One of my favorite scene in the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap is when the tour manager of the band Spinal Tap tells them that their Boston gig has been cancelled, but tries to soften the blow, telling them, "Don't worry, it's not a big college town."
I bring this up because in looking at Jamarama's western and southwestern swing in March and April 2006, there's one city that, uh, seems to have been overlooked.
Saturday, March 4 Santa Barbara, CA Arlington Theater
Sunday, March 5 Long Beach, CA Terrace Theatre
Saturday, March 11 Marin, CA Marin Center
Sunday, March 12 San Diego, CA Spreckels Theatre
Saturday, March 25 Las Vegas, NV Aladdin Resort & Casino
Sunday, March 26 Fresno, CA William Saroyan Theatre
Saturday, April 1 Salt Lake City, UT Ford Theatre
Sunday, Apri 2 Denver, CO Paramount Theatre
Saturday, April 8 Dallas, TX Nokia Theatre
Sunday, April 9 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
No offense to the fine folks of Fresno, but where in the name of Raffi is Phoenix on this list? We're not all senior citizens, golfers, and cacti, you know. Kids. Lots of kids. Swarming with kids. And a population bigger than any of those cities listed above (OK, the LA area deserves its shows, no quibbling there).
Sigh. I'm especially disappointed because Dan Zanes is taking over from Laurie Berkner as the headliner on this swing (with the Ohmies filling in on some dates). Would really liked to have seen him...
News: 2005 Grammy Winners Picked, Nobody Notices
Well, in news that I must admit didn't surprise me terribly, Grammy voters picked two relatively well-known names within two relatively unknown categories this week for the 2005 Grammys.
For Best Musical Album For Children, the Grammy went to Songs From The Neighborhood - The Music Of Mister Rogers - Various Artists (Dennis Scott, producer) [Memory Lane Syndications, Inc.]. For Best Spoken Word Album For Children, the Grammy went to Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long - Various Artists (Christopher Cerf & Marlo Thomas, producers) [Warner Strategic Marketing].
News: Laurie Berkner's New DVD and Coffee
I got an e-mail from Laurie Berkner the other day. Well, technically speaking, it probably came from her webmaster and not from Laurie herself, but still. It said that the new Laurie Berkner DVD, We Are the Laurie Berkner Band, would be released on February 14 and come packaged with a 5-song bonus CD (4 songs previously released). And that would have pretty much been the extent of this post, except that I found the following article from Billboard, via the Arizona Repubic.
In the article, we find out that...
1) Starbucks is co-releasing the DVD through its Hear Music division.
2) It'll be available at Starbucks stores.
3) Berkner's albums have sold a total of 359,000 copies.
4) The DVD will feature a song called "Mocha Mocha Grande Latte."
(OK, I was kidding on that last point.)
Review: All Through the Night - Mae Robertson and Don Jackson
h... the traditional lullabies. "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." "All Through the Night." Elvis.
Elvis? As in Presley?
I admit, I would not have expected Elvis Presley to be tops on my list of good lullaby artists. But Mae Robertson's and Don Jackson's album All Through The Night: Lullabies and Love Songs includes not just one but two songs made famous by Mr. Swivel-Hips himself. And those songs -- "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Love Me Tender" (co-written by Elvis) -- fit in wonderfully with this beautifully chosen and sung collection. Though not written specifically for a parent-child relationship, their placement in this collection shifts your perspective on the lyrics -- they really can be lullabies.
One of the advantages of the 15-song collection is that with the exception of the songs I've already mentioned above and "The Water is Wide," I was completely unfamiliar with the songs. Since the same dozen or so lullabies end up making it onto any lullaby CD, this variety is a good thing. Besides Elvis, Robertson also covers Van Morrison and poet Robert Burns on this CD. (Of course, on later CDs she covers Joni Mitchell and the Talking Heads, so this isn't just a one-CD fad.)
The songs are treated in a gentle folk style, guitar and occasionally piano and other folk instruments (Celtic harp, dobro). Over an entire album, the songs begin to blend together, but with a lullaby CD, that's as much to its credit as its detriment. And Robertson, with a beautiful voice, knows how not to oversell her songs.
I stumbled across this CD when I was desperate for a change from traditional lullaby CDs (even good ones) with our first child. This may have been the one I used to accompany late-night feedings more than any other. It's available at Amazon.com and Robertson's own website. Like any lullaby CD, it's most appropriate for kids aged 0-2, but your kindergartners may still want to listen at night. Highly recommended.
News: Justin Roberts To Release Meltdown!, Two More Albums
It's not that I'm so excited about the new Justin Roberts record, but his new CD Meltdown! does include the exclamation point at the end of the title. Judging by the search engine results that bring people to this website, there's definitely some interest in finding out more about the CD. Well, the CD now has a March 21, 2006 release date, album cover art, and track listing. (See the cover art and track listing here.)
Another interesting thing you can find out by going to the above link is that Roberts has released another couple albums with his musical partner Liam Davis. Why Not Sea Monsters: Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures and Why Not Sea Monsters: Songs from the New Testament are the albums -- the titles seem fairly explanatory. (My favorite song title from the two CDs? "Nothing Much in Tarshish.") Although part of the website indicates the CDs were released in December 2005, the individual album pages don't actually allow you to, er, order the CDs, so perhaps that's jumping the gun a bit.
In any case, Justin Roberts fans (and I'm one of them) will have a lot of Roberts music to choose from in 2006.
News: 2005 Grammy Nominations -- Children's Field
In the "better late than never" category (the nominations are, what, a month old now?), here are the nominees for the two categories in the Grammy's children's field:
Category 75 - Best Musical Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)
Be Bop Your Best! - Red Grammer [Red Note Records]
Green Gorilla, Monster & Me - Ralph's World [Mini Fresh/Minty Fresh]
Scat Like That: A Musical Word Odyssey - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer [Rounder Records Corp.]
Some Assembly Required - Tom Chapin [Razor & Tie]
Songs From The Neighborhood - The Music Of Mister Rogers - Various Artists (Dennis Scott, producer) [Memory Lane Syndications, Inc.]
Category 76 - Best Spoken Word Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)
Harry Potter And The Half-blood Prince - Jim Dale [Listening Library]
Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long - Various Artists (Christopher Cerf & Marlo Thomas, producers) [Warner Strategic Marketing]
Pooh's Heffalump - Roy Dotrice [Walt Disney Records]
Raymie, Dickie, And The Bean: Why I Love And Hate My Brothers - Ray Romano [Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers]
A Series Of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning - Various Artists (David Rapkin, producer) [Harper Children's Audio]
An appearance by Ralph's World at the Grammy telecast on February 8, 2006 seems highly unlikely. Perhaps Ricky Skaggs (a performer on the Mister Rogers tribute album) will make an appearance, but that will likely be the extent to which nominees in this category will be seen.
