OK, I actually spent last weekend with my wife and away from the kids, which was very relaxing. And fun. Amazing how long of a conversation you can have.
But it's also clear that last weekend's Spare the Rock / AudraRox hootenanny and the Park Slope Parents concert in Brooklyn was a blast. So to stave off any thoughts of jealousy I'm only going to provide the links here once.
Yeah, I know Gwyneth beat me to this, but I blame that on laziness on my part, not lack of creativity. Besides, for some reason I can't explain, some of you still aren't reading her site. You people. (Besides, I've got some new stuff here, too.)
-- The artist list for Saturday night, along with a picture from Bill. (Edit: More thoughts and pictures here. Warning: Takes for-freakin' ever to load.)
-- Amy's inital thoughts here, with pictures from both concerts here.
-- Gwyneth's thoughts and photos.
-- Yosi's thoughts and a few photos.
-- Warren weighed in.
-- Hilltown Familes made the trek -- here are their photos (those may be gone -- try here instead). Also, Hilltown Families also put together a sweet collage.
-- Photos of Saturday's hootenanny here, from Susan Fox, who clearly left early because, you know, she was putting on Sunday's concert.
-- A video of Audra and Jen from AudraRox doing "D is for Drums" with Marty Beller [warning: very large file]
-- Speaking of Sunday's concert, see a long slideshow with a fun though unrelated rendition of "Enjoy Yourself" here. Note: Adam from Astrograss just let me know they played "Enjoy Yourself" as a group finale.
-- Here is another slideshow with (studio) versions of songs from the compilation.
Now to check in on the other hootenanny/fests in the works...
Spiffy News About a Jack's Big Music Show DVD
For those of you who would like to be able to delete all those Jack's Big Music Show episodes from your Tivo (so you can leave more room for 24 or something), good news.
A DVD may be on its way.
The always-amusing Chag started out looking for additional JBMS merchandise for his two-year-old but ended up interviewing the head honchos at Spiffy Pictures, the creators of the show. And he got this nugget out of them:
Currently the only merchandise available from Jack's Big Music Show is the CD. What other types of merchandise will we eventually see in stores?
We think a second CD and a DVD with four episodes on it, one of them never seen before! (cool, huh?)
My only question is why they would stop at four episodes. I guarantee you they could put out a 2-DVD set with the complete series and it would sell like hotcakes.
DVD/CD Review: Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World
Little Monster Records released Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World earlier this week. I originally reviewed the DVD nearly a year ago. I've updated the review below -- if you already have the earlier version of the DVD, go to the end of the review for my comments on this new version.KidVid Tournament 2007 Semifinals: "Willy Was A Whale" (1) vs. "Pieces of 8ight" (1)
Well, we're down to the final four, and the first semifinal pits a couple of #1 seeds, both of whom cruised through their first two rounds, against each other. This matchup sees "Willy Was A Whale" from Justin Roberts competing against "Pieces of 8ight" from Captain Bogg & Salty. I'm really looking forward how these two fun (but completely different) videos do when pitted against one another.
Vote in the comments below. Rules: Video with most votes wins. One vote per e-mail address, please. Votes due by Thursday 11 PM-ish East Coast time.
"Willy Was A Whale" - Justin Roberts
"Pieces of 8ight" - Captain Bogg & Salty
Pirates and Disco Balls
Yeah, I know there was a show or two in Brooklyn last week, but I would be remiss if I did not direct you to Belinda and Hova's recap of their Grease Ball on March 18th. Doug Snyder of the Jellydots played, and Captain Bogg and Salty played at least one new song, "Don't Drink Sea Water."
Another report can be found here. I can't decide if their description of one of Doug's songs ("a song about multiplying by three") was either very laconic humor or surprising lack of pop-cultural knowledge, but in either case it made me chuckle.
Dan Zanes' Slow-Moving Plan To Rule The Kids' Music Industry
Remember when I said that I thought there was room for some more small kids' music labels?
Well, Dan Zanes has obviously been thinking along the same lines, because in his latest newsletter he's announced that he's signed up both Barbara Brousal and Father Goose to do albums for his Festival Five label. Now, Zanes has released a couple less-kid-specific albums of his own, and re-released an old album featuring David Jones, but this is the first step toward creating a family music empire and total Zanes-ian domination.
Or maybe it's just a couple CDs from his bandmates. CDs which ought to be cool, to varying degrees.
I'm going with the latter option.
Anyway, it more than made up for hearing that Brousal won't be making the Tucson stop on his upcoming tour. (Oh well, Charlie Faye's voice is pretty good, too.)
