The Dees Blow It Up Big-Time

OK, perhaps mentions on an Esquire blog and a local television aren't quite the equivalent of, say, American Idol, but baby steps, man, baby steps. Brooklyn's rockin' Deedle Deedle Dees have pulled off the unusual double-header. First off, Esquire's Matt Marinovich's writes of his day as a children's band roadie. It's from a show the Dees did a couple weeks ago. It's an amusing read (plus a good description of a Dees show). My favorite part (and not just because there's a hint of my own life in there)?
A woman puts her hand on my shoulder. I turn around, expecting that I’m about to be offered my first sexual favor. Instead, it’s Beth, a friend of my wife’s. She’s there with her two kids. “What are you doing here?” she says. “I’m the band’s “roadie,” I says, putting quotes around “roadie” with my fingers to indicate mature, cynical detachment. This doesn’t seem to help matters. I turn around and hear her whispering something to the mom next to her. Feeling an urge to clarify things, I turn around and smile at her. “I should have called my wife,” I say, as if the thought had just occurred to me. “Had her bring down the kids.” “That would have been a good idea,” Beth says, looking at me warily. “It’s a kids’ concert, right?”
Or, if you don't like the dry wit of an Esquire blogger, how about the earnestness of a local TV news broadcast? Like this one, which inexplicably is on a Charleston, SC NBC affiliate's webpage. The video talks about chief Dee songwriter Lloyd Miller's Nature Babies program in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The text on the page is essentially a transcript of the video, but if you watch the video, you can hear snippets of "I'm A Duck." I'm totally expecting that on the next Dees album.

I Hope You Like Biscuits...

... because I'm gonna be writing a lot about the Biscuit Brothers, the awesome PBS show out of Austin, Texas, this week. If I really had my act together, I'd have the interview I did with them back in September, but that'll have to wait and you'll just have to live with some reviews. According to their Wikipedia entry, in addition to appearing on a bunch of Texas stations, they are airing (or have aired) in North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Florida, Utah, Georgia, and California. If you live in an area that gets the Biscuit Brothers, and you're not already watching them, you (and your kids) are missing a great little show. (And if your local PBS station isn't showing them, write them and tell them the show is free. Free. Isn't America great?)

Interview: Father Goose (aka Rankin' Don aka Wayne Rhoden)

fathergoose2elgort.jpgAsk anyone who attends a Dan Zanes concert and they'll tell you that the most energetic point in the show is the entrance of longtime Zanes collaborator Father Goose. When he strides onstage, Father Goose (known to others as Rankin' Don or even Wayne Rhoden) works to bring the whole crowd to their feet. Now, with the recent release of his first album for Zanes' Festival Five Records, It's A Bam Bam Diddly!, one of 2007's best kids and family music albums as judged by this year's Fids & Kamily Poll Father Goose has started to carve out a name as a family music ringleader in his own right. Father Goose recently answered a few questions about his musical upbringing and approach on his latest CD. Read on for what music he listened to growing up ("The Gambler?"), how he put together his latest album, and what exactly he does while waiting to go on stage at a Dan Zanes show. Oh, and read on for a free download from the latest CD, courtesy of Festival Five Records. (It's for a limited time, so grab it while you can.) Thanks to Father Goose for taking the time to answer the questions... Photo courtesy Arthur Elgort ********** Zooglobble: What music do you remember listening to or singing growing up? Father Goose: Growing up in Jamaica, which is known as the birthplace of reggae music, you would be surprised of the many other genres of music that are played on the island. I sang along to our superstars Bob Marley, Toots & The Maytals, Lee "Scratch" Perry and out of the USA I listened to Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, James Brown and numerous others, even some from Europe. Who (artists, parents, etc.) were your biggest musical influences? My parents were great in that they did not set any limits as to the type of music I would listen to. That in itself was a blessing because without them my musical voyage would not have begun. When did you decide you wanted to become a performer?

Review: Chickens - Buck Howdy with BB

Chickens.jpgBuck Howdy is the most-polished-sounding of the small but growing kids' country music subgenre. Howdy has a twangy but appealingly melodic voice and his tracks bear the sound of stellar production you'd hear on the best of Nashville's releases. Buck Howdy's latest album, Chickens, showcases these strengths and adds another one -- BB, Howdy's co-singer at many live shows, just about gets co-billing. BB's sweet voice, which appears on almost every track, blends quite nicely with Howdy's. The old nugget "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" is a great example of his approach, melding western swing with a bit of big band. Nice vocals from Howdy and his co-singer BB, a couple horns, and a sweet fiddle solo, all making for a fun and nifty three minutes. "You Are My Sunshine" doesn't have the horns, but the rendition has pep and swing. There really aren't any bad tracks here -- either the Buck Howdy originals (7 of which are co-written with BB) or the 6 covers. I should note that Howdy is sort of a country-fied version of Dan Zanes, sometimes not so interested in making music for kids as much as making family-friendly music (or even just music that interests him). While the album is stronger as a whole than its predecessor, Giddyup!, there's nothing as immediately appealing for the kids as "Baked Beans" off that album. "Are You Havin' Any Fun?" is a great little chestnut (once recorded by Tony Bennett and Count Basie and ably covered here), but its theme of avoiding overwork will probably (hopefully) be over the heads of your kindergartner. As a result, if you're looking for an album that is laser-focused on kids' interests, this won't be your best bet. Kids ages from 4 through 8 will most enjoy the specifically kid-focused songs here (though as I've noted, it's not kid-focused all the time). You can hear samples of the 41-minute album at Howdy's music page or the album's CDBaby page. While Chickens might not be an album that speaks directly to kids at all times, it never underestimates them -- the production is top-notch and whoever isn't the main lyrical target of each song (be it the parents or the kids) will find enough other things going on musically that they'll enjoy the track. It's a fun little album -- recommended.

It's Not Quite T-Shirt Weather, But...

I'm really more of a Shirt.Woot! guy, but if you're looking for some cool t-shirt designs in kids' (and perhaps adult) sizes, you need look no further than the results of the Hilltown Families Variety Show T-Shirt Review. Lots of t-shirts and lots of thoughts from tots and, uh, OK, I can't think of another word rhyming with "tots" that makes sense there.

Review: Mr. Oscat Says... - Mr. Oscat

MrOscatSays.jpgSometimes people hear kids' music and think, "Hey, I could do that!" Sometimes those people decide they'll try their hand at writing and recording kids music of their own. At which point they find out it's lot harder than it looks. (No, I'm not speaking from personal recording experience, just lots of personal listening experience.) Occasionally, though, somebody makes it look, well, if not easy, at least not incredibly difficult, either. Case in point: Bakersfield, California's Mr. Oscat and their debut CD, Mr. Oscat Says.... Inspired by watching Noggin and thinking "I can write songs like that," and by kiddie new wave artists like Dan Zanes and Farmer Jason, Olen Taylor went ahead and did just that. The resulting is a pleasing new CD by a family band in the best sense of the word. The name of the band reflects the initials of the first names of the Taylor family (Olen, his wife Susan, and kids Caitlin and Alison) plus "T" for Taylor, and all four contribute to the disk. Olen does the lion's share of the work, writing or co-writing all but one track, but Susan co-wrote some tracks, and the kids lend their vocals. Olen Taylor used to lead a roots-rock band called the Wichitas, and that roots-rock sound certainly makes an appearance on the disk ("Ducks in a Row," the vaguely Key Wilde-esque "Big Dog," and the Bakersfieldian country swing of "All You Wanna Do Is Play"), but the best tracks have a more pop-rock sound. "Mama Wants You To Dress Up (But You Don't Want To)" has a great singalong chorus ("'Cuz everybody knooooowwwws / what mama says, goes!"). "What's That Smell?" is Postal Service-style techno for kids ("Maybe Daddy's cooking chicken / Maybe he'll let us sample some...") And the best track, "Mr. Oscat Says," melds power-pop, techno, and Americana. The 9 originals here are all well-written songs. The downside of a home-produced CD, though, can be a less-than-fully-realized sound, and there are points here where I was left wishing that Taylor had left the midi samples and Garageband tinkering by the wayside and instead called in some of his old bandmates. In particular, the album's songs reminded me a little bit of Turn It Up, Mommy! from the DC-based band the RTTs, and I was left longing for how that album took a bunch of solidly-crafted songs and added the RTTs bar-band sound to great effect. The album sounds OK, and the vocals are good all around (really, this is one of the better albums out there for effective use of kids and friends), but could have sounded great with a few more instruments in the mix. The songs here are going to be most pleasing to kids ages 3 through 8. You can hear samples at the album's CDBaby page or at the band's website. For an album whose genesis, according to the liner notes, was that "two people challenged us to do this recording," Mr. Oscat Says... is going to be a pretty hard to top. ("We did it. And now we challenge back. Your turn. Make family music.") And while I wish the home-produced aspect of the recording hadn't been so apparent, that's just because the songs here are lots of fun and I think the CD could've approached something near awesome territory. Oh, well, there's always next time. I sure hope there's a next time, in any case, because this first time was pretty good. Recommended.