Kindiefest 2010: Frances England

Of all the sets I was anticipating at Kindiefest this year, Frances England's was probably at the top of the list. Many of the others I'd seen (heck, I'd even booked Justin Roberts and Recess Monkey for shows myself), but Frances was not one of them, and despite my relative West Coast proximity, her comparative touring seclusion meant that my chances of doing so were not great. Based on other, older YouTube clips of her live show, I'd wondered how England would fit in among the rockers on the showcase. How would those delicate songs translate live? I'm stupid and need not have worried, of course, because they kicked butt live. England and her band turned "Busy as a Bee" from her debut Fascinating Creatures into a shuffling rocker that picked up momentum every time the quartet headed into the chorus. The other old songs had a similarly-beefed up sound, and the new songs from her fall release (we hope) tentatively titled Mind of My Own also sounded rambunctious and ragged in a good way, as if the little toddlers England once wrote for were getting comfortable in their own skin and exploring the world and getting into troubles of their own. Oh, and the red hats the band whipped out for "Jacques Cousteau," another new track? Second only to Recess Monkey's silver pants in Kindiefest attire. (Pictures below.) So, yeah, I'm glad I made the trip. Frances England - "Mind of My Own" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]

Two more songs (including another new one) and pictures after the jump...

Randy Kaplan: The Kids Are All Id (and Orange-y)

The idea of a "release date" in the music industry is a slippery one these days -- is it when you start selling the disks at shows? When it shows up on iTunes? When you tell a major magazine it is so it meets their 4-month lead time? No matter when it's released, there's definitely some anticipation for Randy Kaplan's new disk The Kids Are All Id. If features the by-now-standard Kaplan approach of mixing standards and buried classics with original songs that tell stories in Kaplan's unique style. It also features some really cool cover art, about which Kaplan reports:

I did all the drawings of the faces and my designer in Paris, Laurent Rivelaygue, created the overlapping collage. The cover was originally yellow but my friend Michelle said it was too close to Five Cent Piece. So I asked for orange and teal and I chose the orange one.

Anyway, I dig it. If you want to read more, Jeff over at Out With the Kids talked with Randy a little while back. And while you'll have an opportunity to see Randy on the east coast a few times, I'm happy to report that he's coming back to Phoenix again next month, this time at my series at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. He'll be playing a couple of sets on June 13 at 10:30 and 11:30 AM. Track listing and a sneak preview of one track after the jump...

Kindiefest 2010: Justin Roberts and the Not Ready For Naptime Players

For the most part, I only caught brief glimpses of Justin Roberts at Kindiefest this year. When I did see him there, it seemed like he always had a crowd around him. After many patient years diligently practicing his craft, Roberts seems poised to finally make the leap to the (relative) mainstream awareness (hello, New York Times!, hello, other magazines who were around last weekend!) enjoyed by folks like Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and Ralph Covert. To those of us in the industry who have been thinking of Roberts as being at that level for a while now, it's just the rest of the world catching up. Still, I think even the most devoted and dialed-in observer of the scene couldn't help but be a little bit bowled over by the Roberts' showcase-concluding set Saturday night. I chose to title this post "... and the Not Ready For Naptime Players" deliberately. Sure, Roberts' popularity starts off with his sharp songwriting skills, but there's no doubt that the full 5-piece NR4NP is an essential part of Roberts' success, both on record and live. Liam Davis brings a keen producer's ear to Roberts' albums and is only slightly less energetic on stage than Gerald Dowd is on drums. Jacqueline Schimmel on bass and Dave Winer on trumpet, laptop, and court jester play no less important roles. They're loose (Winer's "Little Dave" riff on "Kidniefest" -- spelling intentional -- nearly brought the show to a comedic halt) but when they play, they are tight.

As I noted before, Roberts and his band were so great, at least a couple other performing artists said it inspired them to improve their own performances. Audience members shed tears. The brief 23-minute set was like watching a Super Bowl halftime show except the band wasn't dialing it in and the new stuff was every bit as good as the classics. Yeah, the new stuff is great, too. The two tracks they performed from the Jungle Gym -- "Trick or Treat" and "New Haircut" (were there more? "Gym Class Parachute," maybe?) -- weren't quite as orchestrated as on record (I wanted somebody to cue the flutes -- a reference which will be clearer once everyone hears the disk). But the band already sounded very polished on the new tracks (and Roberts already had hand/arm motions worked out for audience participation). As for "Trick or Treat" (excerpted below with Roberts' permission), which is a Halloween song that the New Pornographers would be proud to include in their collection, I had a conversation with a radio person afterwards who said, "I don't think I can wait that long to play that on the air." We decided Labor Day would be OK. That's going to be a huge song in concert for Roberts in the fall. In other words, win. Justin Roberts - "Trick or Treat" (Excerpt from Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]

More pictures after the jump.

Share: "Kiss Ya Mommy" - Ralph & Ralph

A new Mother's Day song from Ralph and Ralph, free for the asking. I'm guessing that the moms out there would probably prefer something more substantial than, you know, an mp3, but maybe the non-moms out there can play it while bringing in breakfast in bed. Not found on their debut Opposites, the band is, I believe, the first family musicians to work in the word "dissed" in a kids song. Go to the website and click on "Free Download."

Songs For Graduation

A reader wrote me recently asking for suggestions for a mix CD to be played during a kindergarten graduation slideshow. (Yes, she noted that a kindergarten graduation ceremony was a little odd -- neither of us had one that's for sure.) Did I have anything that conveyed a feeling of a rite of passage? If some of the songs caused a tear or two to well up, so much the better. While I didn't have a readymade list, I pulled out a mix CD I made for Miss Mary Mack and found some songs that I thought would work well in such a setting. I've added a couple more to the list, and what you see below is the result. As always, I look forward to your suggestions on expanding this list. In no particular order, they are... "Barking at the Moon" - Jenny Lewis (Bolt soundtrack) "Luck" - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (Easy) "Happy Doesn't Have To Have An Ending" - They Might Be Giants (Bed Bed Bed) "See You on the Moon" - Great Lake Swimmers (See You on the Moon! compilation) "Giant Sized Butterflies" - Justin Roberts (Pop Fly, more appropriate for the first day of the school than the last, so I guess it'll come at the beginning of the slide show) "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants (Flood) "Who Are You Not to Shine" - The Nields (Rock All Day, Rock All Night) "Jubilee" - Elizabeth Mitchell (You Are My Sunshine) "Fruit Jar" - Justin Roberts (Pop Fly) "Educated Kid" - The Hipwaders (Educated Kid) "Anna Kick a Hole in the Sky" - The Nields (All Around Singing in the Kitchen) "It's a Big World" - Renee & Jeremy (It's a Big World -- actually a lot of this disk is probably appropriate, especially in the "making the parents cry" category...)

Kindiefest 2010: Recess Monkey

Dan Zanes may be the godfather; They Might Be Giants, the legitimizer; and Laurie Berkner, Ralph Covert, and Justin Roberts the genre's superstars. But Recess Monkey is the heart of kids music today. There was nobody at Kindiefest who was in more places at once (except for maybe the organizers) than the band. (And that's not just because there are three members in the band.) Jack Forman appeared on a video panel, and all 3 of them were always engaged in discussion with other folks. They're successful enough to be emulated but not popular enough - yet - to be unapproachable. (Heck, they all still have "regular" jobs.) So they were approached - a lot. And their commitment to the scene is total. I don't think there was anyone else in the audience who was as supportive of the other artists playing the Saturday industry showcase as they were -- if there was handclapping to be done, they did it. During their own Sunday showcase, they brought in Chris Wiser from Sugar Free Allstars to play on "Booster Seat," Johnny Bregar on "Knocktopus" and Tor Hyams on "Moon Boots." And although I'd left by then to head back home, they filled in for Aric Bieganek's stuck-in-traffic bandmates and played 5 songs with him during the Royal Order of Chords and Keys showcase later Sunday afternoon. And the silver pants. Man, the silver pants. Commitment. Owning their stuff, indeed. Fun set, fun guys. Kids music needs them, and not just because they rock. Recess Monkey - "Booster Seat" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) - [YouTube]

One more video and pictures of the band and Mayor Monkey, the band's hand puppet band manager, after the jump.