Mind of My Own: Frances England Gets Some Help

Ironically for an album called Mind of My Own, Frances England has pulled together a lot of musical talent to help her make her third kindie rock record. (It's true, her Kindiefest appearance was not a one-off, it's a much more rocking record than her first two.) She's got a full band behind her and Tor Hyams produced the record. Not to mention a whole host of guest musicians, including Doug Snyder from the Jellydots, make an appearance. And, yes, the rumors are true -- Mates of State make an appearance on "Place in Your Heart," with a joyful singalong chorus that's bound to make a lot of family music radio playlists. Luckily, England's handiwork hasn't change from her first, very DIY affair -- its still her papercut artwork gracing the cover. Anyway, Mind of My Own is out November 9th. The tracklist is after the jump.

Itty-Bitty Review: The Color Album - The Ditty Bops

I wouldn't expect a kids album from Los Angeles' Ditty Bops to be ordinary. The folk/cabaret/swing duo of Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, after all, might be best known for doing a cross-country tour on bike; the one song of theirs that previously got airplay on XM Kids (now Kids Place Live) was a repurposed song about slowing down off their debut album for adults. Their recently released The Color Album doesn't disappoint in that regard. As you might gather from the album title (and cover), it takes its inspiration from colors, with 8 songs (pink not being part of most rainbows except those colored with marker). But this isn't an educational disk in the school-learnin' sense, aside from the songs being helpfully arranged in ROY G. BIV order (plus, er, pink). The colors here are just jumping off points for considerations of lemonade (the Tin Pan Alley-esque "Lemon Tree") and the general glory of pink ("Pink City," a particularly gleeful and zippy song), which is not for girls only as the song points out. But some songs are not quite targeted at your 3-year-old. The driving acoustic tune "Orange Sun" features the lyrics "Under the orange sun / there can be love / or there can be none / We can hold our hands / or our guns." In the context of the song, it's not really inappropriate (and it's one of the best songs on the album), but it's songs like that and "Blue I'm Blue" that make this kind of a unique disk -- some songs are more for the kids, some are more for the adults, and the band just trusts that each will get something out of every song. Obviously, given that statement, it's hard to peg an age range for the 18-minute disk, but let's go with 3 through 7. You can hear some samples here here or spin a full copy of "Lemon Tree" here. (By the way, copies in CD format come with an album cover hand-colored by the band.) The Color Album is a brief but nifty little collection of tunes for your family's 4-year-old, 34-year-old, and maybe even 74-year-old. Even if the 3 of you don't agree on what your favorite song is here, you're each bound to find one. Recommended. [Disclosure: I was provided an (electronic) copy of the album by the band for possible review.]

Live Video: "Go Down Emmanuel Road" - Dan Zanes (Live at Lollapalooza/Kidzapalooza)

I tell you, when I was in youth symphony orchestras, not once did I get to play at a major rock festival, strumming my violin. Those Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra kids up there on stage at Lollapalooza with Dan Zanes got all the luck. Dan Zanes and Friends (with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra) - "Go Down Emmanuel Road" (Live at Kidzapalooza) [YouTube]

Keller Williams' Kids Album Is For the, er, Kids

Nearly two years ago, I noted that jamband musician extraordinaire Keller Williams was joining the crowd of adult artists recording a family music album. And in my subsequent inquiries to Williams' folks, I'd hear that the album was finished, just not ready for release. Now comes word that the album is finally ready for the world. On October 26, Williams will release Kids, his first foray into music for families. Call it peanut-butter-and-jam-band music. (That one's for free, folks.) See the cover there? It'd be way too cute if it weren't a nifty little joke. Immediately shoots to near the top of my most-anticipated albums list.

Live Video: "Wake Up" - The Verve Pipe (Live at Lollapalooza/Kidzapalooza)

I'd be deficient if I didn't post Lollapalooza video of somebody who actually played a couple full sets at the Kidzapalooza stage last weekend. Here's The Verve Pipe playing in front of a sizable audience (wait for the camera to pan at the end of the clip), opening their set with -- what else? -- "Wake Up" from A Family Album. The Verve Pipe - "Wake Up" (Live at Kidzapalooza) [YouTube]

AmFm: A SoCal Twist on Kindiependent

So a couple months ago I raved about Kindiependent, the new collective of family musicians working on growing the kids and family music scene in Seattle and outward in the Pacific Northwest. Well, they're not alone now. Now LA's jumped into the act with AmFm -- Artists Making Family Music. Cofounded by Deborah Poppink (DidiPop) and Birdie Mendoza (Birdie's Playhouse), AmFm is, according to Poppink, a "group of family musicians that gather to support each other in the business and art of making children's and all-ages music. Meetings consist of brainstorming, sharing successes and challenges and creative work, such as songwriting."

Poppink and Mendoza (pictured here with Tristana Ward) said they started the group after the Grammy family music brunch in early 2010. For the future, they report they want to put on shows featuring various members/performers for children and families in need. Also, they want to create an active online sharing community for family musicians world-wide. So there you have it. When it comes to regional family music cooperatives, it's West Coast 2, East Coast 0. Not that I'm keeping score or anything. OK, on a slightly more serious note, something like this might not be necessary in NYC, where there are tons of venues and a very large potential audience crammed into a relatively small space. (Though I suspect it would be useful there, too.) But especially out here, with the bigger distances between venues (both within and between cities) this type of sharing of information is a valuable thing. And while you can certainly do that on the internet, it sometimes helps to be in the same place in the real world. We've got (community-based) spirit, yes we do, we've got (community-based) spirit, how 'bout you?