When I mentioned previously that registration for Kindiefest was open, I wasn't 100% sure that I was going myself. I mean, I had lots of fun last year, and this year promises to be even better (more panels, a keynote, a chance to hear 14 different artists playing live). But it's a really long flight from Phoenix, and a weekend away from the family essentially working.
Having said all that, I'm going. And now the panel I was asked to moderate is starting to take shape, I might've been willing to go to Brooklyn for that experience alone. The panel "Old School Meets New School," will talk about the generations of family musicians -- those who've been doing it for 3 years and those who've been doing it for 30 -- and their perspectives on making music for families in today's world. At the moment, the panel includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Suni Paz, and Bill Harley. Not to mention Kids Corner's Kathy O'Connell. (And I don't think the panel's quite complete.)
Yeah. You read that right. My chief goal in being moderator will be shutting up and not getting in the way.
Anyway, earlybird registration for the conference ends next Monday, so if you haven't seen the burgeoning list of speakers and artists, I encourage you to do so. See you in Brooklyn.
Listen To This: "Crayon Man" - Roy Handy and the Moonshot
Bill played "Space Kitty" on this morning's Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, so I thought it'd be worth directing you to the other track from Roy Handy and the Moonshot, "Crayon Man" -- if Roy G. Biv is your (or your kid's) best friend, this song is for you. Also, if you (or your kid) like a good power-pop rockin' tune, this song is for you. If you (or your kid) like meowing, this song is not for you.
I've heard more of Handy's music, and I think the full-length, when complete, is gonna have a lot of fans...Yo Gabba Gabba Goes To The Super Bowl
Yo Gabba Gabba's Muno (the tall red one) is co-starring in a Super Bowl ad for Kia. I could make the serious tsk-tsk noises about how this proves that the show is targeted at least in part at adults because why else would the ad agency use a character from a show whose most popular song encourages kids to eat everything on their plates.
Instead, I'll just note that whatever swelled head Muno might get compared to his (unseen) YGG co-stars would be wiped out by the fact that that Paul Frank monkey gets most of the good scenes (the tattoo was particularly amusing).
Share: "All About Bob" - Ralph's World
One of my favorite tracks from the upcoming Ralph's World disk All Around Ralph's World is "All About Bob."
Want to share it amongst your family and friends to see if they agree with me? OK -- Bar/None Records is offering a free download of the track -- go here to download the mp3.
Tres catchy.Review: Rock Paper Scissors - Dean Jones feat. the Felice Brothers
This is the noisiest kids' CD you'll hear all year. Dean Jones, musician with a dozen hats (including one as the ringleader of the wonderful folk/pop/jazz/whatever band Dog on Fleas), turns to a bunch of friends, primarily the Felice Brothers and Earmight, for his latest album Rock Paper Scissors. Unlike his first solo kids' disk, the lullaby(-ish) Napper's Delight, this new album is loud and sloppy and all over the place. (If the two albums are in the same place at the same time, they will explode, just as if you put matter and anti-matter together.)
The opening track, "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here!" outdoes Dan Zanes and anybody else who's ever attempted to put a party group jam on record. You will not hear a better album-opener all year, and the album almost suffers from being unable to match that level of energy and raucous joy the rest of the disk, as if anything could. As the album proceeds, Jones and his pals move from the jazzy title track, the Jazz Age novelty track (in spirit, anyway) "Butterflies" to the sing-it-loud-and-proud midtempo "Sing Like a Sparrow." Jones pal Uncle Rock shows up to mug his way through the loudest song about snoring you'll ever hear "Roncando," while the band channels a little bit of the great band Morphine on "Poison Ivy." It moves through many emotions and many instruments (haven't seen "car-horn-o-phone" on an instrument list lately). While this isn't quite the folk/pop that Dog on Fleas mastered on When I Get Little, people who adored that album and didn't have quite the attachment to its follow-up Beautiful World will probably find this a worthy successor.
Kids ages 4 through 8 may dig the album more so than kids of other ages, though kids ages 34 through 38 will enjoy it just as much. You can hear clips from the approximately 34-minute album here.
So, yeah, Dean Jones throws in everything but the kitchen sink on Rock Paper Scissors, and then goes ahead and throws in the sink for good measure. Lots of kids albums describe themselves as a good party, but this album is the real deal. Definitely recommended.Share: "Little Lamb Jam" - Oran Etkin with Charenee Wade
Next month sees the release of Putumayo's latest kid-friendly release, Jazz Playground, and to promote the disk, they're offering a free download (well, free except for giving up an e-mail address) of the swingin' minor-key "Little Lamb Jam" by Oran Etkin with Charenee Wade on vocals -- go here directly to sign up.
You can also click on the Jazz Playground link above to hear the first 3 tracks from the album, including one of my favorite jazz-for-kids artists, gypsy jazz swing man Lewis Franco & The Missing Cats (see my review of his disk from a couple years ago here). Chris McKhool's take on "Spider-Man" is pretty cool, and it's hard to go wrong with the Cuban jazz of Jose Conde "Cumbamba."
Full track listing after the jump
