Moona Luna: Twice the Languages, Twice the Fun? (Hopefully Not Twice the Wait.)

There has been no shortage of bilingual Spanish-language family music released over the past couple years, not just traditional music, but also some with a bit of rock -- Dan Zanes is perhaps the best-known, but others like Mariana Iranzi also recording albums. One that I've been waiting for since the beginning of the year is the debut from Moona Luna, the family music alter-ego of Latin-alternative band Pistolera. They've had a couple tracks on their website for awhile now, but now they've got three up in blogger-friendly Bandcamp form. The band, led by singer-songwriter (and new mother) Sandra Velasquez, is actually recording two albums simultaneously -- one as Pistolera, one as Moona Luna -- so that probably explains why it's taken so long. But based on the tracks they've released thus far, I think it might be worth the wait.

Caspar Babypants Duets!

Chris Ballew, AKA Caspar Babypants is drinking from the same water his Seattle compatriots Recess Monkey do -- this fall he'll be releasing his third album in only about 24 months. Due out November 2, it's called This Is Fun! and he's recruited an intriguing set of musicians to join him on a few tracks. He's not quite in Frank Sinatra/Santana territory in terms of number of duets, but still... Elizabeth Mitchell (who is an increasingly popular presence on other family musicians' albums) sings with Ballew on a song by him and his son called "Dark of Night." Charlie Hope sings with him on one of my favorite traditional kids' songs, "Mister Rabbit." And while This Is Fun! won't be the first kids album to feature a rendition of the Nirvana song "Sliver" ("Grandma take me home... grandma take me home...), it will be the first to feature a member of, well, Nirvana. Yes, Krist Novoselic will be playing bass on the track. So, whoo! (And while you're at it, check out the new track "Happy Heart" at the Caspar Babypants website. Continued good stuff.)

Many Hands, Many Concerts

Many Hands: Family Music from Haiti is, for many reasons, the most intriguing and audacious release in the family music world this year, bar none. It benefits the Haitian People's Support Project and is being put together by Dean Jones on Bill Childs' new Spare the Rock Records label. One reason I say "audacious" is the list of benefit concerts. One is certainly common, two is definitely not unusual, but six (thus far)? That's, like, Live Aid territory. If you are in the areas below, you are hereby commanded (as much as a random guy on the internet can in fact command) to clear off your calendar and attend one or more of the shows below. (And, yeah, if the birdie who's been talking to me is correct, the possible special guests on the 26th are indeed pretty special...) Sunday August 15: Dog on Fleas, Grenadilla, Uncle Rock (Rosendale Theater, Rosendale, NY) Friday, August 20: Elizabeth Mitchell & Family and Frances England (Mill Valley Library, Mill Valley, CA) Saturday, August 21: Dog on Fleas, Lunch Money, Randy Kaplan, Deedle Deedle Dees (Armory, Boston, MA) Saturday, September 11, 11:00: Randy Kaplan, Johnny Bregar, and Recess Monkey (Multnomah Arts Center, Portland, OR, presented by A Child’s Time to Rock!) Saturday, September 11: Deedle Deedle Dees, Gustafer Yellowgold, Dog on Fleas (Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY) Sunday, September 26: Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Deedle Deedle Dees, and very special other artists TBA (Pines Theater, Look Park, Northampton, MA)

Dan Zanes: Available For Guitar Lessons

Well, we've had Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Johnny Bregar, and Renee & Jeremy, and now Dan Zanes is getting into the act. What act is that? It's guitar lessons for the masses. It actually makes perfect sense for Zanes, who's always been just as interested in getting folks to make music as much as making music for them. Here he explains the guitar part for "Catch That Train!," and it's actually remarkably detailed. I've got a feeling it'll take most people far longer than the five minutes of the video to master the instruction... Dan Zanes - "Catch That Train!" (Instruction) [YouTube]

Itty-Bitty Review: "Rock-N-Roll Recess" - The Bazillions

It's taken a little while, but the Twin Cities' family music scene is finally starting to catch up with its adult scene in terms of vibrancy. With Bunny Clogs, the Okee Dokee Brothers, the Sweet Colleens, and now The Bazillions, there's new musical life for Minnesota's under-10 set and their families. The Bazillions are the underaged alter ego of Minneapolis powerpop band The Humbugs and the Bazillions' debut Rock-N-Roll Recess is every bit as sunny as their nighttime band's name isn't. This is the most straightforward kids power pop album this side of ScribbleMonster. Songs about macaroni and cheese ("Mac-n-cheese," natch), grammar ("Preposition"), not to mention both a good morning and goodbye song, songwriter Adam Marshall has given us janglier Fountains of Wayne (or, perhaps, Semisonic) wrapped up up in typical grade schooler concerns. Not every song is a winner (or should've ended at 1:45 instead of going on another couple minutes), but "Super Sonic Rocket Bike" and "Tommy Got In Trouble" are two great songs, worthy of great kid-popsters like Justin Roberts. "Career Day" and "It's A Mess" are also strong tracks. The 30-minute album (plus karaoke versions of "Rocket Bike" and "Tommy") will appeal most to kids ages 5 through 9. You can listen to some songs at the band's Myspace page or samples at the album's CDBaby page. Rock-N-Roll Recess is a solid debut album -- if you're thinking that Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend wouldn't be the best album to play over and over to your kindergartener, this might fit the bill. Recommended.

Video: "Stuff" / "Me and My Ice Cream Cone" - Snacks

I mentioned Snacks a couple days ago in my big DVD review and had some kind words to say for their Snacks the DVD offering. The problem with doing a brief review of a DVD is that it's hard to give you a sense of the songs and visuals. Unless you go to YouTube. So, enjoy. It's lo-fi, but done well. Snacks - "Stuff" [YouTube]

Not just one, but two, more videos (a little more poppy) from the DVD after the jump.