Video: "Used to Be" - Spring Bees (World Premiere!)

I love to get word of musicians trying their hand at the kids music world for the first time -- so much promise and uncertainty. So when self-described "indie rock Texpatriate" Monte Holman (he lives in Kansas City at the moment) sent me a copy of his debut album recorded as Spring Bees and cited folks like Dolly Parton, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Joao Gilberto as musical reference points, I was eager to hear it, to see what came out of it.

Almost as cool as hearing new music from new bands is seeing that they've got their act together, and in this case, Holman already had his debut video lined up.

The first video from Spring Bees' self-titled album, "Used to Be," is a celebration of a love that will last a long, long, looooong time. The lyrics suggest a series of lifetimes that the singer has lived through caring for someone else, suggesting a love that survives reincarnation. But because those lifetimes feature, say, giraffes and alligators, it gives the weighty concept a much lighter feel. The video was created by animator Cody Ground, who used stop-motion animation featuring what I like to think of as all those "zoo in a tube" tiny plastic animals you're stepping on when you're not stepping on your kids' Legos.

I'm guessing that the band name is inspired by the name of Monte's daughter (which starts with the letter "B"), and unsurprisingly given that track above, there's a strong feeling of love suffusing the entire album. And those references above? Totally earned. (Just wait 'til you hear "Burp," which feels like a missing track from Getz/Gilberto.) The album definitely will give you warm and fuzzy (and fuzzed out) indie rock feelings, but not in a too-cool-for-school way.

The self-titled debut is out April 21, but in the meantime, I'm happy to world-premiere this video and help get Spring Bees' music slowly out into the world. I'm eager to see (and hear) what will happen.

Spring Bees - "Used To Be" [Vimeo]

Itty-Bitty Review: Meet You By the Moon - The Que Pastas

The Texas-based band The Que Pastas started out as a somewhat jokier band. (They also started out as a Colorado-based band, but that's an entirely different story.) Over time, while they haven't exactly dropped their sense of humor, chief Pastas Gene Davis and Simon Flory have added a healthy dose of heart to their songs.

Meet You By the Moon, their recently-released second full-length album, is a major step forward for the band, a solid collection of Americana with touches of the Beatles and the third grade cutup. The band's always had a bit of Americana sound, but with producer Salim Nourallah (Old 97s, Rhett Miller, among others) at the helm, it's brought more to the fore in sound, attitude, and instrumentation. There's the stomp of "Llama," the hint of zydeco on the reading anthem "Book Lion," and the fiddle accents on the suffused-with-heart "Saturday Morning." And for every jokey song like "Common Denominator" (a re-recorded version of an early demo track), there's a new song like "Helen's Song," written from the perspective of a parent looking forward to future awesome events in their child's life (e.g., first corn dog at the State Fair).

The 26-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. While the band's fans who grew up appreciating the band's outgoing attitude with a touch of class clown in their songs will still find songs to scratch that itch, wearing more heart on their sleeve will hopefully expand their audience further. Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.

This Human Person Would Like Your Help

I used to write a lot about kids music Kickstarters -- and other kid-focused crowdfunding projects -- but for a variety of reasons have let my "Bake Sale" series highlighting such projects go dormant. But that doesn't mean I'm still not checking out the kid-friendly projects that artists and creators are starting.

Therefore, I insist that any of you who like musicians like They Might Be Giants, Billy Kelly, and Turkey Andersen -- or who like and love kids who like and love musicians like They Might Be Giants, Billy Kelly, and Turkey Andersen -- or who like and love people who like and love kids who... oh, you get the point. Anyway, watch this video. (Even if you don't like those bands, watch the video. Very, very funny.)

Human Person is the nom de plume of Austin-based musician and commercial film director Dave Thomas, and I would very much like his Kickstarter for his new album "Music Songs" to be successful. Please listen to the demo versions of the songs there, filled with nifty wordplay and artful arrangements and tell me that it wouldn't be a valuable addition to our modern lifestyle. (You can also listen to those 3 songs on last weekend's Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.)

Please, do it for the kids.

Intro to Kindie: Bill Childs (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child)

So a month or two ago, I was talking with a fellow kids' music person about my upcoming series on best kids music albums (here's the one on best kids music albums for new parents), and he said that he'd been thinking about a similar question, of how to introduce new listeners to kids music. He described it as the musical equivalent of an "elevator speech" -- if you only have an hour or so, how do you grab someone who's not familiar with the genre, make them want to hear more?

I thought that was an excellent idea for a new series here, and so today I'm pleased as punch to kick off this new "Intro to Kindie" series with the person whose turn of phrase sent me down this path -- Bill Childs.

Bill wears many hats in the kids music field, but the specific hat he had on when he was thinking about introducing new audiences to kindie and kids music generally was as the long-time proprietor of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. His radio show will celebrate its tenth anniversary later this summer, and part of that celebration includes a new flagship radio station, Austin's KUTX. Starting May 9, STR will air on Sundays at 6 PM, and Bill's been thinking a lot about what will air that first episode and beyond.

While more folks will be sharing their lists as part of this series in the weeks and months to come, I'm really happy to have Bill lead this off.

When Stefan suggested that I kick off this series, I was super excited, and then I realized… oh dear, this is a tough project. So instead of actually tackling that project, I’ve just included the songs I’ve picked for the first two weeks of Spare the Rock airing on KUTX here in Austin, which is probably just about the same thing.

Let me start it off with some caveats:

This isn’t my “best of family music.”
The songs I picked don’t (necessarily) represent the songs I like best of those artists.
It’s not even necessarily a definitive introduction to our show! You’d have to also listen to the non-kids’ songs I included for that (plus the in-studios — we had Mates of State and Carrie Rodriguez for the first two weeks).
The playlist for our second week on KUTX is still in flux, so what you see below might not even represent what I claim it represents.
There are many — many, many — artists I could have included and felt great about including, so anyone’s absence from this shouldn’t be read as anything. At all. Top of my head: Okee Dokee Brothers, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Mister G, Mista Cookie Jar, Key Wilde & Mr Clarke, Moona Luna, The Jimmies, and good lord so many more that I shouldn’t even really try, should I? That’s a fool’s errand.

My goal, and I think this tracks Stefan’s request, was to put together something that would give someone new to the modern world of music for families a sense of the breadth and depth of what is in store for them, in genres, personalities, styles, tones, and so on. This particular list is Austin-centric, since I put it together specifically to welcome an Austin audience, but I think it works for anyone.

It’s in alphabetical order. (What, like I’m going to try ranking them? I’m not crazy.)

Asylum Street Spankers - Sliver

The Board of Education - The Lonely Tomato

Bunny Clogs - 3 Dogs and a Pancake

CandyBand - Down By The Bay

Jonathan Coulton - The Princess Who Saved Herself

The Deedle Deedle Dees - Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way

Lucky Diaz & the Family Jam Band - Pinata Attack

Frances England - Mind of My Own

Lori Henriques - The World is a Curious Place to Live

Sara Hickman - Middle of a Little Country Road

Koo Koo Kanga Roo - Shake It Well (feat. POS)

Lead Belly - Rock Island Line

Lunch Money - Tiny Dinosaurs

Elizabeth McQueen - This Little Piggy

Milkshake - Baltimore

Elizabeth Mitchell - Lovely Day

Willie Nelson - Won’t You Ride in My Little Red Wagon

The Pop Ups - Outside Inside

Ralph’s World - The Great Outdoors

Justin Roberts - Meltdown

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Gotta Be Me

Shine & the Moonbeams - High Five

Sippy Cups - Springtime Fantastic

They Might Be Giants - Thinking Machine (and others)

Dan Zanes & Friends - Side by Side (feat. Father Goose)

SXSW 2010 (Music) Report: Day 3

I was eager to hear music in my first full day at SXSW, but as it turned out, it was nearly 8 PM before I devoted my full attention to a full set.That's one of the problems, of course, with SXSW -- there's so much going on, that you're constantly being bombarded with sensory overload.The crowds wandering the streets of downtown Austin, the noises coming out of every building, the knowledge that right now somewhere some other band you wanted to see plus 14 other bands you'd probably love if only you knew they existed are playing.This isn't some Austin City Limits Music Festival problem where it's 2 or 3 folks maybe playing simultaneously with staggered set times and within a 4-minute walk.No, this is everything. happening. at. once.No matter what you're doing, there's something else cooler happening someplace else.That may not actually be true, but it's hard not to feel that way. My sole real barbecue experience of the weekend came courtesy of the suggestion of Austin Chronicle writer Melanie Haupt, who suggested Franklin Barbecue, which is a trailer in the shadow of I-35 just north of downtown.I joined Melanie, her husband, and a friend for some excellent early in the morning.It was a reminder amidst the tons of free food and stuff and music on offer at SXSW -- sometimes it's worth paying for something.I recommend it highly. Anyway, at this point, it was nearly noon, and since the pre-meet for my SXSW panel was at 1 PM, I had to abandon any (unrealistic) plans for sliding into a day party prior to the pre-meet.So after finding some parking, I scooted on down to the convention center where I spent most of that free hour or so wandering the aisles of Flatstock 24, a poster convention held (annually) in conjunction with SXSW.Very, very cool.It's like going to a museum - A MUSEUM OF AWESOME ROCK POSTERS.Made of awesome and win, y'all.I never did find the perfect show poster for me -- for me, it had to be a perfect combination of art and artist, and I never really did find it.(Plus, I'm trying to get rid of wall art, not add it.)But gorgeous stuff to look at. Then it was off to the pre-meet for Jumping into the Kiddie Pool: Diving for Dollars.Tor Hyams was our moderator, and he led those of us on the panel through a spirited discussion of the business of kids music -- in many ways, this was as much fun for me as the panel itself that followed, because there was a lot of give-and-take.The regular panel (squeezed into a room that was probably a bit small for the 40+ folks crowded into it) was useful, I think, for the folks that attended who wanted more basic info.But there wasn't as much time for the interplay.There was time for me, however, to curse.Sorry, guys. After the panel (the hour went by quickly, they shooed us out of there at 3:15) we continued to shoot the breeze with folks outside the panel room, then a couple of us went across the street to have a beer at the Hilton Hotel's sunken outdoor patio restaurant.While we there, a couple guys from GWAR walked by.Those guys are normally pretty tall, walking around in elevated boots and headpieces.When your head is at about street level, they look gi-normous... -- Shoot breeze: Gwar

Review Basket: Christmas CDs

Here are a handful of new Christmas CDs that have crossed my desk that might be worth your time... and even possibly in time for you to listen to before, you know, Christmas... For the most part, the CDs below are going to be of greatest interest to the artists' fans, but if you're looking for a Christmas album that might be especially of interest to kids, you might want to start here. (If you're looking for Christmas CDs in general, by all means go here -- goodness, that is impressive.) Austin's Biscuit Brothers released their first Christmas CD, Have a Merry Musical Christmas, this year, and fans of the slightly goofy and slyly educational TV show will not be disappointed. For the most part, it's Biscuit Brothers originals -- a funny Tiny Scarecrow on "The Best Christmas Ever, " a sweet and jazzy "Together (a Christmas Waltz)," an expanded vocal role on "Have a Merry Musical Christmas." It's all appealingly goofy. Might not be the best entry point for a listener unfamiliar with the Brothers, but it's a fun cookie of a CD nonetheless. From the folks who brought you 2006's awesome Family Hootenanny CD comes Holiday Hootenanny, a 2007 collection of tunes from Detroit-area artists benefiting Detroit's Capuchin SoupKitchen. Definitely not a traditional CD in most senses of the word -- if you're looking for a swinging Ella Fitzgerald or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, keep looking because even the most traditional tunes sound off-kilter in Danny Crow-Haw's brief interludes here. While not as awesome as the first CD, the last 3 tracks -- American Mars' Dylanesque "The Little Baby Jesus," co-producer's Deanne Iovan's band the Come Ons' "More," and Ultimate Ovation's awesome rendition of "It's Christmas" (which reminds you where Motown was founded) -- are almost worth the price of the CD by themselves. Sample here. And there's more...