Old Town School of Folk Music will be rockin' February 9th at 11am & 2pm when Grammy nominee, Justin Roberts & The Not Ready for Nap Time Players come to town!
JR is actually a Chicago boy, but as a kindie super star, he's on tour most of the time. Welcome him home Windy Kindie style and come rock out at his 2 local February shows.
One of the coolest kids' musicians, Justin Roberts pens pop hooks that parents dig as much as their kids!
"There are a slew of musicians with alt-rock credibility making records
for kids… Justin Roberts may be the best of the bunch." -Washington Post ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama. Click below for your chance to win a 4 pack of tickets to either show. Enter through midnight 2/5. a Rafflecopter giveaway
*For more info, check out Justin Roberts main site here.
*To order tickets, click the Old Town School site here. *Note-Another of ChiIL Mama's kindie favorite, Dreamtree Shakers, is playing Old Town on 3/23 at 11am. Click here for our past coverage including our original video interview with the band. Justin's latest-just out since November 19th: Have you discovered Lullaby yet? Justin Roberts has managed to weave a magical masterpiece of sonic soul soothing and evocative images, without the annoying, saccharine sweetness that passes for many commercial lullaby albums. Here at ChiIL Mama, Lullaby makes our ChiILpicks list for some of the best mellow, family friendly music out there, for your littlest insomniacs. The whimsical Polar Bear track is our fav, but there's not a weak tune in the bunch. Highly recommended.
“This album is a wonderful gift for anyone who needs some peaceful down time. You’ll still love this lullaby album when the baby goes off to college.” ~ Kathy O’Connell, WXPN radio
“This will put children to sleep and wake the hearts of weary parents – a beautiful gift to families everywhere.” ~ playwright Craig Wright
Lullaby
Justin Roberts’ collection of soothing songs features guest artists from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a ‘70s-style analog soundscape, and vocalists from Hairspray;
GRAMMY Nominee Justin Roberts releases his first collection of original nighttime songs for families on November 19th. Lullaby is for those wee small hours just before bedtime. These 10 new songs present an unusual mix of genres, including elegant moments of chamber music, snatches of ‘70s soft rock, and sleepy bossa nova and R&B grooves. The entrancing cover art of Lullaby was created by acclaimed illustrator Alison Jay (Welcome to the Zoo, ABC, Picture This).
In a departure from his usual power-pop, upbeat style, the artist who’s been called “the Paul McCartney of children’s music” (USA Today) and “a natural poet” (New York Times) has created a host of songs with dreamy, atmospheric lyrics and instrumentation. Amid the soothing sweetness is a hint of melancholy, very much in the tradition of “Rockabye Baby.”
Justin Roberts composed and arranged all of the songs on Lullaby. Liam Davis, the multi-instrumentalist member of Roberts’ Not Ready for Naptime Players, produced and performed on the recording, which also features several members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing strings, harp, English horn, oboe, and French horn. Additional guest artists are vocalists from the Chicago production of the musical Hairspray,and other members of the Not Ready for Naptime Players.
From the heartbeat-soft harp and keyboard phrasing of “Count Them As They Go,” to the delicate pizzicato strings of “Heart of Gold“ and “Lullaby,” these new songs will help set the tone for the quiet moments of each day. Parental and sibling love shines through in songs like “What the Stork Sent,” “All for You,” “Polar Bear” and “Easier To Do.” Van Morrison’s influence is strong in “A Wild One,” sung from the perspective of a child who’s about to be tucked in for the night. This song is just one more example of why Entertainment Weekly lauds Roberts as “a master of conjuring up images that resonate with the young ones.”
Justin Roberts is a star of the indie family music scene. This Chicago based artist logs thousands of miles on the road each year while performing hundreds of concerts around North America. With numerous national awards (including six Parents’ Choice Gold awards), critical recognition from the likes of the New York Times, People and Time magazines, plus a devoted fan base, Justin and The Not Ready for Naptime Players dish out intelligent and whimsically rocking music for kids and their parents. Roberts won a GRAMMY nomination for his 2010 release Jungle Gym,and he’s recently authored a new picture book for children, to be published in 2013. Currently, he’s writing and recording songs for his next release, Recess, also due out in 2013.
Lullaby was released nationally on November 19, 2012 (Carpet Square Records, distributed by MRI/Sony Music, $14.98 SRP).
Here's a rockin' video for your Punk Kin! Punkin' Patch by Andy Z Here at ChiIL Mama, Halloween is one of our all time fav holidays. And to celebrate we've got treats for YOU....No tricks. Enter here through midnight 10/23 for your chance to win. We'll announce our big winner on our next Winning Wednesday. One of our lucky readers will get:
*The Grand Scream of Things--Kindie Halloween CD by Andy Z ($13.00) *Ghost Hunters book-The Haunted House by Jason Mark ($8.99) *2 Disney Trick or Treat Bags--Woody and Cinderella ($10.50 each)
*Thanks to Disney, Jason Mark and Andy Z for providing prizes for our give aways and/or review copies. All product opinions are our own. Enter right here for your chance to win it all. Then check below for ChiIL Mama's reviews and details on these rockin' Halloween treats.
A New Release by Multiple-Award Winning Kindie Artist Andy Z
We gave you the scoop back when this sweet CD came out, but now you can win one of your own. Our friend and Kidzapalooza host, Tor Hyams, produced it, and more kindie rockin' artist friends of ours like Paula Messner from Candy Band were on guest vocals. Super sweet!
Click the links here for our original interviews, live footage and still shots of Tor and Paula in action:
There is a plethora of high quality kindie music coming out now, but it still skews young, with the swing set set getting the bulk of the attention. Many top kindie artists are still aiming low, at the birth to 8 year olds, tops. We're super stoked to see Andy z aging it up a bit and catering to the underserved tweens with a target audience of 8-12 year olds. I happen to have 9 & 11 year olds at home and they both dug this tasty 23 track treat as much as I did. Is there a Hallowtween party in your near future? This would make an excellent sound track!
Rockin' tunes alternate with goofy and spooky stories complete with sound effects like old time radio shows. We share our lives and home with two big dogs, so we particularly dug the tune, When You're a Dog, with it's jazzed up rock riffs and bad dog jokes, and the fact that Andy's dog, Reggie the sidekick, plays a major role throughout. We also got a kick out of the Jazz scat lesson in Pleadia.
Here's the official low down:
Andy has teamed up with Grammy-nominated producerTor Hyams to record his fifth studio album, a Halloween-themed audio play titled “The Grand Scream Of Things” newly released September 25th, 2012.
This ambitious project is driven by Andy’s quest to bring a new vista to the landscape of music for the 8 to 12 year old set. and features guest vocals by contemporaries Paula Messner (Candy Band) and RhymeZwell.
The top-notch instrumentalists heard on The Grand Scream Of Things include Greg Ellis (drums and percussion) and Geoff Pearlman (guitar, bass).
Also contributing to the project are San Francisco based Michael Olmos (trumpet), Bobby Strickland (saxophones), and Michael Rinta (trombone), who, collectively, have played with everyone from Santana, The Grateful Dead, Sly & The Family Stone and Todd Rundgren to Etta James, Herbie Hancock and Taj Mahal.
Want your own copy or more info? Check out Andy's main site here.
We recently got to check out a copy of Ghost Hunters Book One, The Haunted House. The publisher sent us one to review and one for our readers. As a father of 4, author Jason Mark knows what fascinates and what scares young kids without being too over the top. Ghost Hunters is well written and not too scary for elementary kids ready for short chapter books. We love that the spiders are the good guys and spiders in the bedroom in particular are a great sign and protect humans from ghosts. This story's fresh and unique in that ghosts can morph into woodland fairies, and kids can be brave and save the day. It's a good read any time of year but particularly fun right before Halloween. Check it out. This popular on line book can be uploaded for a quick and entertaining read on the run, or read aloud as a family to younger kids. It's just recently available as a small paper back, just the right size for young hands. Ghost Hunters: New Children’s Storybook Offers Practical Tips for Young Ghost-Busters Everywhere.
Putting a ghoulish new spin on popular beliefs surrounding the existence of ghosts, Jason Mark’s latest children’s book boasts a compelling story; with plenty of tips for busting any ghosts that may be hiding in the reader’s house.
What you get if you mix two brave children, a pet spider, the eccentric Uncle Goo and a Ghost? A ghoulishly good children’s storybook from writer Jason Mark!
Ghost Hunters: The Haunted House, is a fun and light-hearted children’s book that is poised to take this year’s Halloween spirit by storm. Fusing an engaging story with tips that children can use to rid their house of any hiding haunts, thousands of readers have immersed themselves into the book and into an adventure that they’ll never forget.
Following a mysterious visit by two men posing as Government Agents, Sam and Dylan are convinced a ghost is sharing their house. When their Mom also begins to share their fears, Uncle Goo (the family ghost expert) is called in to help.
Confirming their suspicions, Uncle Goo makes it clear that ghosts are not the spirits of the dead, but in fact entities that will eventually become bad people. However, after explaining that spiders spin their webs to protect people from ghosts, it becomes apparent that Sam’s pet arachnid is the family’s only hope of staying safe.
As the ghost wreaks havoc upon their home, two mysterious ghost hunters are enlisted to help out. Just as hope arrives, the ghost locks the adults in the attic – leaving Sam and Dylan to free their parents, help the ghost and ultimately save the day.
“I wrote the book to dispel the fear that a lot of children attach to ghosts,” says Mark, who owns a successful web design and development firm.
He continues, “It puts the power into readers’ hands, chock-full of tips and strategies that kids can use to rid their house of any ghosts who may be lurking where they least expect it.”
With over twenty thousand downloads since its publication, Ghost Hunters has proven to be immensely popular among children and their parents. In fact, the book has garnered consistent five-star reviews.
“Excellent book for young readers! A must have for a child learning to read! A very engaging, fun, and interesting story to read to your kids, or for them read on their own!” says Erik Stone, who reviewed the book on Amazon.com.
Another reader, Kay, was equally as impressed.
“It is a fun ghost-themed story with a little bit of danger, but not too much! As an adult, I found it was well written and enjoyed reading it. The pictures are great too! I highly recommend it.”
The book also sheds light on the adoption community and issues of mixed race families.
“One of the children is African American and adopted, with the other a Caucasian child that was born naturally into the family. It provides positive role models for children in mixed-race and other non-traditional families,” Mark adds.
In short, children and their parents are in for a dose of horror, a dose of triumph and a huge dose of fun.
Ghost Hunters: The Haunted House, published by Jason Mark, is available in electronic format from Amazon and iBookstore, as well in print from Lulu.
Jason has written and collaborated on a handful of children's books (both for himself and clients). He has also created ePub books, some of which are currently available in Apple's iBookstore.
Always passionate about teaching, Jason was one of the first dozen professors of web design in the country and has taught at Marlboro College and the University of Massachusetts. He writes for the popular Smashing Magazine and Six Revisions blogs, and speaks across New England on web and mobile design and usability.
Twice a day you can see Jason on the bike path between his Northampton office and his Florence home—even in winter.
Cinderella--out on Blu-ray™Diamond Edition This sweet treat bag is in demand this year. They're sold out all over the place and the last remaining 5 are hiked up to $34.51 on Amazon. ChiIL Out! ChiIL Mama has one for one of our lucky readers for FREE.
Boy Oh Boy--Woody's Fun The Toy Story series is one of our favs. The movies were fantastic and a fun trip down vintage toy lane for parents. Get your lil' cowboy, Jessie or Buzz Lightyear this colorful bag to compliment any Toy Story themed costume this halloween or win one right here.
Our fav is the Brave bears bag. How cute is that!! It features the faces of all THREE bear cubs on 3 sides of the bag!
We also dig Disney's line of hoodies and of course just about anything Nightmare Before Christmas. Disney has a dark side, too.
Where's Perry? Right there trick or treating your street! We can't get enough of Phineas and Ferb. The show is creative, well written and hilarious. These Disney hoodies are simple and effective costumes that will still be favs long after Halloween. I'm thinkin' about getting one myself if they have an xl! Now to master that platypus purr.
Think you're too cool for costumes? Then you haven't seen this Pirates of the Caribbean hoodie. Every day is halloween.
DISNEY STORE CELEBRATES HALLOWEEN WITH SPOOK-TACULAR COSTUMES FOR ALL AGES FROM CINDERELLA, BRAVE, THE AVENGERS, DISNEY FAIRIESAND MORE
This year, Disney Store is putting the ‘treat’ in ‘trick or treat’ this Halloween with a collection of best-selling costumes for every age. The new costume collections are inspired by Disney and Marvel’s most popular 2012 film releases including the Cinderella Diamond Edition on Blu-ray™, Marvel’sThe Avengers, Disney∙Pixar’s Brave and the highly anticipated October 23rd release of Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings on Blu-ray™. All costumes are designed and sold exclusively at Disney Store locations nationwide and at DisneyStore.com, where guests will find a comprehensive assortment of Disney and Marvel costumes with all the storytelling details they love. Parents will appreciate the high-quality costumes, and kids will want to wear them at Halloween and for roleplay fun all year long.
Disney Princess and pirates costumes continue to top the National Retail Federation’s list of favorites each Halloween. “This October, Marvel Super Heroes TheAvengers are trending as favorites for boys and we anticipate our new Cinderella-inspired costume collection to be a top seller, as a new generation is introduced to the classic princess through the Blu-ray™Diamond Edition release of the film,” said Molly Adams, executive vice president, product development of Disney Store. “Parents can trust that a Disney Store costume will be made of high-quality materials lasting well beyond Halloween.”
A look at Disney Store’s most popular costumes and accessories:
Girls can turn to Disney Store this Halloween to transform into their favorite Disney Princess, Disney heroine, or Disney Fairies character.
·Cinderella sweeps girls off their feet this Halloween with three special costume collections: original Cinderella, Deluxe Wedding Cinderella and Limited Edition Cinderella (at select Disney Store locations and DisneyStore.com). All Disney Princess costumes feature story-telling trim on their skirts, with shimmering glitter accents and intricate details.
·The Hero and Games Merida gown collections from Brave make their debut this year, while two versions of Rapunzel costumes from Tangled are also in the assortment, including Rapunzel’s classic purple dress and her elegant wedding gown.
·Tinker Bell Costume Collection includes special light-up wings and wand, so little fairies can glow in the dark during trick-or-treating.
·Also available are popular favorites including Jessie from Toy Story, classic Minnie Mouse or Alice from Alice in Wonderland costumes.
Boys can save the world dressed as a Marvel Super Hero, in one of four of The Avengers costumes at Disney Store: Captain America, Thor, The Hulk and Iron Man.
With the opening of the new Disney Baby Store and online boutique, more infant and baby styles mean more choices for parents. For cute comfort, a Minnie Mouse or Mickey Mouse Cuddly Bodysuit is an easy choice, while Disney Princess fashions from Cinderella and Snow White to Rapunzel will transform your little princess into an adorable miniature version of the beloved beauties.
Guests can find miniature costumes of Disney Channel’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates characters, Jake and Izzy. The Izzy Costume features all the pirate essentials for your little explorer, including top, pants, boot covers, head scarf with wig and pixie dust pouch with toy gold doubloons, while Jake will have young buccaneers wearing a top, pants, wig and bandana.
For moms wanting to get in the Halloween spirit, the Disney Villains Designer Collection offers wicked fun. Tee shirts, lip gloss, nail polish, and jewelry in favorite evil styles such asSleeping Beauty’s Maleficent and Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations, allow moms to have a villainous good time while looking amazing.
DisneyStore.com has fun costumes for adults that easily allow parents to coordinate with their kids. New for 2012, Marvel’sTheAvengers Black Widow costume for women and the Spider-Man costume for men are already top sellers.
The Disney Store retail chain, which debuted in 1987, is owned and operated by Disney in North America, Europe, and Japan. Disney Store is the retail merchandising arm of Disney Consumer Products, the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and its affiliates that extends the Disney brand to merchandise. Disney Store carries high-quality products, including exclusive product lines that support and promote Disney's key entertainment initiatives and characters. Disney Store opened its first store in Glendale, California and, in doing so, originated the themed retail business model. There are currently more than 200 Disney Store locations in North America; more than 40 Disney Store locations in Japan; and more than 100 Disney Store locations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom , plus online stores www.DisneyStore.com,www.disneystore.co.uk, www.disneystore.fr and www.disneystore.de. Each Disney Store location offers a magical shopping experience that can only be delivered by Disney, one of the world's largest and most successful entertainment companies. For more information, please visit www.disneyconsumerproducts.com/press/us/disneystore or follow us at www.facebook.com/DisneyStore and www.twitter.com/DisneyStore.
One of our all time favorites in the kindie music scene is back! Gustafer Yellowgold, alien from the sun, returns with Year in the Day, a romp through the seasons and holidays. Year in the Day is laugh out loud, absurdest funny, endearing and catchy. Morgan
Taylor has created what's sure to be a holiday classic, year round.
He's done it again, with his hit making wit and catchy riffs.
There
are an overabundance of animated Christmas specials, and the market's
even become flooded with Halloween, Easter and Valentine specials. But
this one's truly special. Year
in the Day is unique in that it covers all the simple joys and
childlike wonder and excitement of everything from dying eggs, and
watching fireworks, to celebrating Midsummer, werewolves and shadows!
Taylor's lyrics are quirky, irreverent and insightful, with lines like "My mind is addled by how my shadow knows I'm going out in the sunshine." Pancake Smackdown is our ultimate fav.
It's just plain silly fun, where animals get blindsided by flying
shaped pancakes. "Nobody's ready for a pancake smackdown." Owls are
unseated and tummies are left rumbling for pancakes shaped like floating
Gustafer heads. Highly recommended for ages 4 and up and up and up.
My 11 year old son and I watched this one together and both adored it!
This
release again comes in a sweet set that includes a DVD with animation
to all the songs, and a CD, for those audio only occasions. Here's a recap of the reviews and official release details below.
GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S YEAR IN THE DAY An Out-of-this-Stratosphere Experience! Now out on DVD
Starring That Little Guy from the Sun, Gustafer Yellowgold
“Star of Kindie Rock” – Time Magazine
“…the most infectious original songs. It’s like tapping into some pleasure center in the brain – both adult and kid...absurdly appealing – Grade A” - Entertainment Weekly
“The show is a cross between ‘Yellow Submarine’ and Dr. Seuss.” - The New York Times
“Endearing, intelligent, and slightly subversive.” - Variety Groovy Gustafer Yellowgold came from the Sun and landed in Minnesota. His humorous adventures burst forth in hand-drawn music videos from cartoonist/songwriter/performer Morgan Taylor.
Taylor developed the award-winning, multimedia Gustafer Yellowgold experience as equal parts pop rock concert and hand drawn cartoon movie.
In the new DVD/CD package, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Year In The Day, we find former Sun-resident Gustafer Yellowgold experiencing his own, unique take on a year’s worth of Earth holidays, both classic and unusual. Groundhog Day, Pancake Day/Fat Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and many more receive the one-of-a-kind Gustafer blend of blissful pop-music, lyrical poignancy, and cartoon absurdity.
Featuring top-tier guest musicians such as John Munson (Semisonic and late ‘80s cult favorite Trip Shakespeare,) Robert DiPietro (Norah Jones) and Robert Jost (Bjork, SNL, Sesame Street), Gustafer Yellowgold’s Year In The Day is the first Gustafer Yellowgold DVD/CD package to feature a focused theme throughout, unfolding in graphic novel fashion with eleven thought provoking, melodic, soft-rock music videos ranging from sublime alt-pop to gentle acoustic.
The Los Angeles Times enthused, "Taylor’s whimsical, lightly psychedelic world forms an interesting bridge between adult and kids’ music.” The Washington Post declared, “He’s a star on stage and screen! … The mix of catchy tunes and offbeat stories has endeared Taylor, and Gustafer, to teenagers as well.” The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Gustafer Yellowgold has made kids’ music so cool that teenagers and ultra-hip bands such as Wilco want to get in on the act … a shiny blend of pop art and pop tunes.” New York Magazine named Morgan Taylor “Best Kids’ Performer,” calling Taylor “the most original performer on the family-music scene today.” Two Gustafer Yellowgold songs have reached #1 on Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live kids’ music channel.
NOT JUST FOR KIDS! Gustafer Yellowgold’s Show has been the wild-card opening act for bands like Wilco and The Polyphonic Spree.
The award-winning series of Gustafer Yellowgold DVD/CD packages includes Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wide Wild World, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Have You Never Been Yellow? (both released in 2007), Gustafer Yellowgold’s Mellow Fever (2009), and Gustafer Yellowgold’s Infinity Sock (2011).
GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S YEAR IN THE DAY For ages 4 and up. Label: Apple-Eye Productions SRP: $19.99 Run time: 2 hours, total content
GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S SHOW--REMAINING SPRING TOUR DATES 2012 April 14 — Jammin’ Java, Vienna, VA April 15 — Shepherdstown Opera House, Shepherdstown, WV April 21 — The Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA April 22 — SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME April 29 — Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington, NY May 11 — Kansas City Central Library, Kansas City, MO May 12 — Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO May 19 — Good Records, Dallas, TX
The Bari Koral Family Rock Band Just Released Their Sophomore CD
“Anna And The Cupcakes” A Tasty Selection of Songs for Children and Families February 14 .
ChiIL Mama was excited to hear Bari Koral's 2nd CD, is every bit as engaging as Rock and Roll Garden. We especially enjoyed the timely Dragon Comes to Dinner, for the Chinese year of the Dragon. Bari Koral's infectious charm and joy in childhood pleasures comes shining through every note of Anna and the Cupcakes. It was a joy to hear her kidalicious, upbeat take on The Avett Brothers' Kick Drum Heart. Love the Avett Brothers? Check out our original photo pit shots of their set at Summer Camp Music Festival 2011 here.
Sure, the usual kindie themes are represented here-with Train Song, Rocket Ship and Butterfly. However, Koral embraces the sweet silliness of childhood through more unique themes too, including songs celebrating shoes and little cupcake thief's with big imaginations. The album's namesake song follows the misadventures of Anna, a cupcake loving child with a host of hungry imaginary friends and a stack of disappearing treats. This CD is a sweet treat that will last a bit longer than Anna's cupcakes and won't cause any tummy aches.
The CD cover is a bit odd, with a cartoon monkey, an Alice in Wonderlandesque Koral sipping tea, and a tree stump full of cupcakes....but don't judge a disc by it's cover. Preschoolers and early elementary agers are going to adore this one.
This continues ChiIL Mama's weird February of coincidences, as we've now reviewed the latest creative endeavors of both Bari Koral and Barrie Cole, reviewed 2 Houdini plays, interviewed Mark Messing 2 times, and saw 2 different plays he wrote the score for open within 2 days of each other.
Anna and the Cupcakes
Bari Koral's 10-song collection of indelible melodies that range stylistically from sprightly roots pop-rockers to infectious blues to country-tinged kickers is the follow up to the group’s first full-length CD, Rock and Roll Garden, which became a hit on the family-music scene, won critical acclaim, and became an award winner, including the Nappa Gold and Parent’s Choice silver. In the past, ChiIL Mama gave away Rock and Roll Garden to some of our lucky readers, and this year we have FOUR copies of Anna and the Cupcakes to give away right here. We also have 3 of Little Miss Ann's latest and more Suzi Shelton, too, but we'll start with one of each. You can earn extra entries by spreading the word, so FB, Tweet and tell your friends. Then check in with ChiIL Mama and enter like we vote in Chi, IL....early and often. Entries accepted nationwide!
Enter at the bottom of this post for your chance to win ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Kindie Collection featuring Suzi Shelton, Bari Koral, & Little Miss Ann!! This amazing set of 4 CDs and a DVD, includes 3 of the best women rockin' out for little kids today. One lucky reader will be sent:
Anna and the Cupcakes-Bari Koral's brand new CD-just released 2/14/12
Walk With Me-Little Miss Ann's new CD-released 1-15-12
Suzi Shelton's: No Ordinary Day, Music for Kids, and DVD Suzi Shelton LIVE at Southpaw!!
All month we'll be featuring original video interviews, original live show clips, and reviews of all 3 women's work, culminating in our big give away March 15th. First up, we're featuring Bari Koral's greatly anticipated 2nd CD. Then we'll have our original video interview with Suzi Shelton and her son and a bunch more of ChiIL Mama's live show clips from Suzi Shelton & Little Miss Ann performing live, together with their children, at Beat Kitchen in Chicago.
More About Anna and the Cupcakes The Bari Koral Family Rock Band, the New York-based band who have emerged as one of today’s top children’s musical performers just released their sophomore album, Anna and the Cupcakes.
The band is led by Bari Koral, an acoustic guitarist, and singer/songwriter who has firmly established herself in the rich tradition of children’s music, while uniquely exhibiting a deep emotional and fun-loving connection with her audience thanks to infectious songs, entertaining themes and driving upbeats.
Koral and the band have hit the road to perform the Anna and the Cupcakes songs, as well as such old favorites from Rock and Roll Garden like “Backpack” and “Hey Ducky.”
Tour Itinerary Is As Follows: Feb 12 Caspary Auditorium at Rockefeller University, New York, NY Feb 20 The Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD-Discover Strathmore Free Open House: Duke Ellington (Celebrating American Composers) Feb 21-22 Long Island Children’s Museum, Garden City, NY
March 4 92Y Tribeca, New York, NY March 10 World Café Live @the Queen, Wilmington, DE
****Bari Koral will also be in the Chicago area at
Wonder USA 250 South Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, IL, 224-330-6400
(date and details TBA)
More dates to be announced.
On Anna and the Cupcakes, Koral serves up a tasty selection of songs, including title track about disappearing cupcakes, a scampering gingerbread man, (“Gingerbread Man”), a cocoon turning into a butterfly, (“Butterfly”), a zooming rocket ship (“Rocket Ship”), a speeding train (“Train Song”), and the poppy/happy cover of the folk-rock band the Avett Brothers’ “Kick Drum Heart,” among others. In addition to Koral, the Bari Koral Family Rock Band features support from jazz keyboardist Dred Scott who plays bass, piano and keyboards and also produced the album, guitarist John Bertsche and acclaimed pop and Broadway drummer Eric Halvorson. The album was mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Dan Myers (Brady Rymer, Laurie Berkner).
For More Information about the Bari Koral Family Rock Band Please Visit her main web site. Or check her out on Facebook. Anna and the Cupcakes is available now on CD Baby and Amazon.com.
Enter Here for your chance to win ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Kindie Collection--$62 value (enter through midnight 3/14)
*Wait for Rafflecopter to load up right here (if you've gone through RSS feed or are scrolling down the blog and don't see it, click on the actual page title and it should pop right up).Entries are easy. Winning rocks!
Let's Go! is the much anticipated, 13 track, new release by The Boogers. They're one of our favs at ChiIL Mama. These guys are 80's punk rockers from back in the day, who played a string of dive bars for the 21+ crowd until they became parents themselves. Then they turned their creativity and energy toward playing gigs that didn't require paying a $10 an hour sitter, for 6 hours, to go play an $8 punk show.
Like my husband said about parenting, in one of my all time favorite quotes, "I never really knew what anarchy was, until the kids jumped on my head!" The Boogers are taking their newly won punk AND parent cred to the streets and declaring PLAY(reasonably) LOUD.
This hard rocking CD is aged up considerably from their first release, Road to Rock, which was fun, too, but more focused on adding punk speed and riffs to traditional kids songs. Let's Go! has many more originals and is straight up punk rock, that older kids won't outgrow fast. They even managed to get a forward by Monte Melnick, Ramones Tour Manager (1974-1996) and author of "On The Road with the Ramones". This CD also features sweet art work by punk underground artist, John Holmstrom., who has done art for The Ramones and a number of punk bands. Let's Go! is undoubtedly one of my favorite kids' discs of 2010.
One of the best tracks is Baseball Bat. The Boogers have taken The Ramones, Beat on the Brat and replaced the lyrics with an innocent, t-ball themed, kid friendly alternative. I had the kids who grew up on the original and belted out "....beat on the brat with a baseball bat....oh yeah....oh yeah....oh oh.." at the most inopportune moments. The Boogers have retooled a fun alternative, with all the catchy hooks of the original, that won't earn you a visit from DCFS.
There are still a few kids' classics like London Bridge, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, and Pop Goes The Weasel, but they're fast, fun and mosh pit worthy. Two of my favorite originals are Eat Your Vegetables part one and two. Along with the title track, Let's Go!, you will find these songs seeping into your daily repertoire and coming out of your mouth. Somehow directives are much more fun when sung, and there's nothing like snarling out Boogers lyrics to encourage healthy eating and herd the hordes out the door. You'll feel less stressed and get results.
For ChiIL Mama's exclusive video interview about Let's Go! with The Boogers click HERE.
In the interest of full disclosure, though, I do have to say my snarky punk daughter (7) does not like The Boogers and won't even give Let's Go! a chance. She's presently living, eating and breathing Queen. Kids are fickle creatures, and two months from now it may be her favorite. Even The Boogers admitted in our interview, that the heavier edged stuff on the new album took their own kids a while to get used to. Other kids jump right in and love it.
My husband and I both enjoy The Boogers, especially their live shows, which we saw several of as a family. Big brother, Du-Jay (9), likes some of their new tunes, but mostly sides with his sister. Both kids adamantly refused to go in December when we had 4 tickets to their Subterranean show. This put us in the amusingly awkward position where both adults wanted to see them and we were almost back to that $10 sitter, so we could go see a freakin' "kid's show"! Ultimately my husband bit the bullet and stayed home with the kids and I went to cover their show solo.
I've been trying to figure out Sagezilla's hostility. The Boogers certainly elicit strong emotions in her.
It seems like this would be a natural love. She devours 80's punk, loves The Ramones and claims The Dead Milkmen as her 2nd favorite band after Queen. However, she was just brutal when I asked her opinion on the new CD. She said, "The Boogers are NOT The Ramones for kids. The Ramones are The Ramones for kids."
We always review CDs together, as a family. They're kids after all, the resident experts, so I do factor in their responses and opinions when we review kids' music. So, I'm not going to gloss over the negative. In fact, I put off our "official review" for months, hoping we'd reach a little more consensus, because there was such a split in our opinion of Let's Go!. We've finally just agreed to disagree.
But hey........punk is all about individuality and being true to yourself. Don't tell me what to like. Come on out to see them live (bring earplugs for the littles), and form your own opinion. The over 10 set in our family thinks The Boogers rock!
