I guess I could be sad that Chris Ballew has ditched the homemade DIY aesthetic for this Caspar Babypants video. It's for "Mister Rabbit" off his most recent This Is Fun! album, a song which features Charlie Hope on guest vocals.
Or I could be happy because this is so awesome. Animation by Mukpuddy.
Caspar Babypants (feat. Charlie Hope) - "Mister Rabbit" [YouTube]
Video: "Dinosaur" - The Baby Grands
There's nothing complex about this new video from The Baby Grands. It's just a catchy tune ("Dinosaur") with some simple (though not cheesy) visuals. As I've said before more than once, sometimes that's all you need.
The Baby Grands - "Dinosaur" [YouTube]
Review: Oh Lucky Day - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
Lucky Diaz' first album, an EP titled Luckiest Adventure, was a 15-minute blast of folk-pop goodness that immediately caught the ear of all who heard it. As a result, expectations and anticipation for his first full-length disk was high.
Today Diaz and his Family Jam Band release Oh Lucky Day and so you're probably wondering, does it fulfill the promise of those first five songs?
The answer: for the most part, yes. The new album doesn't tremendously expand Diaz' sound or introduce new styles, but that's OK because his well-produced folk-tinged pop and pop-rock didn't need much expanding to begin with. Diaz clearly thinks the world of his daughter, and many of the songs seem written with her in mind. I love the opening track, the goofy "Say What?," which features some funky scat-and-response between Diaz and his daughter. I am less enamored of "Pretty Princess," a song about, well, being a princess. I guess I just don't need more songs about princesses. A large part of the album borders on the edge of sticky-sweet, and if you are looking for an album with a little more "grit," you may stop listening before you get to the latter part of the album, which is my favorite part. "Race Car" is a, er, revved-up song perfect for car-obsessed preschoolers, while "Gato Astronauto" takes a cat on a New Wave-inspired trip. Following that, "Let's Dance" is for all of you that thought "Video Killed the Radio Star" needed to be turned into a preschool rave-up. (Raises hand.) After all that silliness, the sweet ending track, "Dreamland," a duet with Holly Conlan, puts a pretty little bow on the package.
The album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear one song here and samples here.
With Oh Lucky Day, Lucky Diaz has crafted an album of well-written songs and fine arrangements that will satisfy a large percentage of all but the most rambunctious of kid-listeners. It is Diaz' first full-length, but clearly won't be his last. Recommended.
I received a copy of the album for possible review. I also ran a contest to win the album.You Say Kindie, I Say KinDIY, We All Say...
In the wake of Kindiefest, there has been a lot of interest in collaboration, in trying to work together in the kids' music community. Two newly-created entities offer the possibility of both greater information sharing as well as higher visibility.
Separated by just a single letter.
The first is the Kindie Music Association, established by Tor Hyams and Kimberly Rowell and first unveiled at Kindiefest. Its purpose is to "promote, support, and recognize family music artists and those individuals directly involved with the kindie community, in an effort to advance the genre and advocate for all its members."
Well, when you put it that way, the organization is clearly an attempt to serve as an alternative to the GRAMMY organization, with kids' artists perhaps feeling slighted by the recent decision to merge the two children's GRAMMY awards into one. The structure is similar, with voting members limited to artists, producers, and other creators. Other interested folks (e.g., me) can sign up for Associate membership.
At $150 per year for membership, it's not cheap (especially for Associate membership), but the organization may offer some value to artists, depending on what happens with the Kindie Music Awards and product discounts.
The other development sprung out of discussions between Bill Childs and Susie Tennant from Town Hall Seattle at Kindiefest, and it's called KinDIY. Unlike the KMA (which includes the award process), the value of KinDIY will be much more apparent to industry folks than the broad kids music audience. It's a wiki designed to provide information on artists, venues, websites, radio shows, etc. It will allow artists and other folks to provide - and later, find - information that should make it easier for them to find venues to play at, radio shows to play their music, or vice versa.
There was always a lot of energy and good vibes coming out of Kindiefest in the past, but this is the first people are leaving the conference with some tangible action occurring as a result. For the moment, it's mostly behind-the-scenes stuff, but it has the potential to have a big impact on the genre.
The first is the Kindie Music Association, established by Tor Hyams and Kimberly Rowell and first unveiled at Kindiefest. Its purpose is to "promote, support, and recognize family music artists and those individuals directly involved with the kindie community, in an effort to advance the genre and advocate for all its members."
Well, when you put it that way, the organization is clearly an attempt to serve as an alternative to the GRAMMY organization, with kids' artists perhaps feeling slighted by the recent decision to merge the two children's GRAMMY awards into one. The structure is similar, with voting members limited to artists, producers, and other creators. Other interested folks (e.g., me) can sign up for Associate membership.
At $150 per year for membership, it's not cheap (especially for Associate membership), but the organization may offer some value to artists, depending on what happens with the Kindie Music Awards and product discounts.
The other development sprung out of discussions between Bill Childs and Susie Tennant from Town Hall Seattle at Kindiefest, and it's called KinDIY. Unlike the KMA (which includes the award process), the value of KinDIY will be much more apparent to industry folks than the broad kids music audience. It's a wiki designed to provide information on artists, venues, websites, radio shows, etc. It will allow artists and other folks to provide - and later, find - information that should make it easier for them to find venues to play at, radio shows to play their music, or vice versa.
There was always a lot of energy and good vibes coming out of Kindiefest in the past, but this is the first people are leaving the conference with some tangible action occurring as a result. For the moment, it's mostly behind-the-scenes stuff, but it has the potential to have a big impact on the genre.Kidzapalooza 2011 Lineup Announced
With Lollapalooza celebrating its 20th anniversary in Chicago this year (August 5-7 in Grant Park), Kidzapalooza celebrated in a very special way:
By releasing its performer lineup before the Austin City Limits/Austin Kiddie Limits announcement for a festival that's usually about 2 months after Lolla.
Some of the lineup had been previously leaked, but the big five are:
Keller Williams
Haley Bonar
Ralph's World
Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Big Bang Boom
In addition to these bands, the lineup also includes the Q Brothers (there every year performing and doing rap/beatbox workshops with the kids), Peter DiStefano and Tor (there every year), and Northbrook Garage, Kate Diaz, and the Happiness Club, all youth performers. (And here's something to think -- it's a nice feather in a cap for an established musician to be able to say they played Lolla, but can you imagine what it's like for a Chicago-area teenager?)
That's a solid lineup right there once again. Anyway, if you want to see the lineup announced by Kidzapalooza co-founder Tor Hyams' kids, here's a YouTube video for ya. Tor's son looks so much like Tor it's scary. Except for the glasses.
Contest: Win Dan Zanes Tickets (Scottsdale, May 14)
Dan Zanes and Friends are returning to Phoenix for the first time in more than 3 years. And you should definitely be there when he does. I can speak from personal experience the joy and community engendered by his concerts.
And, if you live in Arizona, on this Saturday, May 14 at 3 pm, you can, too. He's playing the gorgeous Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Now, you can go here and buy tickets, if you haven't already. But the Center is offering you the chance to win tickets, too. That's right, one lucky local reader will get a family four-pack of tickets to Saturday's show. Of course, "family" in Zanes' world is a very inclusive word, so if you want to bring three of your college buddies, that's totally fine. (I've seen it happen.)
Here are the simple rules -- just comment below (you'll need to register with my anti-spamming system in order to do so) and tell me one song you hope to hear Dan play in concert. Alternately, you can comment on the post for this contest on the Zooglobble Facebook page. One entry per person per location -- that means you can enter twice, once here and once on Facebook. All entries due by 9 PM Phoenix time this Wednesday (the 11th). I will randomly pick one winner and let them know how to get the tickets.
Thanks and good luck!
Photo by Anna Williams
