Dee-mos, er, Demos from the Deedle Deedle Dees

One Myspace page isn't enough for Brooklyn's Deedle Deedle Dees, as they've set up a new page for demos for their upcoming album. They're set to record tracks for Dee-mocracy soon, but you can hear Lloyd Miller's (er, Ulysses Dee's) solo demos at Deedle Deedle Dee-mos. If you're a long-time reader, some of the historically-inspired tracks (or at least their stories) will sound familiar -- "Bring 'Em In," "Little Red Airplane," and the Bill Childs-inspired "Susan B. Anthony." But there are a couple new (to me) tracks -- "Tubtubtubman" and "Growl Growl Alaska." I especially like Miller's falsetto on the latter track. The chorus on the former's pretty catchy, too... I'm also highly amused by the random picture of a Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback -- Vinny Testaverde? -- as the artist photo on the page. Perhaps there's a song about them losing their first 26 regular season games. (Ed.: Just noticed that Lloyd said it was Trent Dilfer. The retro uni confused me.) Which reminds me, and I know I'm off on a tangent here, but those initially hapless Bucs are the source for possibly my favorite sports quotation of all time. It was uttered by their first head coach, John McKay. After one of those first 26 losses, McKay was asked by a reporter what he thought of his team's execution. McKay's reply: "I think it's a good idea."

Fresh Biscuit (Brothers) for Christmas

It's always good news when Austin's Biscuit Brothers have new stuff for public consumption -- and the Volume 3 of Go Make Music! I told you about a few weeks back, is so-close-you-can-taste-it available. (It's gonna be here any day now, they swear.) But that's not all -- the Christmas/holiday episode I mentioned before is now available for PBS stations across the land to pick up for free to airing this holiday season. And in case you (or your local PBS affiliate) need some convincing, they've kindly gone ahead and posted some clips on YouTube. Here's one of my favorite Biscuit Brothers Christmas tunes (they have a whole Christmas CD) featuring, of course, Tiny Scarecrow: Biscuit Brothers - "The Best Christmas Ever" And some more...

The Holiday Season Has Begun: We're Already Hearing About 2009 Christmas Albums

Thanksgiving hasn't even ended yet and already we're moving on to the Christmas/Hanukkah/winter holiday of your choosing phase of the year. Tito Uquillas, guitarist and songwriter for Bay Area band The Hipwaders has jumped into the blogging ring with his new blog, Kindie Christmas. All about Christmas songs (natch), started in part to help motivate him as the Hipwaders go into the studio in January to record a bunch of Christmas songs for a winter 2009 release. (That news is new; they're also wrapping up work on Goodie Bag, an EP of new tunes.) Anyway, Tito's always been an astute viewer of the kindie music scene (not to mention a vital part of it himself), so the blog promises to be a good read.

A Low-Schmaltz Thanksgiving Song from Rock Daddy Rock

If you like your Thanksgiving songs with even less schmaltz than Cathy & Marcy, you can try this brief song from Rock Daddy Rock on for size. Though, I'd add, if you're a vegetarian you might want to stay away. (I just finished assembling a seafood lasagna for Thanksgiving. We're kinda agnostic in that regard.) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Live in Phoenix: Doug Snyder (January 11, 2009)

DougSnyderSXSW04.jpgA while ago, main Jellydot Doug Snyder lived in Phoenix, even playing a Sing-Along Saturday at Stinkweeds Records. Well, Doug moved on to New Mexico, but he's returning to the Valley of the Sun to kick off a great 2009 kids music-wise when he plays a couple of sets at the Children's Museum of Phoenix on Sunday, January 11. Come at 2 PM, or come at 3 PM (or maybe even stay for both). The show is free with CMOP admission and if you haven't yet visited the museum and you've got kids who are still in the single-digit age range, you really should stop by -- it's a really cool museum. I've helped CMOP put together a whole concert series for 2009 -- more details on the rest of the series coming soon!

Podnoceros: Not a Dinosaur, But May Still Be Popular With Your Kids

What is it with the DC area and video podcasts? First Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer start their podcasts, now Rocknoceros have started their own "Saturday Morning Rocknoceros Podnoceros. I've been following the podcasts since the beginning, but despite their good humor I didn't know how interesting their stories of who they are and life as a kids musician would be to people who aren't fans. (Though they probably should be.) But their latest podcast has two full songs -- "Blastoff!" and "Apollo" from their fine Dark Side of the Moon Bounce (review) -- performed live at the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum. There's even a slow-motion walking scene with the band in proto-astronaut gear and Coach Cotton giving a thumbs-up. Very space-y. Worth a looksee down below. You can subscribe to the Rocknoceros YouTube page here. They're doing them every couple weeks, which suggests that the next one will be this Saturday...