tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273403412024-03-07T19:43:26.828-08:00Cool Tunes for KidsHighlighting some of my favorite kids' music, and also sharing some of my thoughts as a kids' musician.Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-47112206188268507242010-04-29T09:27:00.000-07:002010-04-29T11:59:53.461-07:00Sugar Free Allstars - New CD, DVD and interview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Music/e9/95/71/mzi.pznwpzkc.170x170-75.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 170px;" src="http://a1.phobos.apple.com/us/r30/Music/e9/95/71/mzi.pznwpzkc.170x170-75.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdbaby.name/s/u/sugarfreeas5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://cdbaby.name/s/u/sugarfreeas5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So the funkiest kids' music act known to man (well, at least known to <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> man), Sugar Free Allstars, has been busy of late... Last fall they put out a live DVD, <span style="font-style: italic;">Gettin' Funky with the Sugar Free Allstars</span>, which really shows off the live energy and musical talent of the dynamic duo. And just the other day they officially released their second CD, <span style="font-style: italic;">funky fresh and sugar free</span>, which picks up where <span style="font-style: italic;">Dos Ninos</span> left off and includes soon to be SFA classics like "6th Grade Band", "In My Pocket" and "Little Red Wagon", as well as a funkified cover of The Beatles' "Ob-la-di". Check out the video for "Rock Awesome" below and click here to order <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sugarfreeas5">the DVD</a> and the <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/SugarFreeAllstars">new CD</a>.<br /><br />It continues to amaze me how only two guys can get such a big and funky sound, but when one of those guys is the powerfully drum-slammin' Dr. Rock and the other is the incredibly talented vocalist and keys player, Chris Wiser, then it becomes more understandable. Here's an interview I did with Chris back in 2008 while I was passing through Oklahoma: <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/Chris_Wiser_Interview.mp3">Chris Wiser Interview</a><br /></span><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/14KhvAsv8s8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/14KhvAsv8s8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-21420798296704750652009-12-21T07:59:00.000-08:002009-12-21T08:22:29.308-08:00Interview: The Imagination Movers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn9OZAGj9SLjMiVPgT_q-1zdZvtbM3PnPnXKfl22m5G1WJA7xE5pL9shLSvs3EjA-wnipAzS038gT6ZOpC_m1Pa4ovm2gUP5NaG9hswH3dXfoBeL3_OWybImLp0CXPfoPgo5t/s1600-h/Movers1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn9OZAGj9SLjMiVPgT_q-1zdZvtbM3PnPnXKfl22m5G1WJA7xE5pL9shLSvs3EjA-wnipAzS038gT6ZOpC_m1Pa4ovm2gUP5NaG9hswH3dXfoBeL3_OWybImLp0CXPfoPgo5t/s320/Movers1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417565458141912002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">I had mentioned in <a href="http://cooltunesforkids.blogspot.com/2008/09/imagination-movers.html">my previous post about the Imagination Movers</a> that although I knew of them for several years and enjoyed the few song clips I'd heard of theirs, it wasn't until watching their TV show on Playhouse Disney that they I could really appreciate how great they were. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Monkees</span> style humor and charm of the show and their characters was immediately endearing, but their music in particular became infectious and memorable with every new show. The Movers songs have a terrific mix of accessible and kid-focused original pop-rock, with influences and styles that include driving Cajun rhythms, Red Hot Chili Pepper style funk rap, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, BNL, and various 80's rock staples. It's a great sound, with the four of them taking turns on vocals, and the songwriting and production is sharp and focused and always serves the song and the audience.<br /><br />But as much as I've come to love the band, that couldn't begin to compare to how much my girls love them. New episodes of their show are eagerly awaited, recorded, watched and rewatched several times, with particularly funny moments giving my 7 year-old Becca practice with the rewind function of the DVR remote so she and her sister Evee can watch them over and over and laugh like crazy. So when I noticed that the Imagination Movers were embarking on a tour and would be coming to the Northwest in December, and knowing I was taking the month of December off, it was a no-brainer that we'd have to catch one of their shows.<br /><br />We actually kept it a secret from our girls the whole time, describing our four-hour drive to Seattle as being a trip to pick up a new engine for Mommy's car (which turned out to be a secondary reason we went there that day). Now, we travel enough to where our girls can have a fun experience with any time that we're on the road, and we're happy to play games and listen to music and talk about various things while driving for hours... but still, a trip to Seattle to get an engine just wasn't all that thrilling of a notion for them. So you can imagine their reaction when, after picking up the engine, we drove slowly past a theater where Becca noticed big letters on the marquee that read "IMAGINATION MOVERS - DEC 12". We played dumb at first... "Hmmm, what day is that? Oh hey, that's today. Whaddya know? Ah, but we would need tickets for that..." And then both girls sighed in a softly sad way... But then, well... let's just say that I'm still hearing echoes from the shrieks of joy that ensued when I pulled out the tickets and showed them.<br /><br />And as if the show itself wasn't incredibly fun enough, they got to meet Rich, Smitty, Scott, Dave and Drummer Kyle afterward. They were able to discuss important things like Webkinz with the guys (apparently, Dave has 12 Webkinz at home... I'm not sure how many are his, though) </span><span style="font-size:130%;">and even sang a verse of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Plants vs. Zombies</span> theme song for Mover Dave</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. Needless to say, it was a very memorable day, and the guys were tremendously generous with their time and super-nice and friendly, as you would only expect from watching their show.<br /><br />Before the show I was able to interview them and talk a little about their experiences and challenges in developing their music and the TV show. I was told by their stage manager that I would only have 3 minutes to talk with them, so if I sound a little hurried at first, it's because I kept expecting to get yanked at any moment and wanted to make sure I got a question or two in. But we ended up talking for 15 minutes, so that was really nice of them to share that much time right before their show. As it turned out, their show started almost exactly 12 minutes late, but I'm sure that was just a coincidence. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I'm just kidding... they started on time.</span>)<br /><br />Here's the interview: <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/MoversInterview.mp3">Interview with the Imagination Movers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.imaginationmovers.com">The Imagination Movers' website</a><br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-9793136465663498572009-11-28T13:26:00.000-08:002010-04-29T10:55:42.021-07:00Interview: Tito Uquillas of the Hipwaders<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdbaby.name/h/i/hipwaders4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://cdbaby.name/h/i/hipwaders4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdbaby.name/h/i/hipwaders3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://cdbaby.name/h/i/hipwaders3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >The Hipwaders are definitely one of the coolest "kindie rock" bands to emerge in the last several years. This was an interesting year for the band in that they had two releases, both a little different than the norm; the first was </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Goodie Bag</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >, which is a Hipwaders record through and through, but only with an EP's worth of songs, and the second is </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Kindie Christmas</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >, an album of all original Christmas songs with the Hipwaders' sound and style. Check out the videos below for "Field Trip" from </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Goodie Bag</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > and "Santa's Train" and "Wake Up" from </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Kindie Christmas</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >.<br /><br />Though their three-piece lineup has morphed a bit during that time, singer-guitarist-songwriter Tito Uquillas has always remained at the helm. I'm thankful to call Tito my good friend, and our families have been able to meet up a few times now when we've been traveling through the area. We always have a great time talking at length and jamming a little and this last time we visited I did the following interview with Tito... Enjoy!</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/TitoInterview.mp3">Interview with Tito Uquillas</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheHipwaders"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Buy the Hipwaders' CDs on CDBaby</span></a><br /></span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bbQRmSYMsoE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bbQRmSYMsoE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZsR3RY3Lm34&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZsR3RY3Lm34&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LUifRKtScXo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LUifRKtScXo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-57038111670249733772009-10-02T15:46:00.000-07:002009-10-02T19:12:31.980-07:00What a Ride!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY_acffecRe0KPkZOFdFxNGj-h6MpV9cixYAZQOb-nJ63Z7gNC8fLtE1cCB06-UFgA40bYCgTeQCTAXhiFyC5DiHHzWfBi-4Y2Xc31ZngXyJFmADM6xS6uh-yYYJBWVijXE1C/s1600-h/What_a_Ride_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHY_acffecRe0KPkZOFdFxNGj-h6MpV9cixYAZQOb-nJ63Z7gNC8fLtE1cCB06-UFgA40bYCgTeQCTAXhiFyC5DiHHzWfBi-4Y2Xc31ZngXyJFmADM6xS6uh-yYYJBWVijXE1C/s320/What_a_Ride_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387782412714780802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">What a Ride!</span>, my fifth CD of music for kids/families, was released back in June (man, I'm so behind on this blog...). The album includes 11 tracks and some guest appearances and performances by several awesome kids' music artists, many of whom I've featured here; Gwendolyn Sanford of Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang, Tito Uquillas of The Hipwaders, Eric Ode, Robbi K, Chris Wiser of Sugar Free Allstars, Jim Dague of Scribblemonster, David Tobocman, Devon Thagard of Super Simple Songs, Glenn Colton and Mr. Billy.<br /><br />My wife, Roseann, and I produced this album together over the past two years, and though there is certainly no objectivity here, we think it's my best album yet and we're really happy with how it turned out. Well, the final master for the first run was a little different than for subsequent runs, since I noticed some things I wanted to adjust, sound-wise... We were pressed for time to get it to the manufacturer to have copies in hand by the release date and I believe I would have chosen a different mix/master to send in for that if I'd had more time to review everything. But that's all fixed for future runs. The album as it was sounded good, just the perfectionist in me wanted a few tonal changes here and there... Regardless, I've always been very happy with the <span>music</span> that's on the album.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I would say that <span style="font-style: italic;">What a Ride!</span> is less comedy oriented than albums like <span style="font-style: italic;">Snow Day!</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Monkey Business</span>, and it probably skews a little older in general than my previous albums, but it has a really nice variety to it</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, and thematically it loosely depicts the journey and growth of childhood and the exploration and illumination involved with that.</span> <span style="font-size:130%;">The album also includes some of my very favorite songs from among my catalogue, specifically "Stink Bug", "What a Ride" and "How Big". "How Big", in particular, came out better than I could have hoped, especially with the soaring outro vocals by Robbi K and the chorus of friends and family on the outro refrain... I don't know if any song could really begin to describe or depict the unimaginable immensity of life and the universe, but "How Big" does give me a little bit of the <span style="font-style: italic;">feeling</span> of that, which is what I was aiming for. We're currently working on a video for that, which will be fun to put together.<br /><br />You can listen to samples of all 11 songs at <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/ride.html">this page</a>. There are also full songs to hear, including "Heartbeat (The Stethoscope Song)", "What a Ride" and "How Big", at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eric-Herman-and-the-Invisible-Band/106450045552?ref=ts">my Facebook page</a>. The video for "Ants in Your Pants #99" is below, as well as the compilation video from a video dance contest we held on YouTube back in July. <span style="font-style: italic;">What a Ride!</span> is available <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/cds.html">through my website</a>, as well as at CDBaby, Amazon.com, iTunes and other major digital sites.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HYWycl8vR5c&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HYWycl8vR5c&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/szL62FNNiBc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/szL62FNNiBc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-92135509677605618472009-08-21T08:48:00.001-07:002011-05-26T18:40:50.708-07:00Didi Pop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FjrGWvLP0g3wekXYCXCdLocHoAdfs5YbmpFXpyPJNbnVQvdLlRVn5-ufExn18TXOb73seKVBxJc5VROeS-jBq4nOhQbjl4Y1q0Nb3kiEbj3C_tzTYIiivR7-qMRyen7ymzmc/s1600-h/didipop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372444599632825778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FjrGWvLP0g3wekXYCXCdLocHoAdfs5YbmpFXpyPJNbnVQvdLlRVn5-ufExn18TXOb73seKVBxJc5VROeS-jBq4nOhQbjl4Y1q0Nb3kiEbj3C_tzTYIiivR7-qMRyen7ymzmc/s320/didipop.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> Didi Pop has been embarrassing me. Her tunes are so catchy that I find myself singing them in public places, not even realizing I'm doing it. Normally, that wouldn't be so bad, even with a 40 year-old guy singing kids' tunes, but there's something particularly disturbing about singing a line like "when my diaper's drippy, it hardens up my poo" and realizing by the look on the grocery clerk's face that yes, I did sing that out loud. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />I'm referring to a line from the song, "B-R-A-T-Y", the video of which (watch it below) was my first introduction to Didi Pop, a children's artist from Los Angeles. For me, the song was an instant classic; amazingly catchy and upbeat, and so up front about its dietary/digestive message. I think we in the kids' music world sometimes shy away from songs that could be considered "preachy" or "messagey" (I don't think that's even a word... and my spell checker agrees... but I've heard it used a lot in this genre), or we try to be so subtle about it that any message that is there is going to be too vague for a lot of kids to even appreciate. But Didi has nothing to hide on "B-R-A-T-Y"; if you eat certain foods, your bowel movements will be more solid. Pure information, sung so matter-of-factly and confidently with a bouncy "11 o'clock number" showtune melody that it becomes ingrained almost instantly. Now, if the message in "B-R-A-T-Y" was bad information, it could be dangerous propaganda... you wouldn't want kids going around singing "when my diaper's drippy, I should hitchhike to Reykjavik"... but as it is, the song is a perfect vehicle for its message.<br /><br />Didi came to a show of mine in L.A. earlier this year and we exchanged CDs. She gave me her debut Didi Pop CD and I gave her a scratched copy of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer in Twelve Different Languages (which was hidden inside one of my CD cases). I think I got the better deal from that as we have since listened to her CD over and over and over, with my girls requesting it over and over and over and me not minding to play it over and over and over. So what makes Didi's CD so great? Well, I'll tell you...<br /><br />Didi has one of the best voices I've ever heard in the kids' genre; great range and tone and polished yet down-to-earth. At times she sounds a bit like other favorites of mine like Frances England and Gwendolyn from Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang, so there's a familiarity about the general sound which is nice for what she's singing, but she also has very much of her own voice and style. If anything, Didi's singing approach and aura as a performer reminds me most of Mary Poppins; at times soft and sweet but often in-your-face brassy with a sly charm and wit that belies the messages she is planting.<br /><br />Her singing is one thing, but Didi is also a top-notch songwriter, giving a great vehicle to her voice and singing approach. "The Cool Alphabet Song" (see video below) at first seems like yet another attempt to supplant that famous alphabet song (which is not likely to happen in our lifetime), but it takes some really interesting turns musically and uses some clever letter devices (not unlike Ralph's World's recent "Abby's Alphabet Soup"). "Feed the Pet" is a cute calypso style tune and "Max the Wonderdog" a terrific Tin Pan Alley style tale. "Yellow Car" is an example of the depth and breadth of this album, as it was not an early favorite of mine and yet it's the tune I find myself singing in public places most often lately (which is much less embarrassing than "B-R-A-T-Y"). "Look at Yourself in the Mirror" is a super cool pop tune with yet another incredibly catchy hook; "Neferdidi" is a fun genie-in-the-lamp story with a great Silk Road sound; and "Monday" is a neat a cappela trip through the days of the week and other time-related measurements.<br /><br />The closing song on Didi Pop is called "Dream". "Dream" is not just one of the best lullabies I've ever heard, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, period. This song has actually made me cry while driving down the road listening to it and thinking of how magnificent life really is (yes, more embarrassment if a trucker happens to drive by and see me bawling while listening to a lullaby!). The lyrics are fairly standard lullaby fare about rainbows and clouds and such, but there is something so deeply moving about the way everything comes together for me with the words and music and Didi's elegant singing, that I don't know if I can even express it adequately. When our Becca was a baby, we had a mix CD of different mellow songs (James Taylor, etc.) to play for her at bedtime, and it was nice for us to hear those songs coming through the baby monitor in our room. I'll never forget how one night, as I was drifting away into sleep, I barely heard "Canon in D" playing through the monitor, and with my eyes closed I could see this gloriously colorful world of music far away among the darkness of the room and of the night and of the world. It was a wonderful feeling and this song is one of the few things I've heard since then that has touched into that same kind of spirit.<br /><br />I couldn't talk about Didi Pop's album without mentioning what is perhaps its greatest weapon of all... Delilah. Delilah is Didi's daughter, three years-old at the time of the recording, and she may be the cutest sounding little kid I've heard on any children's CD (and I've heard some cute ones!). She interacts wonderfully on songs like "Feed the Pet" ("feed a Dinah Shore!") and "Merci" and pops up in a few spots here and there, and I would have liked to hear more of her on the album. My advice to Didi is to take Delilah into a studio and record her for several hours saying various different things, so she'll have a backlog of cute Delilah recordings to use for albums to come, though I'm sure she'll still be very cute sounding for at least a few more years.<br /><br />But you don't have to take my word for any of this... Didi has generously offerred her entire album to listen to for free on her website at this link: <a href="http://www.didipop.com/">http://www.didipop.com</a> By all means, go there and listen, but be forewarned, you may find yourself belting out her tunes in public, and if so, well, I hope you don't get embarrassed too easily.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.didipop.com/">Didi Pop's website</a><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmsS2DvZFi8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jMaEEy-DHPQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-56451708595030477472009-04-29T12:31:00.000-07:002009-04-29T12:44:33.017-07:00Gunnar Madsen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gunnarmadsen.com/downloads/GMsing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 262px;" src="http://www.gunnarmadsen.com/downloads/GMsing.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">It's amazing how with all of the kids' music I've heard since starting this blog (and before that), I am still often blown away by new things I hear... And every so often, I'm blown away even beyond any normal standards of what constitutes being "blown away". Gunnar Madsen's <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Growing</span> album is a perfect example of that, and is without a doubt one of the most entertaining kids' music albums I've ever heard.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Growing</span> may not be to everyone's taste (not that anything is)... it is at once adventurous, over-the-top, complex, goofy, challenging and diverse, and it might be a little too much for anyone looking for a more straightforward sing-a-long kind of CD for their kids. But if you can just let it play and be open to discovering its creativity and uniqueness, then a real musical treat awaits, to be sure.<br /><br />The opening title track builds up to arrive and envelope you. Instantly, Gunnar's vocal and arranging virtuosity is evident (he might be considered the kids' music equivalent of Bobby McFerrin) and you know you're in for something really special, and the rest of the album delivers a tasty smorgasbord of musical and lyrical ideas. "Pumpkin Hair" takes a simple, folksy kind of barn dance rhythm (</span><span style="font-size:130%;">think the New Main Street Singers from <span style="font-style: italic;">A Mighty Wind</span>)</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> and spices it up with some unexpected chord changes. "Walkin' Back to Texas" seems to channel 70's laid-back folk-rock tunes like Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime". "Sun Comes Up" bounces along with some clever odd-timing and fun vocal play. "Mozart's at the Window" is a tour-de-force of vocal harmonies and layering. "Always on the Bottom" is a catchy and funny Elvis-style tune that scores extra credit for rhyming "bottom" with "Hillary Rodham". "Simple" belies its name by including some sophisticated lyrics and chord changes in a cool tongue-in-cheek way. "Library Closing Time" is a party rock anthem with a great rhythm pickup and the classic line: "Dewey Decimal? Yes, we do." The album ends with the beautiful original track "Tonight" and a stunning rendition of the traditional standard "Shenandoah".<br /><br />Much of <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Growing</span> sounds familiar, musically speaking, and yet it's so fresh and original that it is always unmistakably "Gunnar Madsen". I'm reminded of the quote I used to describe Frances England's first CD, where Leonard Bernstein referenced good art as being "fresh, but inevitable." </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Gunnar's other children's music CDs, <span style="font-style: italic;">Old Mr. Mackle Hackle</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Ants in My Pants</span>, and his composing efforts involving waltzes and synthesized dramatic works all have the same sense of unique brilliance and variety. But <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Growing</span> reaches musical heights even farther reaching than his previous children's albums, and stands out as a groundbreaking recording in the genre. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a href="http://www.gunnarmadsen.com/IG/IGallsongs.html">Click here for song samples, lyrics and ordering information for <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm Growing</span>.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I was happy to be able to meet up with Gunnar at his home last year and interview him about I'm Growing and the rest of his work, but I've had some trouble getting the interview transcribed... It's almost complete now, though, so I will try to get that posted sometime after I'm home again in May.</span><br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-49489833691477746452009-01-15T12:30:00.000-08:002009-01-15T13:03:44.490-08:00Kids' Rock by Tim Hawkins<span style="font-size:130%;">More new stuff coming soon, I promise, but in the meantime, check out this video... and don't drink any milk while you watch it...</span><br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05044095154750923 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/r5R8gSgedh4&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-05044095154750923 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/r5R8gSgedh4&hl=en&fs=1"></a><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r5R8gSgedh4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r5R8gSgedh4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-30012700465991219702008-12-20T14:12:00.001-08:002008-12-21T13:32:45.939-08:00CD Short Takes<span style="font-size:130%;">In an attempt to catch up on the enormous backlog of CDs I have received for this blog over the past year, here's the first batch of several "short take" CD reviews... with more such batches to come over the winter. Though I like to include sound samples and video clips with my feature posts, they can take a good amount of time to get together, so I'm going to skip those for these short takes and just post the artist's website links. In most cases, the websites should have sound samples available, or links to sites that do...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngwWsZjw5Wo/SIqhQQE46BI/AAAAAAAADKg/2u_kW4UKMmo/s1600/61fvM%2BgAWCL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngwWsZjw5Wo/SIqhQQE46BI/AAAAAAAADKg/2u_kW4UKMmo/s1600/61fvM%2BgAWCL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">That Baby CD</span><br /><br />I think the producers of this CD did themselves a disservice by naming it what they did... Presumably, it was meant to be a CD of mellowish </span><span style="font-size:130%;">classic rock covers for babies to chill out to, but the songs are sophisticated (the Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket" as an "I need some attention!" kids' song was a particularly brilliant choice) and the singing and arrangements are beautiful and contemporary, and my girls (aged 6 and nearly 4) play this album repeatedly in their bedroom while loudly singing along. So by all means, ignore the title, as this is just a great record for any age, really.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thatbabydvd.com/products/cd">That Baby CD website</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdbaby.name/s/c/scribblemonster3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://cdbaby.name/s/c/scribblemonster3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >ScribbleMonster - Songs With No Character</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">According to the press release this is supposed to be a CD for parents, moreso than kids, which is presumably why they left ScribbleBunny and even ScribbleMonster himself off of the album in favor of the human voices of Jim and Jayne and Joyce. But I think most of the songs still work very well as kids' songs, so regardless, it's a really great ScribbleMonster album. Highlights include the Motown rocker, "Doing the Right Thing Isn't Always Easy, Doing the Easy Thing Isn't Always Right"; the</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> hilariously awesome "I'm a Utility Pole (The World's Worst Dance Song)"; the incredibly touching board game metaphor, "The Game of Life"; and the great "look for the silver lining" message of "It Could Have Been Worse" (co-written with Monty Harper). I do miss the ScribbleMonster "fill-in-the-blank songs" from their previous CDs, but still, this a very entertaining album, through and through.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scribblemonster.com">ScribbleMonster website</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdbaby.name/e/r/ericode6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://cdbaby.name/e/r/ericode6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Ode - When You Smile</span><br /><br />This is, I think, Eric's strongest collection of songs yet, with a lot of fun tunes including the opener "Poor Planet Pluto", a poignant and topical story about the former </span><span style="font-size:130%;">planet's status reduction from "planet" to "giant rock floating in space"; "Legendary Larry", a clever lounge jazz number about an incredibly average person; "Let a Little Light Shine", a rhythmically interesting and very catchy spiritual anthem; and the classic "This Song Has No Elephants", which may be the best Eric Ode song EVAR. The recorded poem tracks are kind of hit and miss for me, but musically speaking, this is a very solid and engaging album. (Kudos to Eric for the several poems of his included on Buck Howdy's Grammy-nominated CD, <span style="font-style: italic;">Around the Fire</span>... and kudos to Buck, too, of course!)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ericode.com">Eric Ode website</a><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.tcpalm.com/tcp/content/img/photos/2008/05/15/JUSTIN_ROBERTS_POP_FLY_t220.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://media.tcpalm.com/tcp/content/img/photos/2008/05/15/JUSTIN_ROBERTS_POP_FLY_t220.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Justin Roberts - Pop Fly</span><br /><br />After five listens through, <span style="font-style: italic;">Pop Fly</span> hasn't attached itself to me the way Justin's previous <span style="font-style: italic;">Meltdown</span> album did after the first or second listen, but the fact that I've listened to it five times through should be indication enough that by any reasonable standard for kids' music, it's a really great album (and another favorite of my girls'). The opening title track is quintessential Justin Roberts; adventurous, melodic, memorable, wonderful... and though the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the same heights as that song does, there are several other gems, including the funny and folksy "Henrietta's Hair", "Field Trip" (complete with Roberts' signature v-v-v-vocal lines and "whoa-oh"s) and the ultra-smooth "Kickboard, Baby, Yeah".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.justinroberts.org">Justin Roberts website</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zooglobble.com/images/TheRhymingCircus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.zooglobble.com/images/TheRhymingCircus.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralph's World - Rhyming Circus<br /><br /></span><span>Though similar to <span style="font-style: italic;">Pop Fly</span> in that it doesn't live up to the expectation created by its enormously awesome predecessor (<span style="font-style: italic;">Green Gorilla, Monster and Me</span>), <span style="font-style: italic;">Rhyming Circus</span> is still a solid entry in the genre. Ralph seems to use quite a few "hey, look at my Beatles reference!" references on this album, but the songs are very original and fresh, nonetheless. The rock anthem "Gotta Be Good" is my new favorite Ralph tune, and would probably be a hit for John Mellencamp, and other favorites are "Abby's Alphabet Soup", which nicely demonstrates the different sounds of each letter; "Do the Math"; "Finger is the Singer"; and "Edward, the Tap-Dancing Elephant".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ralphsworld.com">Ralph's World website</a><br /></span></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-33126633843516850322008-12-17T10:10:00.001-08:002008-12-17T10:18:01.762-08:00Video for "The Tale of the Sun and the Moon"<span style="font-size:130%;">More new features and interviews are coming soon (Gunnar Madsen, Harmonica Pocket, Dog on Fleas and others), as well as some catching up on CDs released this year by favorites of mine (ScribbleMonster, Eric Ode, Justin Roberts, etc.). But right now, I have to pay the bills, so to speak, by doing some advertising for the main sponsor of this blog (me)...<br /><br />My latest video, for "The Tale of the Sun and the Moon", has been uploaded to YouTube. You can check it out below, though I recommend clicking through to YouTube to click on the "watch in high quality" link, where the video quality will be better and the audio will be in stereo. Enjoy!</span><br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-08238686948979379 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/UoWFJ690U6E&hl=en&fs=1"></a><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UoWFJ690U6E&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UoWFJ690U6E&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-1652353780848382492008-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:002008-12-04T19:38:14.474-08:00Interview with Ezra of Trout Fishing in America<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 159px" alt="" src="http://www.troutmusic.com/images/big-round-world-frt.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:130%;">This fall, Trout Fishing in America released their 15th CD (yes 15th!), <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Big Round World</span>, and as a big fan of the duo for the last several years I was happy to discover that it is my favorite of all their albums so far. When a band or artist has released that many albums, you always look forward to the new release, and oftentimes you really like it because it's a group whose musical language you can identify with and appreciate, but it becomes harder after so many albums to really define things like "favorite" or "best". If anything, you might often be into the current album the most because it's the newest one and it's fresh. But in this case, I really think this is Trout Fishing's strongest album yet, which is saying a lot, considering how much I like their previous albums. And it was just announced last night that they have received their fourth Grammy nomination in the Best Children's Album category </span><span style="font-size:130%;">for <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Big Round World</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />The opening title track is immediately identifiable as "the Trout Fishing sound", with chugging acoustic guitars, bouncy rhythms and Ezra's big, round voice singing a memorable song about our big, round world. "My Favorite Jeans" covers more of a rock sound with Keith belting a funny ode to his favorite jeans, which leads nicely into "When You Get Dressed", a reggae/ska flavored track which may be the catchiest Trout tune I've heard yet. Ezra dispenses important advice such as "You don't wear a ski mask to the bank, or an evening gown to drive a tank". Other highlights (among many) include "Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks", a terrific inspirational anthem; "Too Good to Be True", a funny story with cool saxophone and upright bass accompaniment; "Curse of the Spinach", which cleverly describes the downfall of that formerly revered vegetable; and "Five", the album closer which beautifully describes how we all were once (or will soon be) five years old.<br /><br />Earlier this year, my family and I were grateful to be able to spend some time with Ezra and his wife, Karen, and I took the opportunity to interview him about the new album and about Trout Fishing's music over the years...<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/Ezra_Idlet_Interview.mp3">Interview with Ezra Idlet</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Samples from <em>Big Round World</em>:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/Trout_Fishing_in_America_-_When_You_Get_Dressed.mp3">"When You Get Dressed"</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/Trout_Fishing_in_America_-_Too_Good_to_Be_True.mp3">"Too Good to Be True"</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/Trout_Fishing_in_America_-_Five.mp3">"Five"</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Order Trout Fishing in America CDs here: </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.troutmusic.com/store/catalog.asp">http://www.troutmusic.com/store/catalog.asp</a></span><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Our family with Ezra in front of <a href="http://www.troutmusic.com/treehouse.asp">the "Dreaming" treehouse</a>...</span><br /></em><br /><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/2008Tour/070708E.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 432px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 324px" alt="" src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/2008Tour/070708E.jpg" border="0" /></a>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-81318227449132711832008-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:002008-11-25T10:47:40.009-08:00Submissions are CLOSED<span style="font-size:130%;">I probably should have done this a few months ago, but at this point I really need to officially close submissions for this blog. I already have way too big of a backlog as it is, and very limited time to devote to catching up on it. It used to be that I could at least listen to every CD that was sent me, and then feature what I could from them, but I've actually had quite a hard time keeping up with even listening to everything that I've been sent over the last several months. I feel terrible about that, and apologize if your CD happens to get missed when I finally get more caught up on things. I know that I've never promised that I could cover everything, anyway, but I really hate to have anybody send me CDs without even an expectation of them being listened to. So I need to draw the line and request that no new CDs be sent. If there is something in particular that I want to check out, I'll specifically make contact and ask for a promo copy, at which point I will promise to definitely cover that CD. And with that in mind, please don't ask me to listen to something to see if I would want to request a promo copy... I really need to be fair to the people who have already sent actual CDs and make sure I've covered what I can from them first. <br /><br /> The good news is that I have started working on some articles again recently, and have several things coming up, including interviews that I've mentioned before with Gunnar Madsen, Ezra from Trout Fishing and several others. And also, though I'll certainly be well behind with some of the newer things coming out (which I've always been, anyway), I've got quite a lot of great stuff to cover from the CDs I already have that will keep me busy enough for quite a while.<br /><br /> I will take my hat off to others who have been more consistent in keeping up with posting about kids' music (see my links below). Speaking both as a kids' music artist and as a fan of the genre, I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, I haven't even been able to read a lot of the kids' music blogs this year (I had to shut down my Google Reader during a particularly busy stretch, and I've only recently started adding back some things...), so I definitely feel out of the loop a bit. But you don't have to feel out of the loop like me, with others staying on top of things.</span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-49800071389897434282008-09-16T07:39:00.000-07:002009-12-20T23:09:58.721-08:00Imagination Movers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pages.suddenlink.net/moversfans/web_movers2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://pages.suddenlink.net/moversfans/web_movers2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">So it's been over three months since I've posted here, and I'm really sorry about that. I'm sure Brady Rymer hasn't minded having three months of "first post" coverage, but for the rest of you, I apologize for the lack of updates. I've just been super busy with recording and traveling and other stuff and I found it really hard to find the time to write up anything when traveling. On many days it was hard to keep up with the <a href="http://ericherman.blogspot.com/">travelblogue</a>, even.<br /><br />But anyway, I am going to do my best to get caught up here, and the cool thing is that I have a nice list of things to add, including several interviews and many new CDs to cover, but that will mean that I'm going to have to keep it brief and mostly stick to capsule posts. There's probably a collective cheer going out, as my posts are probably too long as it is, but the thing is, in many cases I just prefer to write "articles" as opposed to writing something more succinct. If I'm going to write about something, then by golly I'm gonna <span style="font-style: italic;">write</span> about it.<br /><br />The Imagination Movers are a four-piece band from New Orleans, and they make an ideal subject for a transition into doing more "capsule" sized posts, because I'm not all that familiar with them or their music, so there can't really be all that much for me to write about. I had been aware of them vaguely for a few years and liked the few song clips of theirs that I had come across online here and there, but I didn't really have a lot to go on until seeing their new show on Playhouse Disney. We decided to check it out when it debuted and it's quickly becoming a favorite of my girls and I think it's a really fun show, too.<br /><br />The Mover guys have a lot of charm and do a great job acting and performing on the show, and the show itself exudes the light comic feel of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Monkees</span>. There's not an abundance of humor, but there definitely are some comic moments throughout every show, which automatically jumps it ahead of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wiggles </span>TV shows and videos. I've always been a fan of The Wiggles' music, but the content of their shows and videos have seemed lacking to me in terms of comedy. Sure, they're geared toward very young kids, but other shows like <span style="font-style: italic;">Sesame Street</span> always found ways to appeal to that same age group with a lot more comedy included (meaning both kids comedy and adult comedy). The Imagination Movers have a similar appeal as The Wiggles, though they are probably aimed more toward preschool and lower elementary aged kids, as opposed to the toddlers that The Wiggles are probably a better target for.<br /><br />The show depicts the Movers (Scott, Smitty, Rich and Dave), their puppet friend, Warehouse Mouse, and their (well characterized) boring neighbor Knit Knots and his niece, Nina, as they try to solve various problems using basic problem solving and imagination (a subject I've always been very interested in). And though I've only seen a few episodes, I've already been hooked on their music from the show. It's very straightforward pop and rock, with a little funk and not-too-terribly-bad-for-kind-of-dorky-white-guys rapping thrown in, and the hooks are quite strong and memorable. There's a vibrancy and fun to their sound that reminds me of bands like BNL and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, as well as some funk-rap akin to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. My favorite songs so far include the opening "Imagination Movers" theme song (don't you miss theme songs on TV shows??), the rockabilly-esque "Brainstorm" anthem, the super catchy and bouncy "Jump Up" and the upbeat countrified "7 Days a Week".<br /><br />Now that I've been introduced to the Imagination Movers through their TV show, I look forward to hearing more of their great music. I hope the show is a big success for them!<br /><br />You can hear several Imagination Movers songs and see some videos through <a href="http://www.imaginationmovers.com/website/audio_video.php">this link on their website</a>.<br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-40838487037164217732008-06-02T05:23:00.000-07:002008-06-02T06:35:42.440-07:00Brady Rymer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdOBSp38npOTkq_jMofH_P-XihhCvyA0a5DduRkm0ab6-J8PUPTTiN8Tf5mX3nwSdb4Tz2j63KA-ykkObcMS6OnqxDkaOFZ5GZ6tce_JPGFVi3gPTfDkFaFfrVM7QRoVEAMrg/s1600-h/bradyrymer.jpg"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207074032997317266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdOBSp38npOTkq_jMofH_P-XihhCvyA0a5DduRkm0ab6-J8PUPTTiN8Tf5mX3nwSdb4Tz2j63KA-ykkObcMS6OnqxDkaOFZ5GZ6tce_JPGFVi3gPTfDkFaFfrVM7QRoVEAMrg/s320/bradyrymer.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">I hadn't heard too much of Brady Rymer prior to hearing a preview song ("Road Trip") from his newest album, but once I heard that, I knew I had to hear more. I was about to request a copy of <em>Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could</em> when it showed up in my mailbox. I like when that happens... I've listened to the whole album a few times now and each time it's put a really big smile on my face and always inspired me to want to sing and dance along. Of course, my dancing is dangerous enough, but especially dangerous when I'm driving, which is usually when I'm listening to music... so I've just opted for the singing along part, and reduced the dancing along to some head bobbing and such. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><em>Here Comes...</em> is nothing but gems. Of all 13 tracks, there's only one that I don't really love ("Get Back Home"), and even that one I still kind of like alright. The album starts with a self-referential "here we are, kids" kind of track plugging Brady's Little Band That Could. There are a lot of tracks of this type that I've heard on kids' albums over the years where the band or artist introduces themselves with the first song (the Hipwaders' first album leadoff track comes quickly to mind as one of my favorites), but sometimes they can wear out their welcome if they're any longer than the average TV theme song. This is one of the few ones I can think of that works very well as a full three and a half minute song, with a catchy hook and some nice chord changes in the bridge that keep it all chugging along nicely.<br /><br />The aforementioned "Road Trip" is next and it's just a flat out showstopper. In my interview with Ralph Covert, he talked about the "vocabulary of rock and roll", and this whole album and the "Road Trip" song in particular shows that Brady is obviously very fluent in that language. He may not be charting any new territory... you can hear him going where Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger and others have gone before... but he's not merely retreading it, either. It all sounds very fresh and he definitely embodies the music completely.<br /><br />The third track is "Jump Up (It's a Good Day)" and it's the catchiest tune of the set (which is saying a lot, as there are many good hooks throughout the album). If you're ever feeling grumpy, just put on this album, and if you're not feeling bouncier than a Tigger after the first two songs, you will be once this track hits. In Brady's previous life, he fronted the jam rock band, From Good Homes, who opened for Bob Dylan and Dave Mathews and other big name acts (I saw them open for Bob Weir's Ratdog band in Buffalo back in the mid-90's), and that kind of infectious rhythm and blues jam rock thing really shines through on this one.<br /><br />Other standouts for me include "It Was a Saturday Night", which combines several different 70's rock styles into yet another great song; "One True You", a pretty anthem about why kids look and act the way they do in relation to their family (I really like how the song starts with "I see your Mom in you, I see your Dad in you, etc." and then goes to "I see faith in you, I see joy in you, etc."); "Again", another very catchy and upbeat tune that uses a false ending to great effect; and "Good Night, Daisy", as beautiful a lullaby as I've ever heard, and a song I've played several times in a row just to get lost in its magnificent elegance.<br /><br />Brady's vocals are a little twangy and he sounds sort of like Lyle Lovett at times. It's a unique voice for the kids' music genre, and he certainly has the chops for pulling off these songs with the right phrasing and attitude. His "little band" is really great, too... always serving the song and coloring everything vibrantly throughout.<br /><br />I'm going to have to remain noncommital about Brady Rymer's previous albums until I hear more of them, but there's no doubt that <em>Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could</em> is a real treat and worth hearing again and again. Just be careful dancing while you're driving, please.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.bradyrymer.com/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Brady Rymer's website</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><br /><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzbrady.html" width="375" height="120"><br />If you can see this, your browser doesn't<br />understand IFRAME. However, we'll still<br /><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzbrady.html">link</a><br />you to the file.<br /></iframe><br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-60905456681558581812008-05-22T06:39:00.001-07:002008-05-22T12:27:21.400-07:00Loquat Rooftop (Randy Kaplan)<a href="http://cdbaby.name/r/k/rkaplan8.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://cdbaby.name/r/k/rkaplan8.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Randy Kaplan's debut kids' album, <em>Five Cent Piece</em>, was one of the coolest totally out-of-left-field things I've discovered since doing this blog. In essence, Randy is the Arlo Guthrie of children's music, and while the obvious comparison to Arlo Guthrie makes Randy's general approach a little less than unique, Randy always adds much of his own originality and personality and style and humor into that approach, and I can't imagine anyone else doing that kind of thing as well as Randy does for a kids audience. In fact, hearing Randy spin more of his hilarious yarns on his terrific new CD, <em>Loquat Rooftop</em>, I can't help but think that perhaps time is running backwards and the references should be the other way around... Maybe Arlo Guthrie should really be called "the Randy Kaplan of storytelling songs for adults". The spirit and humor and style of that approach is always designed to tickle the fancy of the kid inside us... it's just a question of the subject matter involved as to what the audience's age range will be. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Like its predecessor, <em>Loquat Rooftop</em> includes some originals and some covers. The covers include similar Tin Pan Alley and classic rock 'n' roll fare as the covers on <em>Five Cent Piece</em> (and one particular gem, the Randy-fied "Clothes Dryer"), but a significant thing about this new album is that the originals are the real standouts this time around. With <em>Five Cent Piece</em>, I liked Randy's originals, especially "Shampoo Me", but they were all, well, a little weird. Likably weird, but weird, nonetheless. There's still some real strangeness to the originals on <em>Loquat Rooftop</em> like "No Nothing" (featuring a monkey named Kxchc, who was raised by ducks) and "The Ladybug Without Spots" (who solves that problem by having watermelon seeds glued to her back), but there's an effusive charm that shines through each of them. The feeling of enjoyment is always first and foremost with these originals, as opposed to the <em>Five Cent Piece</em> originals, where I enjoyed them, but only in spite of them all being a little strange. And some of the new originals are more straightforward sounding and are quite beautiful, like the title track (the melody of which reminds me a lot of a song that I'm not sure I've ever heard before), "(Don't Say) Anything At All" (I love how he demonstrates what he's talking about with his little kid voices between the verses) and "Gotta Get Gone", the bluesy closing number. </span><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">A great thing about Randy is that he is not afraid to be downright silly with his voices and jokes when he knows that will serve the material and the intended audience. And by the intended audience, I don't just mean kids... adults eat up well-crafted goofiness, too (Monty Python, Steve Martin during his standup career, the <em>Airplane!</em>/<em>Naked Gun</em> movies, etc.). Certainly, this adult and his wife have laughed out loud many times while listening to this album. Some things like "The Sour Song" are kind of one-time laughs, as brilliant as they are, but other things are funny again and again, and Randy's eloquently witty wordplay and vocal phrasing is always a joy to listen to. He has a real knack for comedy and entertaining through his music, and I can't wait to hear what he'll come up with next.</span> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/rkaplan8">Buy <em>Loquat Rooftop</em> on CDBaby<br /></a></span><br /><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzloquat.html" width="375" height="120"><br />If you can see this, your browser doesn't<br />understand IFRAME. However, we'll still<br /><a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzloquat.html">link</a><br />you to the file.<br /></iframe></div>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-80297217047537840402008-04-29T17:15:00.000-07:002008-05-06T07:56:09.369-07:00New releases and upcoming interviews...<span style="font-size:130%;">So this seems to be the season for new kids' music CD releases... Several of my favorite artists who I've already covered here have recently released new albums, or are about to release their new CDs. (I'm glad I'm not releasing my new album right now... Whew!)<br /><br />I've been listening to a lot of these CDs on the road recently, and I hope to be able to cover each of them at some point, at least in capsule reviews if not something more in depth... But for now I'm going to just list them below and let you check them out from the links. Also, there are several other new CDs that I've received and will have to add to my ever-growing "hope to cover here at some point" list, including Brady Rymer, Gunnar Madsen, Mr. Eric, Recess Monkey and others.<br /><br />Also, I have some cool interviews coming up with some people I've met up with on my recent travels, including Frances England, Gunnar Madsen, Tito of the Hipwaders and Gwendolyn and Brandon from Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. I'll begin transcribing our conversations in May and will post those as soon as possible.<br /><br />New CDs recently or soon-to-be released...<br /><br /><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/rkaplan8">Randy Kaplan - Loquat Rooftop</a><br /><br /><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/daddyagogo6">Daddy a Go Go - Rock of All Ages</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ralphsworld.com/">Ralph's World - The Rhyming Circus</a><br /><br /><a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/ericode6">Eric Ode - When You Smile</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.justinroberts.org/home.php">Justin Roberts - Pop Fly</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sixlegsongs.com/">Mr. Billy - Six Leg Songs</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.francesengland.com/">Frances England - Family Tree</a><br /><br /><a href="http://theymightbegiants.com/">They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s</a><br /><br />Also, <a href="http://www.gingerhendrix.com">Ginger Hendrix</a> had a major new release recently... a baby girl.<br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-53396988231846499832008-04-10T08:09:00.000-07:002008-04-29T17:06:55.232-07:00Travelblogue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX10wAIub2VAkwUaPr2UaLRLdrLW9ooKbY_9djnt1sPOoALCFbN1Fukd3mX2xdKWw0W4MIFrgXMj4BTl6IT_sh-cG1fUMNJRrhZX5O2JSx_MSCw3PyUC5tBaRWu8VjiTqcYeFW/s1600-h/ehrvwrapR.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX10wAIub2VAkwUaPr2UaLRLdrLW9ooKbY_9djnt1sPOoALCFbN1Fukd3mX2xdKWw0W4MIFrgXMj4BTl6IT_sh-cG1fUMNJRrhZX5O2JSx_MSCw3PyUC5tBaRWu8VjiTqcYeFW/s320/ehrvwrapR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187639439597233714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">I've never really used my MySpace page for anything... the interface is very difficult to work with and it's not really the most "kid safe" environment. So I put up some very basic info there and kind of left it at that for a while. To my dismay at times, people tried to contact me through there and I didn't get the message for several months because I just never logged in very often. Whoops!<br /><br />But I was looking for somewhere to post a little travelogue for my family's travels for this tour I'm doing... I like how Monty Harper posts a little about each of his shows on<a href="http://montyharper.blogspot.com/"> his blog</a>, and I realized it would be nice to be able to better remember some details about the different places we go and where I perform. So rather than start some new thing on LiveJournal or wherever, or taking up too much space on this blog when what I'm posting doesn't always relate to kids' music, I figured, eh, I might as well use the blog on the MySpace site I have. So if you'd like to see what I'm up to, go to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/erichermanmusic">my main MySpace page</a> and click the link in the middle right of the page that says "View All Blog Entries", or click the individual entry links if you'd like.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edit 4/29/08:</span> I've now mirrored the travelblogue over at this Blogger address: <a href="http://ericherman.blogspot.com">http://ericherman.blogspot.com</a> for those of you who don't want to deal with MySpace. Also, Blogger allows video posting, so I'll probably add some video clips to those posts now and then.<br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-5591347939091886302008-04-07T11:21:00.000-07:002008-04-07T12:15:17.177-07:00David Tobocman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.veryhelpfulsongs.com/About%20David_files/IMG_2531_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 199px;" src="http://www.veryhelpfulsongs.com/About%20David_files/IMG_2531_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">If David Tobocman's <span style="font-style: italic;">I Count to Ten and other Very Helpful Songs</span> album included the song, "Home", and several tracks of 80's hair-band B-sides performed by the TAO (Tuscalusah Armpit Orchestra), I would still have wanted to feature it here. "Home" is an incredibly touching song that makes me want to immediately run over and kiss my wife, hug my kids, pet my cat, not yell quite so much at my fish, and otherwise be extra grateful for the home and love that I feel blessed to have in my life. A piano ballad sounding something like Fastball singing "Desperado", the song alone is so heartwarming that it's almost heart<span style="font-style: italic;">burning</span>, and the beautiful video created for it, with pictures by Valerie Walsh (see below), just takes it over the top into heartmelting territory. When listening to this song and watching the video, you may need to wear some protective shielding to prevent irreperable heat damage to your heart.<br /><br />Thankfully, the rest of David's album is really great, too. I'm not sure that any of the other tracks are quite as earth-shatteringly awesome as "Home", but then again, the Stones never had a hit quite as big as "Satisfaction" and they still had a halfway decent career for a little while after that point, eh?<br /><br />The album begins with "I Count to Ten", which sounds like a cross between "Stepping Out With My Baby" and "Hit the Road, Jack" and has a nice message about taking a break when you're feeling angry before acting out. "Jammies Song" is a folky pop song a la Jimmy Buffet, with some nice chord breaks. "Brush Your Teeth" is a funky soft shoe jazz with some slithery piano. "My Rainbow" is another beautiful ballad, more upbeat than "Home". The voice on "Favorite Son (Every Day)" doesn't quite match the music as I was hearing it... something more like Barry White or Marvin Gaye might have fit better for me... but it's pretty nice, regardless, and David does an admirable job rapping for a white guy with a beard. "Buttons and Bows" is a hilarious ditty directed at nudist toddlers who don't understand the importance of wearing clothes in public. "Gigi, My Pet Giraffe" has some sweet melody and reminds me a little of the phrasing choices that Ralph of Ralph's World sometimes uses. "Dreamin' the Dream" is a finger-snappin' jazz tune (there is no actual finger-snappin' on the recording, but you'll want to do that when listening... and maybe throw in some jazz hands, as well). The album closes with an exquisite acoustic guitar ballad called "To Love You", which provides more hugs for my girls, kisses for my wife and pets for my cat...<br /><br />David has a pretty extensive list of credits of contributing music for TV shows (including <span style="font-style: italic;">That 70's Show</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">3rd Rock from the Sun</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Family Law</span>), performing and engineering on a number of albums by artists including Adam Sandler, Liza Minelli, LL Cool J and Cher, and doing session work for the likes of Lou Reed, Diane Warren, the Beastie Boys, k.d. Lang and Luther Vandross. <span style="font-style: italic;">I Count to Ten</span> is his first foray into creating music for children, but I hope he produces more kids' CDs because the world can always use more great music for kids and my wife and kids can always use more hugs and kisses. Not that I'm a slouch in that regard, by any means, as I'm sure they would attest to, but more is always better. :o)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.veryhelpfulsongs.com/">David Tobocman's Very Helpful Songs website</a><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rJvJGQtAqvM&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rJvJGQtAqvM&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />For samples of all of the songs on <span style="font-style: italic;">I Count to Ten</span>, go to <a href="http://www.veryhelpfulsongs.com/The%20Album.html">this page on David's website</a>.Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-8692320050798650142008-03-17T07:25:00.000-07:002008-03-17T17:11:55.194-07:00Mr. Richard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mrrichard.net/images/mrRichardLarge1.jpg"><span style="font-size:130%;"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://www.mrrichard.net/images/mrRichardLarge1.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Mr. Richard is a very popular kids' music performer from Florida who has released three CDs of music for kids. Last year, I received Richard's 2nd CD, <em>Tummy Talk</em>, and I enjoyed that, especially the first track, the title track, which has an incredibly catchy funky-bluesy guitar riff, a kickin' pre-chorus ("when your tummy starts talkin' a mile a minute, that's the time you know you gotta put something in it"), and an utterly infectious groove to it. It's an all-around terrific anthem to the noises your stomach can make when it's hungry and was an instant classic for me in the kids' music realm. In fact, I think I may have liked the whole album even better if I didn't keep comparing the rest of it to that first track, which was so hard to measure up to.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Fast forward ahead to this year when Richard's 3rd album, <em>Polka Dot Puzzle</em>, arrives in the mail. I was looking forward to checking it out, having already seen the great video for one of the songs, "Cheese" (see the video below), and the album definitely lived up to my hopes and is a terrific volume of kids' music with a lot of humor and musical fun.<br /><br />Richard has a tremendous ability for generating catchy guitar riffs, and the jumpy acoustic opening figure on <em>Polka Dot Puzzle</em>'s second track, "Treehouse", is a nice example of that. The emphasis on "E" in the chorus ("tree-E-house") is a little strange, but it's a good hook, nonetheless. "The Woo Woo Truck" is a very cool tune in the vein of The Violent Femmes, describing what to do when you hear a fire engine coming by.<br /><br />"Bubble Bath" has an amazing squirrely funk riff and some nice horn licks as Richard adds a laundry list of the things you can make with the bubbles in your bath; a bubble beard, a bubble wig, etc. "Straw Slot", about a kid with a missing tooth, sounds like John Mellencamp meets the Byrds and has yet another catchy guitar riff and funny lines like "I look like Alfred E. Neuman when I smile".<br /><br />The "Pots n' Pans" track is one that is probably more "appreciated" than "enjoyed", what with its Stomp-y clinging and clanging of actual pots and pans throughout, but it's a nice testament to the rhythmic and musical possibilities available all around you.<br /><br />The song "Pooch Smooch" is a real blues-rock gem with some wonderfully distorted harmonica, and there's a fun video for that which you can see below. One quibble about the production of the song... There's a point in each chorus when there are kids screaming in reaction to the dog kissing them, but the screaming is a really loud, blood-curdling kind of screech that seems to imply the terror of "I fell into a pool of sharks with a big gash on my leg" and not "my dog just slobbered all over me... ewww, gross!"<br /><br />"Butterfly Day" is a jangly pop tune sung along with Molly Ledford that reminds me of the great pop songs for kids that Roger Day produces. The album also begins and ends with "Hello, everybody" and "goodbye, everybody" tracks, which is something you hear now and then on kids' albums, but these are done very well and do invite you into the album and leave you feeling good at the end.<br /><br />It wouldn't be right for me to cover Mr. Richard and keep it real without mentioning that, well... if he was a contestant on a show like <em>American Kids Idol</em>, the celebrity judge equivalent of Randy Jackson would probably be using the term "pitchy" quite a lot. But Mr. Richard has a similar vocal vibe to Barry Louis Polisar, where okay, his vocals aren't the most polished, but his vocal delivery is still very cool and just right in a way that sort of represents the spirit or voice of a kid.<br /><br />It's time to go off on one of my tangents here... it's been a while... Thinking of the impact of the song "Tummy Talk" as the first track on that album, it brings to mind the importance of the track order on CDs and what a difficult decision that often is. I recall many years ago making an observation that a lot of albums from my favorite bands and artists seemed to have the big hit song as the 3rd or 4th track. I'm sure there are a million exceptions to that, but remembering that observation now I think the reasoning for that may be that if you always put that big first single as the first track on the album, then it might create an expectation for the album that is difficult to live up to. Also, a lot of times the hit single song might be a little poppier than the rest of the tracks on a rock album, or it might be a ballad on an album of otherwise upbeat songs, so if you put it first then there is a false sense of what the album and/or the artist is really about.<br /><br />So with that thinking, the best track to put first is probably something that is cool and inviting and memorable and representative of the artist and the album, and makes you want to listen further, but isn't really the knock-out song that the first single is intended to be. By the time you reach that knock-out track at the 3rd or 4th slot, you're already hooked big-time and though the rest of the album still may not match up to that hit song, initially, at least... you're likely to appreciate it for what it is and will probably grow to love some of the other songs more than that big hit, once they get under your skin.<br /><br />I'm not necesarily saying that Mr. Richard should have put the song "Tummy Talk" 3rd or 4th on his <em>Tummy Talk</em> album instead of 1st... Maybe it would have been better, from my point of view, at least... But he did what he felt was right for his album for his taste and for his fans and so that's fine. And certainly an argument can be made that people are fickle with what they listen to and if something doesn't really grab them right away, there goes your chance to grab them at all... in which case maybe your very best track should be the first one on the album. I should also admit that I am absolutely not an expert in this regard, having second-guessed the track order on three of my four kids' CDs and even resequencing one of them when reordering more copies after its second run. I can say that my next album feels just right in its track sequencing in terms of the flow that it has, and I think that may be the most important consideration, as opposed to thinking about what songs are the standouts and where they fall in the mix.<br /><br />Anyway, just thought I'd share a few thoughts about that, since it came up... It may even become moot before too long as musical buying and listening habits seem to gravitate more and more towards the downloadable single, as opposed to the album. I hope that the album never dies entirely, though, as it is always nice to share a lengthier slice of musical time with a talented artist who has created a group of songs that work really well together... like, for example, Mr. Richard's <em>Polka Dot Puzzle</em>!<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.mrrichard.net/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Mr. Richard's website</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><br /></span><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzmrrichard.html" width="375" height="95">&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;If you can see this, your browser doesn't &amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;understand IFRAME. However, we'll still &amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;A HREF="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzmrrichard.html"&amp;amp;amp;gt;link&amp;amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;you to the file.&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uXb5iQ5NWQA&hl=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oosip7auovE&hl=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-85642206647490524612008-02-16T18:57:00.001-08:002008-02-18T11:35:08.369-08:00Buck Howdy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLDpZAT8KyjarRnEJl895KsNE99ro3x3X3BFcj_eDt-QLv2_AJ4zMJr1B5vJ6-zUSAqCcFTPrB-U2snMdK21dByrg3g8yUSVxzAKsWBkKO6leh9KGUbngXWYtmKhkOLl81wQL/s1600-h/BBBnewpix2web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167778040005204898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 194px" height="280" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLDpZAT8KyjarRnEJl895KsNE99ro3x3X3BFcj_eDt-QLv2_AJ4zMJr1B5vJ6-zUSAqCcFTPrB-U2snMdK21dByrg3g8yUSVxzAKsWBkKO6leh9KGUbngXWYtmKhkOLl81wQL/s320/BBBnewpix2web.jpg" width="270" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Buck Howdy is unique in the children's music world. Yes, there have been some good country-music styled kids' acts coming out in recent years, including Little Nashville, Farmer Jason and the Bummkin Band, but there hasn't really been a notable old-fashioned cowboy personality like Buck... at least not that I'm aware of.<br /><br />Buck is nothing if not <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">personality</span>, and his aw shucks friendly uncle from Tennesee kind of voice pulls you right in and holds you captive throughout his CDs. It's a delivery that seems effortless in its charm but also sounds like the genuine article of a man who has spent many years rustling, wrangling, roping and other such things that cowboys do. I get the impression that Buck could tell a story about sorting coupons that would keep kids totally enthralled around a crackling campfire.<br /><br />Speaking of campfires, Buck pays homage to some classic campfire fare with two of the songs on his second kids' album, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Giddyup!</span>, released in 2005. The CD opens with "S'mores", a fine fiddle-y ditty (see the video below), and the fourth track is "Baked Beans", which may be the best flatulence-related song ever (I propose a championship fight between that song and John Hadfield's "I Like Beans"). In "Baked Beans" you can just about hear Buck smiling and holding back his own laughter as he sings, and it really conveys the feeling that he's having as much fun performing the song as we are hearing it.<br /><br />On the bouncy title track, Buck sings some cleverly silly lines like "I was going to a dance and I had to practice. Why oh why did I do it with a cactus?" and he gives a fun lesson for chasing the blues away by singing like animals on "Baa, Neigh, Cock-a-Doodle Doo". <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Giddyup!</span> also features some prominent guest performers including Trout Fishing in America's Keith and Ezra providing backing vocals on "S'mores" and "Giddyup" and Laurie Berkner singing beautifully along with Buck on "Happy Trails". There is also one of the best parodies I've heard on a kids' album listed as the bonus track, but I don't know that I can give it away being that it's titled "Bonus Track". I really should have seen the chorus line coming, but it still made me laugh out loud when I first heard it.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Giddyup!</span> was the first Buck Howdy album I'd heard (he also released <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Skidaddle!</span> in 2002) and I was instantly a big fan. Buck released the follow-up, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Chickens</span>, last year, and in addition to more great songs, he also added a fine singer to his act (BB, pictured above). <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Chickens</span> has a lot of what might be called "Western swing", with an almost jazzy feel to a number of the tracks. There's still a predominance of country to the sound, but there's a bounciness and arrangement to some of the tracks that emphasizes the "swing" as much as the "Western". <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><br /><br />Chickens</span> also has a lot of chickens. "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" is a winner and is so heavy on the swing that you might have expected Glenn Miller to have orchestrated it. The title track is a little bit unfortunate, though... It plays with expectations where it sounds like it's about a philandering husband but really he's just a farmer who loves taking care of his chickens. It's a clever turnaround and it's the type of innuendo that kids aren't going to get anyway, so it's no big deal in that sense. But the thing is, it's not a great subject for adults, either, with lines like "I buy ‘em food and give ‘em drinks, along with lots of lovin'. Then those girls lay out the treats by the dozens." Using distasteful imagery as some kind of metaphor or correlation still includes the distasteful imagery on the surface. So the song is enjoyable but for me it left a little bit of a bad taste in terms of the subject matter. Rounding out the chicken-related material on the album is the instrumental bonus track. You can probably guess what it is by my mention of "instrumental" and "chicken-related".<br /><br />There are a lot of other great tracks on <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Chickens</span>, including "Wiggle, Waggle, Wave", a super-swingy ode to friendly greetings; "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda", a catchy, easy-going tune about doing things you're supposed to do before you regret the consequences; "I'm My Own Grandpa", Buck's engaging version of the old novelty hit about the ultimate family paradox; and "I Can't Imagine", a sweet ballad duet which really shows the complement of Buck and BB's voices.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Chickens</span> was nominated for a Grammy last year and shows an interesting change from the more straightforward old-time country feel of his earlier albums, perhaps making it more accessible to a wider audience. With his great delivery and sense of humor, I'm intrigued to see what kind of yarns Buck will spin next around the campfire.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.buckhowdy.com/">Buck Howdy website</a><br /></span><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Q_Xdm1ibLE&rel=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzbuckhowdy.html" width="375" height="110">&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;If you can see this, your browser doesn't &amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;understand IFRAME. However, we'll still &amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;A HREF="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzbuckhowdy.html"&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;link&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;you to the file.&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;ampamp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-34344065220956152972008-01-25T09:38:00.000-08:002008-01-25T10:11:49.136-08:00My Lucky Day video<span style="font-size:130%;">My wife, Roseann, did the animations for a new video in a Schoolhouse Rock kind of style and it turned out really nice. It's for the song "My Lucky Day" from my <span style="font-style: italic;">Snow Day!</span> album. The song was co-written with children's artist <a href="http://cooltunesforkids.blogspot.com/2006/07/eric-ode.html">Eric Ode</a>.<br /><br />Please add your comments and if you liked it enough to rate it 5 stars, <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/contact.html">let me know</a> and I'll send you a link for a free MP3 download of the song. Here's the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-xZvPRHFFo">link to the YouTube page</a> where you can comment or rate the video, or you can just watch it below...<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5-xZvPRHFFo&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5-xZvPRHFFo&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />----------------------------<br /><br />Coming up, I'll be doing features on Mr. Richard, Ira Marlowe, Dog on Fleas, Johnette Downing, Debi Derryberry and a few other things that have come in recently. I'm having trouble keeping up with everything, though, so I can't promise when those things will be covered.<br /><br />I'm actually thinking of closing the submissions for a while... especially as I'll be on the road for about 4 months straight starting the end of March and won't be able to get anything that comes in the mail, anyway. I'll still be keeping up on what's coming out in the kids' music world through Zooglobble and CDBaby and elsewhere, and if there's something I'm interested in hearing more of, I may request a promo copy to be sent wherever I am. But as of March, I don't want any new CDs sent when there's no chance I'll get to hear them for several months, and as I'll have enough of a backlog to get caught up on in the meantime. I'll make a post about that and change the "Submissions" page when the time comes... As for now, though, please feel free to keep sending new releases and I'll look forward to checking them out on the road this spring and summer.<br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-70573841033259252502008-01-07T09:53:00.000-08:002008-01-07T13:29:18.776-08:00Gustafer Yellowgold<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRuH8kBrbDRMN7CmjyRgxl1F2xQuIpAzYSn4xxQiKPWnpCA1XxSA5HP9SBezRHe-XSEQ6M-85hWtS-26xgwTiIgfYtC4BRx9dqfasQYgJnq3OkpPB81AnJiVrUO3cXw_NUO2w/s1600-h/Gustafer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRuH8kBrbDRMN7CmjyRgxl1F2xQuIpAzYSn4xxQiKPWnpCA1XxSA5HP9SBezRHe-XSEQ6M-85hWtS-26xgwTiIgfYtC4BRx9dqfasQYgJnq3OkpPB81AnJiVrUO3cXw_NUO2w/s320/Gustafer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152778785126890274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">For a long time, my appreciation for Gustafer Yellowgold hadn't really been sparked, in the same sense as I described for <a href="http://cooltunesforkids.blogspot.com/2006/10/frances-england.html">Frances England</a>'s music... I had read a lot of glowing accolades but had only heard a few brief samples, and thought, "It sounds okay..." But I hadn't been blown away enough to get really excited about it. In the case of Frances England, it just took one listen through the actual album, beyond just brief samples, to have her infectious and brilliant songs imprinted on me. With Gustafer Yellowgold, all it took was a viewing of one of his DVDs. To use terms usually reserved for the world of magic and sorcery, I was utterly enchanted, spellbound, mesmerized and charmed.<br /><br />Gustafer Yellowgold is the cute cartoon creation of singer/songwriter Morgan Taylor, who writes and records Gustafer's musical musings and also illustrates and provides the storyboard direction for the DVD animations. There are two Gustafer DVDs, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Wide Wild World</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> and </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Have You Never Been Yellow?</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> (for which he gets a half point off for parodying the title of an Olivia Newton-John album). Gustafer comes from the sun, as the introduction song ("Cooler World") on both DVDs describes, and has traveled to Minnesota, where things are apparently quite different than on the sun (he was aiming for somewhere a little colder). The songs and videos, full of wit and whimsy, relate Gustafer's experiences and wonderment with various things he discovers in his new Earth life, and so we share the same wonderment through the simple but clever animations and generally mellow but engaging songs. The subjects can be a rather odd assortment, including pinecones, mustard slugs, eels, cake, cheese and beards, and there isn't really any narrative or theme connecting everything, other than Gustafer observing and commenting on his new world. But every song/video is its own little amusement, and they each work terrifically in that sense.<br /><br />In terms of influences for the general idea and animation style of Gustafer, one might guess that Morgan Taylor has probably watched Harry Nilsson's classic animated story, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >The Point</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, once or twice (or fifty times). In that story, a round-headed boy named Oblio finds himself in a world where every other creature and object must have a point (literally, as in a pointy head or a particularly pointy nose). Being that Gustafer is the odd one on Earth, I imagine that Gustafer's rather pointy head might be an homage to that show. Regardless, Gustafer is very much an original and the combination of classic storybook illustration and animation almost has more of the feel of Ken Burns' pan-and-scan documentaries, with objects gently and creatively moving around each other. This is clearly 2D animation, but there is very nice use of object layering and every animation choice is used to great effect.<br /><br />Musically speaking, the Gustafer songs seem to be happily ensconced in 60's/70's acoustic melancholy, hearkening to Harry Nilsson, James Taylor (presumably no relation) and The Beatles circa </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >The White Album </span><span style="font-size:130%;">and </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Yellow Submarine</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. While the production and sound is clearly from that era, the songs themselves are true originals, with hooks and chord turns that aren't overt, but reach out and tickle you enough to keep your interest throughout. Morgan's voice is often double-tracked into a sweet syrup, and his delivery and tone is akin to both Neil Young's plaintive acoustic singing and Billy Corgan's whispery breathings. Personal taste leans my ears toward the former, and not so much the latter, so I prefer the Gustafer songs (or parts of songs) where Morgan sings out fully, like on the transcendent anthem, "Pinecone Lovely" (video below). But regardless, Morgan has a beautiful sense of contrast between the different songs and song sections, in terms of varying his vocal delivery to fit the needs of the moment.<br /><br />Would the songs alone stand up, without having ever seen the animations? For adults, yes, but I don't think they would work as well for kids without having any connection at all to the imagery. But the Gustafer package is clearly meant to be a fusion of songs and images (and his live shows always feature the animations on a video screen), and kids and adults alike can certainly appreciate the combination as intended, in a very big way. Stephen Sondheim is often criticized for not having any "take home" songs from his musicals ("Send in the Clowns" being the notable exception), but his songs are meant to work perfectly within the context of their shows. That is their primary working environment. I think the same can be said for the Gustafer songs working best along with the environment of their video accompaniment. However, having seen the video several times, kids will definitely have a big attachment to the songs and can thereafter enjoy them strictly from the CDs (which are included with the DVDs).<br /><br />The Gustafer DVDs have been big hits for my girls, who request them often along with their other video favorites like the Pixar movies and The Wiggles. My 5 year-old, Becca, has even given Gustafer the rare honor of a space in her dreams. Every night, as part of their bedtime routine, our girls like us to ask them what they're going to dream about. (Apparently, they're really into "directed dreaming".) Well, there have been a few nights recently where Becca specified "Gustafer" as her dream choice. A budding artist and animator, herself, she has also stated that she wished she had created Gustafer (heheh... Me, too!).<br /><br />In addition to the Gustafer videos and music, Morgan Taylor also provided a few songs for a nice compilation of children's music by the ArtsCetera organization, called <span style="font-style: italic;">Sing, Shout & Clap</span>. <a href="http://www.artscetera.com/store.html">Click here</a> for song samples and to order the CD.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gustaferyellowgold.com/">Gustafer Yellowgold website</a><br /></span><br />"Your Eel" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Wide Wild World</span> -<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bTu6mHLZTHg&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bTu6mHLZTHg&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />"Birds" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Have You Never Been Mellow?</span> -<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x0fvCaA-l3o&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x0fvCaA-l3o&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />"Pinecone Lovely" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Have You Never Been Mellow?</span> -<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4orXh2-Wb0s&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4orXh2-Wb0s&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-74777782558195859472007-12-15T10:30:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:43:13.997-08:00A video by Becca<span style="font-size:130%;">My daughter, Becca, has always been very artistically inclined, and recently she has wanted to learn about doing animation like she sees on her favorite TV shows and movies. We found a cool program called <a href="http://kids.toonboom.com/">Flip Boom</a> that is meant for kids to easily create simple animations. She took to that program in a big way and when we asked if she might like to do a music video for Daddy she was very excited and went right to work. <br /><br />So anyway, here is a video for "Dance Like an Animal", with animations by Becca. She had a little bit of help and direction from her Mommy (who also did the disco background and put everything together with me in the video editing program), but by and large, this is Becca's work. Give her another year or two and she might be working for Pixar. :o)</span><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7WXS16-X0c0&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7WXS16-X0c0&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Speaking of kids' music animations, coming up soon I'll be featuring one of Becca's favorite animation influences... Gustafer Yellowgold.</span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-24939653439935451032007-12-05T11:32:00.000-08:002007-12-05T18:22:28.462-08:00The Wiggles: Getting Strong and Wiggly Wiggly World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlf4NrCje4elC8aN7WpXVnaici-jg-IyA8raUPYTX1wHTXswN2DwfsSvKFQ-DIis0Y5p-Es4vLjo-51D3XXecJ8j5WvhvgPAi6Nicel0wvwmcXOGobdO8HlsiOscBuldiB8jk/s1600-h/wigglesgettingstrong.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlf4NrCje4elC8aN7WpXVnaici-jg-IyA8raUPYTX1wHTXswN2DwfsSvKFQ-DIis0Y5p-Es4vLjo-51D3XXecJ8j5WvhvgPAi6Nicel0wvwmcXOGobdO8HlsiOscBuldiB8jk/s200/wigglesgettingstrong.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140675697482721154" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">If you've followed this blog at all, you'll know that I am an unabashed fan of The Wiggles. Musically speaking, I think they're terrific, with many great songs that introduce young kids to a variety of music styles. Say what you will about them otherwise, but they can really deliver the goods when it comes to their songs being memorable and fun for younger children, and I believe that they have rightfully achieved their enormous success as children's entertainers.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Wiggles have always primarily been a visual band, what with the colored shirt thing and all, and so they have usually emphasized video releases over CD releases. Their latest is a DVD called <span style="font-style: italic;">Getting Strong</span>, which is unique in two ways; it is the first from a planned <span style="font-style: italic;">Wiggle and Learn</span> series that has a particularly educational focus, and it is also the first with the new yellow Wiggle, Sam.<br /><br />I'm not going to speak too much about the video's merits... I want to focus on the music... but it definitely has the best production values of any Wiggles video I've seen. Top notch effects and sets and it looks really sharp, which hasn't always been the case with other Wiggles videos (not that they've suffered for it, but you kind of expect more from them, </span><span style="font-size:130%;">considering their success). Some of the between song skits, such as the recurring theme of Captain Feathersword pretending to be among a group of trumpeters or guitarists or ballet dancers are okay and some are a bit tedious. Paul Paddock (Captain F.) has an amazing vocal range and ability to do impressions, but the high-pitched squeals of his guitar impressions (I honestly don't know how he gets up there without helium) can wear a bit on the ears of adults. But that's nothing new for Wiggles videos... their skits and between song interludes have never been the greatest at appealing to adults, no doubt. But little kids laugh at them and enjoy them alright, so that's fine.<br /><br />Educationally speaking, they are clearly targeting toddlers (their bread and butter audience) with subjects that include exercise and sports ("Getting Strong", "The Sporting Salsa"), </span><span style="font-size:130%;">comparative use of language ("The Biggest of All") and the five senses ("The Five Sense" and the oddly infectious "Smell Your Way Through the Day"). Perhaps it is the educational theme, but it seems that the songs have much more of a "sing songy" feel to them than previous Wiggles collections. They're not bad, as sing-songy songs go, but a lot of my favorite Wiggles songs have a little bit of rock 'n' roll to them and for the most part, these tunes don't really go there. Notable exceptions include the great title track, which is reminiscent of The Who's "I Can See for Miles and Miles", and "Sporting Salsa", which has a cool sound with a bit of a Miami Sound Machine groove to the chorus. "Smell Your Way Through the Day" has a rock feel to it and is very catchy, but it's also kind of kooky in a way.<br /><br />So I'm not sure if <span style="font-style: italic;">Getting Strong</span> is likely to convince any of the adults who grumble about the Wiggles to realize that they do have a lot of great music (see my review below about <span style="font-style: italic;">Wiggly Wiggly World</span> for an example of that), but it's a solid collection for the kids and </span><span style="font-size:130%;">answers any doubts as to whether Sam could make a good replacement for the ailing Greg. Greg always had a really smooth and unique vocal delivery, and thankfully Sam doesn't try to emulate that, but offers his own voice, which is more polished and even somewhat operatic at times, but is still a really good fit for the group's music.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thewiggles.com/">The Wiggles website</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzR0MLqtp2w">Watch the "Getting Strong" video</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thewiggles.com/us/promotions/newreleases.asp">The "Frog Went a Walking" video can be seen here, temporarily, at least.</a><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">------------------------------------<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-4vEJ9O8NQhDeZuhEK5cYt0G4_FmDKYNX93fM1KB1sM2RWGxm550-bsfOq2dsHhHeQzm3SqV-TSMlFL3iyp_O0ijW1HRAluInpYBlSuemgwhXm6Vpq3Gj4BYpuSHEGPduWQ9/s1600-h/wiggly+wiggly+world.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-4vEJ9O8NQhDeZuhEK5cYt0G4_FmDKYNX93fM1KB1sM2RWGxm550-bsfOq2dsHhHeQzm3SqV-TSMlFL3iyp_O0ijW1HRAluInpYBlSuemgwhXm6Vpq3Gj4BYpuSHEGPduWQ9/s200/wiggly+wiggly+world.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140677922275780514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Wiggly Wiggly World</span><br /><br />In <a href="http://cooltunesforkids.blogspot.com/2006/09/wiggles.html">my original feature on The Wiggles</a>, I said how their various video collections were kind of hit-and-miss for me. They've put out quite a few by now, and so as we've borrowed different ones from the library, we've seen some that were top notch and had a lot of great songs and others that seemed kind of thrown together. Until this past summer, we had only owned two Wiggles videos that we particularly liked, but I gave <span style="font-style: italic;">Wiggly Wiggly World</span> a blind chance when I saw it at a library sale for a few bucks. I'm glad I did, because I think it's a terrific collection of songs, and it's particularly nice if you don't like the aforementioned skits and interludes, because they go right from one song to another, only stopping briefly to introduce a guest performer to set up the next song. And though The Wiggles can hold their own, musically, and in terms of songwriting, as evidenced by the hooks on songs like "In the Wiggles World" and "In the Big Red Car We Like to Ride", the guest performers really add a lot to this particular video.<br /><br />Opera singer Kamahl performs on "Sing With Me", and it's amusing to hear his thick, profundo voice singing lines that include "Dorothy the Dinosaur", but it's quite a beautiful song, regardless. In terms of catchy pop-rock melodies and hooks, you can't beat The Wiggles' version of "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" by Tim Finn of Crowded House and Split Enz. And the gorgeous ballad "Taba Naba", performed by Greg and Christine Anu, is particularly stunning, and I love to hear my 2 year-old, Evee, attempting to sing that one. It's all in the language of the Torres Strait Islanders, and here are the real words: "Taba naba, naba norem, tugi penai siri, dinghy e naba we". As you can imagine, it comes out quite different when Evee sings it! There's also Rolf Harris playing the wobbleboard along with his classic "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and Australian country star Slim Dusty joining in for "I Love to Have a Dance with Dorothy".<br /><br />Other highlights on the video include "Another Cuppa", which has one of the best uses of counterpoint I've heard outside of musical theater, the folky "One Little Coyote", with it's cute backing vocals ("come home shooooon"), and the pretty Japanese ballad "Haru Ga Kita", sung with Atsuko Arai. All together, <span style="font-style: italic;">Wiggly Wiggly World</span> is quite a smorgasbord of multi-cultural music, but it all sounds great with The Wiggles renditions and arrangements.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wiggly-World-Wiggles/dp/B0000C8AX4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1196905626&sr=1-1">Listen to samples from Wiggly Wiggly World</a><br /></span>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-1845589140350542462007-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:002007-11-10T12:06:23.973-08:00Sugar Free Allstars<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://homegrownmusic.net/images2/sugarlogo.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 200px" height="207" alt="" src="http://homegrownmusic.net/images2/sugarlogo.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">The organ is an instrument that can run the gamut from sounding really cool (think Booker T or Greg Allman or Ray Charles) to sounding really cheesy (think soap opera music or anything played on a cheap Casio). I suppose most instruments can be cool or cheesy, depending on how they're played or what kind of music they're played with, but it's much harder to not look cool, at least, when playing something like an electric guitar or a saxophone. Then again, some musicians like Ray Manzarek could make even the cheesiest sounding soap opera organ be cool in its context on the Doors' records. Weighing in on the very cool end of organ playing is Chris Wiser, one half of the duo that comprises the Sugar Free Allstars, who have released their first kids' album, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Dos Niños</span>.<br /><br />It's an unusual mix, to be sure, with the core sound consisting of organ, another organ, bass and drums (by Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin). I'm not sure how they pull it off... I'm pretty sure from the picture that Wiser only has two hands, though he might have a couple of mutant arms hidden around his back... but it sounds fantastic, regardless.<br /><br />It's a short album, with only eight songs, but they're all good to great tracks and show off a surprising variety and a lot of musical depth. "Bathtub Boy" starts things off with a discordant organ chord that is offset nicely by a very active vocal melody and some cute lyric lines like, "I'd rather soak in the tub 'til my skins gets so pruney, and all of my friends, thinkin' that I'm loony". "He's Okay (The Spider Song)" has a very Doorsy riff in the verses and then has a Soundgarden/Nirvana chorus. It's cool to hear that kind of thing done so well with organ as opposed to the usual grungy guitar. There's also a fun envelope filter solo that evokes images of a spider slinking along a wall.<br /><br />Next up is "Poppy and MeeMaw", which has a funky Allman Brothers meets Sly and the Family Stone groove and a very catchy chorus, a la Anthony Keidis, where Wiser rhymes "MeeMaw" and "seesaw" with what else, but "Hee-Haw". "Petting Zoo" has that Supertrampy (er, maybe "Supertramp-esque" would be better) Wurlizter electric organ sound (also think of "My Best Friend" by Queen) and accordingly continues with a thick 70's feel throughout, complete with a cheesy jazz chord ending. The tune has a great transition between the verses and choruses and like the other tracks is very memorable.<br /><br />"P. Kitty" (live video below) is a super funky tune which would probably be at home on a Chili Peppers or Funkadelic record (who says funk bands can't play children's music?). Again, some of the organ chords are of a weirdly dissonant variety, so the music might sound a little strange on its own, but the vocal line is greatly accessible and it all works very well together. "Banana Pudding" is practically a Deep Purple style parody, with Dr. Rock dispensing some funky drum medicine and Wiser rockin' on the thick Hammond.<br /><br />"Stinky" is a one-word instrumental that isn't nearly as memorable or fun sounding as something like "Tequila", but the word choice of "stinky" is the perfect choice for a kids thing (and, of course, a whole lot better than "tequila"). The CD ends with the track, "Buck Up, Little Camper", which is a marked departure from the rest of the album into Monty Python territory, a la "The Universe Song" or "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". It's obviously campy and tongue-in-cheek with its "don't sweat the small stuff" message, and I'm guessing that the cruel irony for the band is that this is probably one of the most popular songs with kids and parents, because of its simple, cheery message. The folky piano style melds into a big band ending, where Wiser does a Louis Armstrong impression, which ends up sounding more like an impression of Bill Cosby doing an impression </span><span style="font-size:130%;">of Louis Armstrong</span><span style="font-size:130%;">. Fun stuff.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">A quick side note about the album cover, which is strange and disturbing... the kind of thing that you wouldn't want to get in the mail unless you knew all of your kids were home and accounted for, and even then, you'd probably want to notify the police and have them dust the envelope for prints. I don't quite know what to make of it, but whatever... </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />All in all, this is an awesome album, though I suspect it may have some of the same effect as <a href="http://cooltunesforkids.blogspot.com/2006/11/sippy-cups.html">The Sippy Cups' <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Electric Storyland</span></a>, where it's really great for adults but not necessarily quite as great for kids, depending on the kid. My kids' musician blogging friend Yosi <a href="http://indiekidsrock.blogspot.com/2007/08/cod-liver-oil-music-clom.html">mentioned on his blog</a> about how he tried to get his kids to love this album but they just said, "It's weird." He felt like they really should like it and that he should maybe even try to force them to like it, as if it is akin to the cod liver oil your mother used to give you when you were sick (well, maybe your mother did, but thankfully mine didn't)... You don't want to take it, but it's good for you, so just swallow it, already!<br /><br />I think that's a faulty premise, because although we can certainly try to encourage an appreciation for music to our kids, I don't think we can ever really instill an appreciation for <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">particular</span> music to them. And even if they grow to appreciate a certain kind of music, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll ever really love it. For example, I had no interest in my father's kind of music (big band, Sinatra, etc.) when I was growing up, and though I can appreciate it now and enjoy a lot of those classic tunes, it's still not what I would remotely consider my favorite kind of music. People like what they like, and though some of the uber-hipster parents may groan at the oh so horrible taste of three year-old kids, I suspect that many of them would still choose things like The Wiggles or Barney over The Sippy Cups and Sugar Free All Stars in a blind taste test. It's just a matter of kids' sensibilities.<br /><br />That being said, my girls like this album okay, and dance around a little bit when it's on, but we do have to encourage them to do so and they're not listening closely, so we have to explain how it's a funny song about a kid who takes baths, or about a petting zoo, etc. There's not an automatic or instinctive feeling that it's meant for them when they hear the music, which I think is much more of the case with artists like Ralph's World and Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. And if I had to put my finger on one thing that might help or hurt when trying to achieve that, it would be how prominent the vocals are in the mix. They seem to be mixed a bit low on this album and Wiser's vocal melodies are often very active, so if a kid can't understand the words well enough to tell that a song is talking about something they might care about, then they're probably not as likely to have a really big connection with it.<br /><br />But even if your kids might think that this album is weird, it's a really cool album, regardless, and it would certainly be worth trying out on them. If they don't like it now, wait a year or two and maybe they'll enjoy it then. And like <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Electric Storyland</span>, even though I can't share it quite as well with my kids as some other CDs, <em>Dos Niños</em> has definitely gone into my list of personal favorites.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sugarfreeallstars.com/">Sugar Free All Stars website</a><br /></span><br /><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzsugarfree.html" width="375" height="110">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;If you can see this, your browser doesn't &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;understand IFRAME. However, we'll still &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;A HREF="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzsugarfree.html"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;link&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;you to the file.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe><br /><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aQQdFilHNjU&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aQQdFilHNjU&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27340341.post-63767592353042301772007-10-30T21:55:00.000-07:002007-10-30T23:00:36.574-07:00Halloween Green Bean<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhuniXVMvXE7UOxYVJ58hjAqtNDR-lgGcqMFgcM-_Ea3QQM2o3ymihBR_c5aZfp42IMHo-Su44hVKOaq-pazF9EEOvexxdzJmCS-kvLcCTvEZPMJNuv5rdfGsiZBZJiXlQ8Iu/s1600-h/BeccaEvee102107A.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhuniXVMvXE7UOxYVJ58hjAqtNDR-lgGcqMFgcM-_Ea3QQM2o3ymihBR_c5aZfp42IMHo-Su44hVKOaq-pazF9EEOvexxdzJmCS-kvLcCTvEZPMJNuv5rdfGsiZBZJiXlQ8Iu/s200/BeccaEvee102107A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127363495923719330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Ah, there's nothing quite like the purest form of kids' music, meaning music that kids' themselves create. It's strange and bizarre and sometimes totally nonsensical, but also brilliant and creative in cool ways.<br /><br />Two years ago for Halloween, my Becca wrote this song: <a href="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/HalloweenGreenBean.mp3"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Halloween Green Bean"</span></a> (mp3) Her mommy helped her just a little bit with the phrasing for one of the lyric lines, and I arranged the music, but it was essentially very much her own creation.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">In case you can't quite understand the lyrics, here they are:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I wanna be a Halloween green bean.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I wanna be a Halloween bear.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I wanna be a Halloween monster,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">so I can give you a scare. Boo!</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Not bad for a three year-old. :o)</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Becca is five now and she's written a few other songs, including a melodic epic called "The Sun Goes Up", which has some beautiful lyric verses balanced by some really kooky lyric verses...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The sun goes up, and the moon goes down.<br />The stars go down and the dark goes down.<br />The apple says, "Hi". And we eat the apple.<br />There's a freckle on my arm. There's a freckle on my leg.<br />Etc.</span><br /><br />I totally didn't see the apple/freckle lines coming. And that's kind of how it is with all of her songs... Wonderfully weird, with some unexpected turns. She's also been noodling a lot on the piano and coming up with several little riffs that she likes to play over and over. She has descriptions for each of them, too, like the spooky sounding one, which is apparently supposed to be the soundtrack for a movie she wants to make about circlemonsters. And her sister, Evee, is following right along in her path, banging away on the piano and drums and belting out her favorite songs.<br /><br />People often ask me if my material is inspired by my kids... Certainly, some of it is, but before long I might be able to just have them create all of my material, themselves!<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pictured above... Evee and Becca with their pumpkins for this year, which they designed themselves (we did the carving).</span><br /><br />Have a safe and happy Halloween!<br /><br /><br /></span><iframe src="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzgreenbean.html" height="80" width="375">&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;If you can see this, your browser doesn't &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;understand IFRAME. However, we'll still &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;A HREF="http://www.erichermanmusic.com/zzgreenbean.html"&amp;amp;gt;link&amp;amp;lt;/A&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;you to the file.&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;</iframe>Eric Hermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05626461622509898504noreply@blogger.com1