As noted before, the Twin Cities' Okee Dokee Brothers have a new album coming out in early August -- Take It Outside -- and so they're starting to road-test the material, most recently at this weekend's Bunny Clogs concert. Adam Levy helps 'em out here on a soulful, organ-drenched track called "What We Got." And by "organ-drenched," I don't mean there were Hammond B-3's falling from the sky. 'Cause that would probably hurt. This, though, is nice.
The Okee Dokee Brothers - "What We Got" (Live) [YouTube]
Video: "Time Out to Rock" (Live) - The Not-Its
I'm gonna go out on a big limb here and say that this video, taped at yesterday's "A Child's Time to Rock" benefit, shows Seattle's Not-Its playing the title track from their forthcoming (July 2010) Time Out to Rock disk. Because, you know, it's titled "Time Out to Rock" and features fancy logo stuff at the end. I'm smart like that.
Their timeouts apparently rock a little harder that my kids' -- those usually end up with reading books on the bed.
The Not-Its - "Time Out to Rock" [YouTube]
Interview: Nerissa Nields (The Nields)
The Massachusetts-based sisters Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the driving force behind the band named after the them, have been making music for a living for about two decades now, but have been singing for most of their lives. The centrality of music to their lives growing up is obvious on their two fine albums for families, All Together Singing in the Kitchen and Rock All Day Rock All Night. They also lead HooteNanny, a music class for preschoolers and their parents and have just released their first DVD, Organic Farm.
Nerissa answered a few questions in the not-too-distant past about some of her musical memories, the good and bad parts about recording music with your relatives, and suggestions for raising a musical household...
Zooglobble: I realize you've discussed this a little more than most folks (since you did an entire album with your father), but what are your musical memories growing up?
Nerissa Nields: SO many wonderful memories, but I'll share this one. I was sick with the chicken pox, and it was the worst day of the itching, fever, etc. I was seven years old, lying in bed, moaning. My father came in with his guitar to cheer me up and started playing "The Streets of Laredo," which is a very sad song and involves a dying cowboy. When he got to the end of it, I moaned, "No! That's too sad!" So he said, "OK. How's this?" and made up these words on the spot:
I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy
You can see by my outfit that I'm a cowboy too
You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys
Get yourself an outfit and be a cowboy too!
When did you decide you wanted to become a musician?
When I was seven years old I learned "I Know A Heartache When I See One" off the AM Country radio station my parents listened to, and my mother was so impressed with my singing that she commented on it. I decided then and there to be a singer.
What are the good parts about recording music with family members? What are the not-so-good parts?Video: "Share" - Renee & Jeremy
Different house, different couch, and different song than last time, but the end result is still the same -- if Renee & Jeremy sang one of the drier parts of your air conditioning unit's installation manual, I'd still listen. Luckily, I'm a long-time fan of the song.
(And a new fan of that couch.)
Renee & Jeremy - "Share" [YouTube]
Laurie Berkner Band's Greatest Hits Album On Its Way. Eventually.
"On its way" implies a level of progress that isn't really there (unless you think more theoretically than I) but Laurie Berkner has announced that the band is rehearsing some of the songs that will appear on The Laurie Berkner Band's Greatest Hits Album. (They actually append it with "!!!," but that didn't seem very journalistic of me.) So, yeah, there's gonna be a Laurie Berkner greatest hits album. No additional info except that a special version of "Open Your Heart" will be on it. How did that song go again?...
Interview: Mike Cusanelli (WorldSound Kids)
Mike Cusanelli is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the WorldSound label group. Cusanelli is now starting up the new label WorldSound Kids, signing StarFish as its first artist. StarFish's band leader Ray Leone, Vice President for Sales with Putumayo US, use to work with Cusanelli at Putumayo, so there's definitely some familiarity between the two. But the partnership between the two does seem strategic, as Cusanelli outlines below in this brief interview.
Zooglobble: Why did you decide to start the label?
Mike Cusanelli: I used to have my own label in Little Rock, Arkansas called Zen Ark Entertainment. After I had my twins I started putting together a kids collection of local musicians. Unfortunately I was unable to complete the project. After joining Putumayo World Music my interest in kids music became even deeper. So it has been at the back of my mind for a while now. Since joining WorldSound 2 years ago, I've been looking for the right project. I have been a fan of StarFish since their start so the chance to work with them is really what sparked this final step.
Why start a record label when so much of the record business is in flux? In other words, what makes you think you can succeed with this particular label?
Luckily I did not have to start a new label. WorldSound Kids is just an additional imprint. As an independent, we can manage expectations more easily. In other words. we don’t need to sell millions of records to turn a profit.
What's your mission?
I want to reinvent kids music. From my perspective parents who were and are fans of mainstream rock music have been left out of the revolution and are forced to settle with the more commercial elements of kids music. Bands like StarFish can quickly bring them to the party. I've been a fan of the band since they started and I know how talented they are and how hard they have worked. There really could be no better band for us to launch this imprint.
What sort of promotional plans do you have?
We are going to undertake a social marketing campaign unlike anything kids music has seen before. We want every parent or grandparent who owned a Bon Jovi cassette, drove a Z-28, put on so much hairspray that they can share the blame for the hole in the ozone, knows why Tawny Kitaen is famous, used to walk around with a giant-handled comb in their back pocket to properly feather their hair, switched to flannel shirts in 1991, and desperately wanted their MTV, to buy this CD for their kids.
Are you seeking other artists for the label? What are you looking for?
Yes I am. In fact I may have another signing this summer. I want to see and hear originality and rebellion.
Besides targeting a niche you think is un(der)served, what other advantages do you think Worldsound Kids offers?
WorldSound Kids is a true partnership with the artists giving them a creative freedom and a conduit to a wider audience. This attracts artists who have been passed over or are reluctant to enter into a traditional label relationship.
Our deals are generally not royalty based whereby the label owns everything and pays the artist 10-12% of sales after all expenses are recouped. Instead, we enter into a 50/50 partnership. The artist brings us the completed project and we license it for a period of time. We bring our sales and marketing expertise as well as the means of production to get a new CD into the marketplace. The artists retain ownership of their art.
As far as genres, we are mostly interested in things that interest us, which can be everything from punk rock to kids' music. Mostly it depends on the attitude and aptitude of the artist. We are not looking for rock stars, but rather like-minded entrepreneurs.
