Potato prints a little reminiscent of Ed Emberley. Birds that can and can't whistle. Animation courtesy of a co-production between Trunk Animation in London and Dansk Tegnefilm in Denmark
But you had me at "potato prints."
A Tasty Review: Four Kids Music Albums for Locavores
Delicious album coverYou don't need to have been locked up in a fast-food restaurant's storage closet for the past few years to know that eating food produced locally has become a Big Thing. Playing around in the dirt and growing fruits and vegetables with bright colors? No wonder that last year's Maria Sangiolo and Friends' album Planting Seeds was just the tip of the iceberg (not the lettuce) when it comes to the mico-genre of "Farmers Market Kindie." I'm not a huge fan of "lesson" music, but it's possible to strike a good balance between entertainment and education. Here are four recommended kids music albums whose musical benefits are as good as the lessons inside. (Note: several food metaphors follow. Tread cautiously.)
The first (and most diverse sonically) album is from Bay Area trio Orange Sherbet, who will release their first album in five years, Delicious, on May 15. The collection of mostly original tunes was inspired by band member Tamsen Fynn's experiences with the Local Foods Wheel, a tool for discovering local, seasonal food in the San Francisco Bay Area. The result of the album Fynn's made with bandmates Jill and Steve Pierce is a sound that's part playground chant, part lounge-jazz, and and a few other genres thrown in, too. (Yes, that is a Santana reference in the Latin guitar rock of "Rice & Beans.) And while sometimes albums that feature lots of different musical genres sound awkward in totality, the result here is much, much closer to the successful, eclectic mix of a Dan Zanes or Dog on Fleas album. The album's most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9; you can listen to 3 of the tracks here. (Sound intriguing? Check out the band's final Kickstarter campaign.) With Delicious it's likely you'll want seconds.
Groovin' in the Garden album coverNext on the grocery list is Groovin' in the Garden, from New York musician and storyteller Laurie McIntosh, aka Story Laurie. It's focuses much more on playing in the garden. So there are a fair number of traditional or well-known songs ("Shoofly Pie", "Five Little Monkeys", "Hokey Pokey") mixed into the originals from McIntosh. Her partner in crime for the album is New York state producer and musician Dean Jones from the aforementioned Dog on Fleas, who plays nineteen instruments, sings, and probably catered the recording sessions for all I know. It's a little more narrowly folk-focused than Delicious (and geared toward kids slightly younger, 3 through 7), but still features variety in its menu selections.
Grow album coverAndrew Queen represents Canada in this quartet of food-based albums with his latest album Grow. While the fine liner notes feature recipes and some songs -- "Macaroni and Cheese," the traditional "Fried Ham" -- fit very clearly into the food theme, others such as "The Witch's Brew" and "Worms" (no, it's not a paean to composting), seem to, er, strain the theme. It shares the folk tradition with the other albums here, and musically, the use of instruments like fiddle, banjo, and a well-deployed tuba is reminiscent here. (There's also a very communal sound to the vocals.) Queen is more interested in telling stories in song than even Laurie, so if you're looking for something in that vein for kids ages 5 through 9 (and don't need a whole album of songs praising CSAs), this will fit the bill nicely.
Green & Growing album coverAnd for dessert, we have Shannon Wurst's Green & Growing. I've already praised the album packaging, but the songs inside are nice, too. They are definitely on the preachier side of the food issue (with detours into energy-saving and recycling) -- so if you don't lessons mixed with your music, you're probably better off with the other albums (particularly the first two). The object lessons aren't always dry, though -- the brief "Label Able Mable" is a tongue-twisting finger-picking ode while "Criss Cross Applesauce" is a soulful activity song. (Plus, you have a dinosaur on "Recyclasaurus Rex Visit"). The album's best for kids ages 4 through 8, and you can listen to a few tracks here. For a country-folk take on ecologically sound eating and living, Green & Growing will hit the sweet spot.
Video: "There's a Band in My Head" - Dog on Fleas
Invisible Friends album coverDean Jones is a busy man -- producing albums for folks like Recess Monkey and Story Laurie while putting the finishing touches on a BRAND NEW DOG ON FLEAS ALBUM! (Yes, I'm shouting, because that's great news, people.)
On top of all that, there's a new video to go along with a track from the new album, Invisible Friends, out in June (or April 24 via teh Internets). The video for the song "There's a Band in My Head" is homemade, lo-fi, weird -- a little delirious, even -- and in its collage is greater than the sum of its parts. Sorta like the song -- and band -- itself.
Dog on Fleas - "There's a Band in My Head" [YouTube]
Video: "Twinkle Little Star" - Kori Pop
Sometime last year 
Songs for Little Bean album coverCanadian singer Kori Pop was asked to be a godparent. So as a present to her goddaughter and her parents, she recorded an album of lullabies and children's songs. One listen to the tracks and clips at the album's Bandcamp page will indicate that this is not a run-of-the-mill lullabye album.
But that's not why I'm featuring this video.
This video is why I'm featuring this video for her take on the kids' classic "Twinkle Little Star" (yes, only one "twinkle" in the title). Directed by Kori herself, with a whole bunch of puppeteers, it is utterly captivating.
Kori Pop - "Twinkle Little Star" [YouTube]
(Early) Spring Kickstarter Update
Kickstarter logoThey're not monthly updates, these highlightings of Kickstarter and other other crowdsourcing efforts in the kids music world, but we pretty much could do that now. Rarely does a week go by that a new family music project doesn't appear on Kickstarter, and I'm also hearing about new possibilities -- Koo Koo Kanga Roo (again) and Moona Luna are just a couple bands publicly mulling going the KS route.
First up, Bay Area band Orange Sherbet, who are Kickstarting for, well, just because they want to support their latest (and forthcoming) album Delicious. Besides offering copies of the music, of course, their project offers backers postcards, live music, and, yes, recipes. Mmmm.... food....
Next up, Brooklyn band Astrograss is turning to the site to help fund their next kids' CD. Their project offers backers unreleased music, t-shirts, posters, even lessons. I've liked some of their previous work, so I'm totally serious when I say, "String bands for everyone!"
Staying in New York City, Tim and the Space Cadets are also using Kickstarter to push their new album, Anthems for Adventure, across the finish line. Technically speaking, the monies raised by their project won't go to fund the two videos for the album (they're already shot), but I think I speak for everyone when I say that anything that helps produce a couple new Tim and the Space Cadets videos is a Good Thing.
Also of important note: Austin's Biscuit Brothers are Kickstarting once again. Just go read the description and search my website for the band. I think you know why this project is crucial. Crucial!
Finally, a tip of the cap to Portland's The Alphabeticians and Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band. Both the Alphabeticians' project and the Kaleidoscope Band's project were successfully funded.
Listening and Talking To Kids Music Folks Is Awesome!
As previously noted in this space, I'm lucky enough to heading back to Brooklyn later this month for Kindiefest, the annual family music conference. They've been announcing details during the course of the past two months and they've now posted the full schedule here. There are lots of great artists and other kids music luminaries attending, including folks from Random House Children's Books, Spotify, a whole bunch of venue representatives, Ralph Covert, Kathy O'Connell -- the list goes on.
I'm particularly geeked, of course, about the panel I'll be moderating -- "The State of Kindie" -- which will feature Dan Zanes, Mindy Thomas from Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live, Jeff Bogle from Out With the Kids, Christina Reffords from Cool Mom Picks, and Darren Critz from Symphony Space. That will be a blast, and hopefully will send people into the artists' showcase following that panel buzzing with big ideas and a little inspiration.
(Artists, by the way, if you haven't already filled out the brief and anonymous survey I'm doing on some "big picture" kids music industry questions, I'd encourage you to join the more than 50 artists who have already done so. It's not officially related to Kindiefest, but I expect to use some of the results to help guide my moderating there.)
I'm also excited that Scott Schultz, co-creator of Yo Gabba Gabba! (not to mention the new Aquabats Super Show!) will be giving the keynote presentation Friday night. In the wake of Jack's Big Music Show, Yo Gabba Gabba! kept (and keeps) music for kids highly visible on TV, continuing to reinforce the idea of family music not as one of last-gasp effort, but fully viable alternate (or duplicate) career. It's an important show for family musicians.
Finally, members of the general public in the greater NYC area shouldn't miss out on Sunday's public concert. With artists like Moona Luna, Apple Brains, and WeBop from Jazz at Lincoln Center, it'll be a super-diverse show. It starts at noon, with tickets (just $12-$15) available here.
So, I hope I'll see you there (register here). It's always an adrenaline-soaked, throat-parched event from tons of conversation. As someone who writes about the music (and helps bring some of it to Phoenix), it's a great chance to meet the far-flung makers of the music and see many of them perform.
