Well, it was probably a series already, given my lengthy series of crowdfunding posts, but it's time for yet another roundup of intriguing-sounding kindie Kickstarter projects.

First up, The Pop Ups are turning their attention to their second album, the follow-up to their knock-it-out-of-the-park debut Outside Voices.It's got a title (Radio Jungle), guest artists (Shine from Shine and the Moonbeams, Oran Etkin), and, best of all, entirely-completed materials. That's right, folks, it's in the can. Or the hard drive, whatever. Anyway, the duo wants to tour the show associated with the new album (and the old album) and is looking for help to keep their puppets (and sets) in tip-top shape. Want the Pop Ups to write a song for you (or your kid)? For $500 it's yours. (But rest assured, those of you not needing recorded immortality have cheaper options.)

As much as I enjoyed seeing the puppets in the Pop Ups' Kickstarter video, Aaron Nigel Smith one-ups them by writing and performing an entire song about his Kickstarter campaign. It's for the launch of his One World Chorus CD project, which will feature over 100 kids from various programs Smith works with in New York City, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), and (in January 2012) the Cura Village Orphanage in Kenya. Besides feelings of warm fuzzies with your donation, you can also get copies of CDs and jeans. (Really.)

Finally, Chicago-area artist Istvan is turning to Kickstarter mostly just to make the physical product look really snazzy. (Ah, a man after my own heart.) The as-yet-untitled follow-up to his Things I Like EP has a tracklist and guaranteed production -- Istvan's already cleared his Kickstarter goal. All that without anybody taking advantage of the $75 pledge, which offers (among other things) a refrigerator drawer from Istvan's daughter Evie.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The list of crowdfunding posts here is lengthy, and it's about to get even longer. It had seemed to me that the mania for family musicians to fund their projects through sites like Kickstarter had calmed somewhat, but it's started up again with a vengeance, with at least 5 projects worth your time to check out, several of them with hip-hop flair.

First up is Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, who's drumming up support for his third kid-hop album Make Believers. The project just launched, and at the higher funding levels you can get the shirt off Skidoo's back! (OK, not really. Just his coat. Or his hat.) Anyway, here's the video with Skidoo's whole family pitching in.

Kid-hop option #2 is from Boston-based artist RhymeZwell, and it's to fund the filming of a new video for the first single off his upcoming second album Robots on the Dance Floor. And while the implication in his promo video that there's nobody doing kid-hop is, erm, well, see above and below, we'll just chalk that up to the sales pitch. And judging by the concept video's production values (and the song itself), I think the final result may be pretty slick.. Rewards include copies of the album.

Kid-hop #3: Big Don (aka Don Robinson) is an Austin-based hip-hop artist who's raising funds to print and distribute Big Don's Brand New Beat, his second album for kids. (I remember getting a copy of his first album randomly placed in my hands at an Austin City Limits Festival a few years back; it was a lot better than most albums randomly placed in my hands.) As you might expect, rewards include copies of the new album.

Hip-hop not your family's thing? Well, there's more...

Continue reading "Kickstarter and Kids Music. Again." »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:41 PM | 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)

I have long been a fan of Tiny Scarecow, the diminutive scarecrow puppet/fool in the PBS show The Biscuit Brothers. So while I'm sad that his Kickstarter video doesn't feature, well, either of the actual Biscuit Brothers, it does mean that TS gets 3 minutes of his own.

He's taken to Kickstarter to raise funds for a new episode of the TV show (distributed for free to any PBS station which wants to air it). It's a great TV series, and if you haven't checked out the clips available on YouTube, you really should. For the love of all that's good, people, Tiny Scarecrow deserves a tracking shot. I'm backin' the project.

[Note: TS is also on Twitter, which seems a bit advanced for a puppet, but, hey. Follow him here.]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)