post-Grammy bash (the bash looked more like the set from the movie Caligula, to be honest!). It was especially exciting sitting with 80 other people who were there for our nominations. I can definitely say that people knew which disc we were pulling for, especially when the winner was announced for best engineered classical album. I don't think John Newton, our engineer on "Passion Week" expected the eruption that happened when his name was called as the winner. It was a thrilling ride to be on, but to be honest it feels good to have it all behind us. Some have said "congratulations and condolences" (we didn't take home the REAL big awards - Best Classical or Choral Performance). My response is "are you crazy!? We are THRILLED that our disc won a Grammy!" It truly was an honor and we look forward to the next time our hard work is recognized in this manner. It is not the reason we do what we do, but it certainly is gratifying to be recognized for making the right decisions and producing high-quality art."

But you can't talk about this year's Grammys without talking about Herbie Hancock's stunning Album of the Year win for River: The Joni Letters, beating contenders such as Kanye West and saving Amy Winehouse from winning the Christopher Cross slate (AOTY, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist). Most of the criticism of the win seemed to be along the lines of, "not popular enough, from an artist way past their artistic peak."

Sound familiar? Yeah, I had the same thought many of you may have had when I read who won Sunday afternoon for best children's music recording -- the Muppets? Not to mention a Christmas album? You've got to be kidding me.

Continue reading "Herbie Hancock, the Muppets, and You" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Buck Howdy attended this last weekend's Grammy celebrations, a nominee for Best Musical Album for Children for his (and partner BB's) fun Chickens album.

I'll have more thoughts (and photos and comments) from the Grammys later, but Buck had written up some thoughts about his experiences this weekend and I thought they might be of interest to both consumers and fellow musicians. Thanks to Buck for letting me share them with you.

****

Today I'm feeling a bit like Alice In Wonderland, having just emerged from the "rabbit hole" called The Grammy Awards.

Last December our CD BUCK HOWDY WITH BB - CHICKENS was nominated in the Grammy category Best Musical Album for Children. Now that the Grammys are over I can only say that the experience as a nominee is simply surreal - from the parties leading up to the big event, to the Red Carpet stroll we took (interviewed along the way by CNN, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, MTV), to the marathon award sessions.

One highlight was the nominee reception. Its a gathering where nominee medallions are presented (while everyone still feels like a winner) and where even a turkey-farming-singing-cowboy can rub shoulders and visit with legends like Charlie Louvin; Whisperin' Bill Andersen; young jazz star Eldar; country sensations Montgomery Gentry and too many others to recount It's a wonder BB and I didn't get whiplash, "Look there's the Foo Fighters; wait, look over there, isn't that Taylor Swift? Wow, John Tesh got old and he needs a haircut!"

Another highlight was the Kids Artist breakfast on Saturday morning at the Biltmore Hotel - a wonderful gathering of nominees and other kids artists as well as media, distributors and promoters. It's an event that should be repeated often and attended by everyone who has anything to do with making music for kids or families. Lynn Orman of Orman Music & Media and Beth Blenz-Clucas of Sugar Mountain PR co-hosted the event, and about 40 artists and industry folks were there.

Continue reading "In and Out of the "Rabbit Hole": At the Grammys with Buck Howdy" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've talked to a few Grammy winners and nominees here at Zooglobble -- Dan Zanes, Ralph Covert, the incomparable Ella Jenkins -- but with the Grammy ceremon(ies) set for Sunday, I hope you'll indulge me another Grammy interview. No, it's not kids music, but it's also not every day that a friend gets nominated for 4.4 Grammy Awards (yes, 4.4 -- see below).

Joel Rinsema is the Executive Director and Assistant Conductor for the Phoenix Bach Choir. (Here he is rehearsing the Phoenix Bach Choir.) Their recording with the Kansas City Chorale of Grechaninov’s Passion Week, led by Artistic Director Charles Bruffy, was nominated for four 2007 Grammy Awards, including Classical Album of the Year.

Joel is also the music director at our church and is always up for talking about cooking good food. He was kind enough to talk about what it was like hearing about the nominations, their music, and where to get designer fashions on the cheap.

To some extent, there are some parallels here between Joel's comments on the impact a win for the Choir and Chorale would have on the classical music category and what wins for independent artists in the children's music categories mean. So go ahead and read -- you'll enjoy it...

Photo credits: Tim Trumble

Zooglobble: Where literally were you when you heard about the Grammy nominations? Was there lots of jumping and screaming involved? Or did you just go back to getting the kids ready for school?
Joel Rinsema: The kids were off to school, and I believe that the televised nominations began at 9 AM Arizona time (8 AM Pacific), so instead of making my way to the office, I booted up my laptop and worked while the nominations were going on. Charles Bruffy lives in Kansas City and we do a lot of our work via AOL Instant Messenger. He wasn’t on, but Donald Loncasty, the Executive Director of the Kansas City Chorale was, and we immediately began to IM back and forth while watching. Of course, they announced all of the “major” nominations to the press corps, but when they got to the end (without announcing any of the classical ones!) and announced that a full list of the nominees was available “at the back of the room” we were both ready to throw things at our TVs.

Instead, I began to frantically type in www.grammy.com. So did, it seemed, thousands of others were doing the same thing, as the website was frozen. I kept on hitting refresh…and there it was…the list of the 50th Grammy Award Nominees. I remember quickly scrolling down the list, and clicking on the word Classical. The first field that appeared was Category 98: “Best Classical Album of the Year.” Alphabetically, ours is listed second, right after the Cherubini Mass with Ricardo Muti conducting. Shaking wildly…so much so, that I knew that I couldn’t type, I picked up the phone to call Kansas City. Don answered the phone and I just remember screaming craziness into his ear. (Something like “Oh My God! Best $(*^&^^% Classical Album of the Year!)

I went back to the computer as Don was still trying to access the site. I just knew that if we were nominated for best Classical, that there were other nominations. Sure enough, we were given nods for four additional Grammys including Best Choral Performance , Best Engineered Album -Classical, and Best Surround Sound Album. Also, our producer Blanton Alspaugh from Soundmirror in Boston was nominated as Best Classical Producer. Two of the five discs he submitted for consideration (Passion Week and Eternal Rest) are ours. [Ed: Hence, the additional 0.4 nominations.]

Did you have any idea that you'd be nominated for four awards? Any rumors?
We heard that Passion Week had made a good impression on the voters. We had no idea though, that we would be up for Best Classical. That was SO far removed from our thinking.

What are the big "firsts" associated with the nominations? (Besides "first Grammy nominations for Joel Rinsema")

Continue reading "Interview: Joel Rinsema (Phoenix Bach Choir)" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So after posting the nominees in the two kids' categories for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, what's left to do except wait for the awards on Feb. 10?

Oh, well, maybe solicit reactions from selected nominees in the Best Musical Album category. (Note: now with Buck Howdy!)

Peter Himmelman (My Green Kite): "Perhaps the recognition I've received through this Grammy nomination in the children's field is a signal to me that writing songs that work to reclaim a sense of wonder and innocence is a worthy artistic direction to be headed in."

Don Sebesky & Janina Serden, producers (The Velveteen Rabbit - Love Can Make You Real): "Recording and producing The Velveteen Rabbit CD was a labor of love for me. When my daughters were little, I used to read the story to them and even made homemade tapes at their request... Let me say that finding our nomination on that GRAMMY web site was one of the most exciting moments of my life!" (Janina Serden)

Bill Harley (I Wanna Play) : "I was where I often am when I heard about the Grammy – in an elementary school with a bunch of kids – this time in Texas. It means a lot to me that other recording artists thought enough to vote for me. I’m in there with some pretty heady company. I like a lot of the other recordings, and am heartened that independent artists manage to sneak into the mix in our category. I know there are other artists just as deserving."

Buck Howdy (Chickens!): "BB and I were tickled to be nominated. I've always thought being nominated for such an honor would be life-changing. Unfortunately, the horses and other critters here at Buttercup Farm don't quite see it that way. Which means I'm still getting up at the crack of dawn to feed and water them - so much for life-changing!"

The Muppets (A Green and Red Christmas): "Arraggrgagraghha rar gagghh! Grammy!" (Animal)

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations are out and there are actually some familiar names on the list, at least on the musical side...

Best Musical Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)

Chickens - Buck Howdy With BB [Prairie Dog Entertainment]
Experience...101 - Sweet Honey In The Rock [Appleseed]
A Green And Red Christmas - The Muppets (Ted Kryczko & Ed Mitchel, producers) [Walt Disney Records]
I Wanna Play - Bill Harley [Round River Records]
My Green Kite - Peter Himmelman [Rounder]
The Velveteen Rabbit - Love Can Make You Real - Various Artists (Don Sebesky & Janina Serden, producers) [Brown Barn Records]

I haven't heard the Muppets or Velveteen Rabbit disks, so I have no idea if those are inspired or mistaken choices, but the other 4 are not surprising choices. And while those 4 are all decent (or better) I have a clear favorite -- I think it's time Mr. Himmelman picked himself up a Grammy.

As for the spoken word...

Best Spoken Word Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Jim Dale [Listening Library]
Making The Heart Whole Again: Stories For A Wounded World - Milbre Burch [Kind Crone Productions]
The One And Only Shrek - Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci [Audio Renaissance]
Who's Got Game? The Ant Or The Grasshopper? The Lion Or The Mouse? Poppy Or The Snake? - Toni Morrison [Simon & Schuster Audio]
Wickety Whack - Brer Rabbit Is Back - Diane Ferlatte [Diane Ferlatte]

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The 49th Annual Grammy Awards are tonight and while I missed the Police reunion (I'm sure there will be 14 versions available on YouTube tomorrow), I am very happy that Dan Zanes won the award for Best Musical Album for Children for Catch That Train! (review here). Wow, I've interviewed a Grammy winner.

See a smiling Zanes and Father Goose during the ceremony here.

Congratulations also to Bill Harley, who won the award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for his album Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates & Dogs.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards were released today and, as always, they included two children's-related fields.

Regular readers of the site will have a "one of these things is not like the other" moment.

Continue reading "49th Annual Grammy Nominations -- Children's Field" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

The Grammy nominations were announced yesterday and the nods for the two children's categories are:

Best Musical Album For Children (For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)

> Beethoven's Wig 2: More Sing Along Symphonies - Beethoven's Wig [Rounder Kids]
> cELLAbration! A Tribute To Ella Jenkins - Various Artists, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, producers [Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]
> House Party - Dan Zanes And Friends [Festival Five Records]
> Merry Fishes To All - Trout Fishing In America [Trout Records]
> Sharing Cultures With Ella Jenkins - Ella Jenkins [Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]

Best Spoken Word Album For Children (For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)

> The Best Halloween Ever - Elaine Stritch [Harper Children's Audio]
> Carnival Of The Animals - John Lithgow [Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers]
> The Emperor's New Clothes - Peter Schickele [Newport Classic]
> Green Eggs And Ham And Other Servings Of Dr. Seuss - Various Artists John McElroy, producer[Listening Library]
> The Story Of Classical Music - Marin Alsop [Naxos Audio Books]
> The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans - Tom Chapin [Live Oak Media]

The Grammys will be televised Feb. 13, 2005, although I would be surprised to see either of these categories awarded during the broadcast.

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)