I tend not to report on single-artist tours, but a note from Gwendolyn of Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang made me realize that we're starting to see more cross-country tours here. I mean, sure, Dan Zanes is like the Bob Dylan of kids' music, playing anywhere they'll have him, and Ralph's World and Justin Roberts are racking up the frequent flyer miles, too. (Laurie Berkner would as well, but she's not touring much, period.)
But now we're seeing slightly less familiar artists making the trek across the country. Brooklyn-based The Deedle Deedle Dees are heading out to Texas, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Melissa and Ellen & Matt, both LA artists, recently trekked out to the New York area (they popped up on Spare the Rock last week. (The The Sippy Cups are playing everywhere in between, too.)
And now Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang are putting together an honest-to-goodness East Coast tour. If you're in the neighborhood of the following venues at the following times, do stop by...
Sat/Sun Oct 21 & 22
Children’s Museum of the East End - Bridgehampton, NY
Sat Oct 27
11am: PB & Jams at World Café – Philadelphia, PA
Sun Oct 28
10am: Citibabes Annual Halloween Bash - Manhattan, NY
2pm: Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Brooklyn, NY (“Ghouls and Gourds” festival)
Mon Oct 29
4 pm: Brooklyn Central Library, Dweck Center - Brooklyn, NY
Tue Oct 30
4 pm: Bay Ridge Library - Brooklyn, NY
Wed Oct 31
6:30pm: Mamalu – Brooklyn, NY (Halloween show)
Thu Nov 1
10 am: Williamsburgh Library - Brooklyn, NY
Fri Nov 2
9:30am: Elephant Steps - Norwalk, CT
6 pm: Borders Books - Simbsbury, CT
Sat Nov 3
2pm: The Children’s Art Museum – Shelburne Falls, MA
Sun Nov 4
11am: First Act – Boston, MA
3:30pm: Brookline Music School – Boston, MA
Now Hear This: The Jellydots - "San Diego"
The other day, I posted a video of the Jellydots performing a new cut, "San Diego," as part of the Tricycle Music Fest in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Well, the finished version of The Jellydots' "San Diego" is now available as a free download from their Myspace page. It'll be on their upcoming release Changing Skies, which is, according to the page, "almost done!" (Interjection Doug's.)
I think you'll find it a valuable addition to our modern lifestyle. Or, at the very least, your family's mp3 collection.
Exclusive: High School Musical 2 Recalled For Lead-Based Paint
BURBANK, CA -- Executives with the Disney Channel today notified the Consumer Products Safety Commission that it was instituting a voluntary recall for nearly 2 million copies of its highly-anticipated soundtrack to the High School Musical 2 movie, scheduled to be aired on the Disney Channel this Friday.
"We know that many families were planning on listening to this CD over and over and over and over and over and over...... and over" this week, said Phyllis Bronwick, Assistant Vice President for Public Relations with the Channel. "It comes as a tremendous disappointment to us that we discovered that the Chinese manufacturer of our CDs was also using the plant to produce lead-flavored chocolate bunnies."
"Although the likelihood that the amount of lead in each CD will produce an adverse health effect in the standard 8-year-old listener is small -- c'mon, people, it's not like they're eating the things -- we have decided in the interest of safety to issue a voluntary recall," Bronwick said.
Jonathan Sanderwhite, a Tampa, Florida parent of three kids, said he wasn't entirely surprised by the recall, adding, "Have you seen the acting? I mean, talk about leaden!"
Disney executive Bronwick refused to comment on whether the radition emitted by iTunes downloads or the televised movie could also be harmful to listeners or viewers.
But many families are saying they don't plan to take any chances. "I don't care -- it's Metallica for our iPods and Superbad for our Friday night movie," says Sanderwhite.
In other news, Disney Channel executives also denied that their popular show Hannah Montana had been pinpointed by the Federal Aviation Administration as one of the main causes of significant air travel delays this summer...
The Shins' New Yo Gabba Gabba Video, or, Why Won't Somebody Think of the Mac Users?
Remember I told you about new music from the Shins? Yeah, well Nick Jr. has now posted a sneak peek music video from the band here, no, here.
Great, right?
Yeah, unless you're using a Mac, in which you're screwed because apparently the "technology... to support Parents TV on a Macintosh" is not available.
"So, uh, what do you think?," says this MacBook user.
Review: What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee? - Steve Lee
Despite the fact that everybody and their drummer is recording kids music these days, it still takes a certain amount of courage for an artist to release a kids' CD as their very first album.
So kudos to Nashville-based Steve Lee, who chose the "release the kids' CD" page in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book of his life and ended up producing something quite worthwhile. What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee?, released at the tail-end of 2006, weaves together some top-notch songwriting and playing around a story of an eventful day in Steve Lee's childhood.
The 61-minute starts with a New Age-y "Good Morning," with Lee's voice gently urging the listener to wake up over some gentle piano. From there, Lee alternates between skits in which he plays a young Stephen Scott Lee and songs which provide some moral commentary on the action. Lee gets bullied around, rides the bus to the zoo, gets knocked out, goes to the doctor, watches a movie, and gets ready for bed. I don't think anybody would listen to the CD for the skits (except for those hooked into the Nashville music scene as some of the skits feature cameos by local artists), but they do provide a context for the songs.
Make no mistake, it's the songs that make this CD so worthwhile. The dozen or so music tracks are solid. Some of the tracks ("Wake Up," "Sharing is Caring") sound a little bit like early Wilco. Lee's voice will remind you of one of the singers from Barenaked Ladies and the music does somewhat, too. Many of the tracks give off a very Polyphonic Spree vibe. My favorite track -- definitely on the album, and quite possibly of the year -- is "Grab A Balloon." It takes a minute or so for the track to pick up speed, but when it does, it's accompanied by a heart so big ("Life is your book, it's being written as we speak / But you should know no matter where you go, your heart is your home") that it's impossible to listen without smiling.
Many of the songs have a definite lesson-teaching component -- share stuff ("Sharing is Caring"), be responsible ("Responsibility Song"), take a breath when you're mad ("Count 2 10"). Normally I tend to discount songs that take that sort of approach, but in this case, Lee and his fellow musicians (a whole bunch of Nashville-area artists) are having so much fun with the infectious melodies that my reservations were wiped out. (Besides, Lee isn't above having a little fun undercutting the moral tone, telling people in one of the zoo-related tracks to "watch out for the doo-doo.")
Kids ages 5 through 9 will be most receptive to the lyrics here. You can listen to the entire album at Lee's Virb page. (You're gonna have to go to his Myspace page to buy the album, though.)
With What Did You Do Today, Stephen Scott Lee?, Steve Lee has captured the highs and lows of being a kid, not only from the child's perspective, but also with some adult 20/20 hindsight. All that, and a tasty musical package, too. Definitely recommended.Review: Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Vol. 2 & 3 - Various Artists
Can sequels upstage the original?
The Chicago institution Old Town School of Folk Music released its Songbook Volume 1 last year (review), and the title implied that more was on its way. But could what followed surpass that solid collection?
Yes.
Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Volume 2 & 3, released last week by Bloodshot Records, is its predecessor's equal in every way, and betters it. Over the 2 hours and 20 minutes on the 2-CD set, the School's instructors and friends breathe fresh life into 42 mostly traditional folk songs. These aren't really kids' songs -- they're folk songs (of many sources, from gospel to sailing to bluegrass), written for general audiences. But with few exceptions they're totally OK for kids and families.
In many cases, the artists take a mostly traditional approach, with a healthy dose of banjo, fiddle, and and/or guitar instrumentation. But others take some risks -- the Zincs turn in a spare, quasi-electronica version of the traditional Shaker tune "Simple Gifts," while Scott Besaw engages in some multi-tracking to make his solo recording of "Nine Pound Hammer" sound very full. As sung by Mary Peterson, "Sportin' Life" could easily be a long-lost track from Patsy Cline.
And some of the tracks are just luminous. Laura Doherty's rendition of Donovan Leitch's "Colours" is simple and sweet. "Lonesome Road," as performed by Back Off the Hammer, would fit right in on a Gillian Welch/David Rawlings disk. Cat Edgerton's "Water is Wide" should find its way onto many a lullaby mixtape. If I had to pick a single track from the bounty here, though, it'd be Jacob Sweet's take on Stephen Foster's "Hard Times." The timeless melody and lyrics, combined with Sweet's voice and the harmonies, are enough to give the listener goosebumps. There are a few tracks I'll skip over because I don't like the vocal style, but those are definitely the exception, not the rule.
Even more so than the original, this collection is appropriate for kids, with very little in the way of subject material parents might object to. Call it appropriate for kids ages 4 on up. You can download Nora O'Connor's excellent recording of "Home on the Range" here, and listen to samples elsewhere on this fabulous thing called the Internet, about which you won't hear a single song here. I'd also note that you can get this album for less than $15 in most places. It's a great deal.
Songbook Vol. 2 & 3 is chock-full of renditions of classic songs that are part of the American song DNA that will please many an ear. If this is how good the sequel is, then Volumes 4 & 5 had darn well better be in the works. Highly recommended.
