Cool Music News from Our Clients
an irregularly updated newsletter from Sugar Mountain PR
an irregularly updated newsletter from Sugar Mountain PR
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| Cool Music for Kids News: Go Back To School (Not So Seriously) www.sugarmountainpr.com There’s no question that music can improve your mood. There’s even a chemical reaction that launches inside your brain when you listen to your favorites. So, one prescription for back to school time, one of the most stressful seasons of the year for families, is to listen to music repeatedly. It's a great way to soothe nerves, connect to your kids and bring everyone back into focus. Just take a look at these parents and kids grooving to the music at a recent Baby Loves Disco party, to see what I mean. Luckily for all of us, the family music genre is in full flower, with releases coming this fall in all kinds of musical styles. Here’s what we’re excited about for this fall: The Jimmies – Practically Ridiculous (September 20) – Forget trying to cram the ABCs and 123s into your child’s brain before the first day of school. Lighten up and enjoy the silly side of life with Ashley Albert’s zany songs. Free- form hilarity abounds here, from the dance track “Minivan Hotrod,” to the full orchestra swing of “Fine Art”, the country-fried rock of “Bonfire” and the reggae-inflected “Career Day” to the anthemic finale “Kids Wanna Rock.” NYC families will want to mark their calendars for The Jimmies’ CD World Record Release party on September 17th. Kids will help string the world’s longest macaroni necklace, sit for a toothless family portrait, and pet several hamsters... and tickets are just five bucks! You may count on The Secret Mountain for gorgeously produced music and illustrations in their book-and-CD sets. In September, the Montreal-based publisher will release Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important, Trout Fishing in America’s sequel to the award-winning My Name Is Chicken Joe. The story, based on real people and animals in Ezra and Keith's lives, is brought to life with 11 original songs. Trout appears with other Secret Mountain artists at a FREE showcase performance on September 24th at Symphony Space www.symphonyspace. org/genre/family in NYC. In October, The Secret Mountain will release Songs from the Baobob: African Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes, a haunting collection of 29 tracks meant to soothe babies to sleep. Mothers and their children sing these pieces in 11 languages, representing the rich cultures of 10 countries from the coasts of Senegal and Mali to the savannahs and forests of Rwanda and the Republic of the Congo. Also in October, the acclaimed Boston based folk artist Alastair Moock will present his second family music record, These Are My Friends. The multi-talented Mr. Moock gathered a host of musical friends to help out on this CD, and he has several concerts planned for the fall. Get a sample of Alastair’s wit and whimsy from his fractured nursery rhyme song “CBAs and a Twinkle Baa” on YouTube. Another October release is Music Play for Kids of All Stripes, a new CD and DVD combo from Chicago-based early childhood specialist and banjo-playing songwriter Jim Gill. This rock star among preschool teachers and children's librarians is most excited by the possibilities for play on this recording. Jim's unique blend of word play and rhyme inspires parents and kids to enjoy physical movement and active expression. Clap-alongs, finger plays, pretend games and imaginative dances round out the fun of this new release. Putumayo Kids launches the World Culture Collection sticker and coloring books focusing on Africa, Europe and Latin America. With the hardbound Sticker Collection books, children can build sticker stories on the fold-out landscape, explore countries on the full-color map and check the glossary to learn more about each country. These books are the perfect way for kids to interact with Putumayo's collection of kid-friendly international music. Coming up later this fall are exceptional new family music releases from The Ohmies,The Deedle Deedle Dees, Randy Kaplan and Laura Veirs. We're always amazed at the mass of talent displayed by family music artists each fall. Clearly, the genre continues to explode. Enjoy these fleeting dog days of August and stay tuned for more fall release news next month. Beth Beth Blenz-Clucas, Sugar Mountain PR Tweets! at BethBC PS: Have you noticed our “2 Tunes 2 Ways” blog posts at BunchFamily? |
| Cool Music for Kids News: Fall into Sing-Alongs, Music Play and Some Very Sweet Tunes Fall is upon us, and it's a busy musical season ahead. As the winds howl and the rain pelts down, it's time to head indoors for a family hootenanny. There's no better guide to sing-alongs this fall than Alastair Moock. This rootsy Boston artist's second family music record, These Are My Friends comes out next week. This collection of warm new songs just won a NAPPA Gold Award, and it's getting great reviews all over the place. The multi-talented Mr. Moock gathered a host of musical friends (Mark Erelli, Lori McKenna, Anand Nayak, Vanessa Trien and Rani Arbo to name a few) for this release. If you watch Alastair in action on his new "These Are My Friends" video, you'll realize that this musical father of two surely knows how to enjoy his kids. Indoor play can seem freewheeling and aimless, but it is actually essential to a kid's development. After all, play is a child's business. Chicago-based early childhood specialist and banjo-playing songwriter Jim Gill is a wizard at blending music, lyrics and playful activities for kids and parents to share. These songs and activities are not only fun, they'll enhance a young child's verbal and motor skills. Jim's forthcoming CD/DVD set Music Play for Kids of All Stripes offers several new songs and music videos designed to open the possibilities for play, physical movement and active expression. Clap-alongs, finger plays, pretend games and imaginative dances round out the fun of this new release. Jim has dozens of free concerts planned for the fall and winter. By now, kids are firmly back to their books and pencils. The elementary school aged curriculum often focuses on the heroes of history. The Deedle Deedle Dees, an educational rock band from Brooklyn, NY, are about to release a new CD Strange Dees, Indeed. Each catchy piece is based upon something from history, science and folklore, and the Dees offer a fresh perspective even on the most familiar people and places. Dees band leader Lloyd Miller (aka Ulysses S. Dee) performs hundreds of workshops and sing-alongs in schools around NYC and the Northeast. His enthusiasm for history and folklore excites even the most reluctant learners to discover more about people like Cool Papa Bell, Abigail Adams, Sacagawea and Henry Hudson, not to mention Mayor LaGuardia's big belly. Meanwhile, Chip Taylor, the songwriter known for such hits as "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning" (not to mention being Jon Voight's brother) brings his family into the act with Golden Kids Rules (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings). Highlighting the idea that a child has a unique and special perspective in the world, this album melds the husky, time-worn vocals and the musical instincts of a seasoned performer with the charming artistry of his three young grandchildren. It'll be available on October 18th. Watch for the cover story in Grand magazine in November. Cool nights call for soft songs, and the new Songs from the Baobob: African Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from The Secret Mountain will waft you away to a comforting and quiet place. The haunting pieces are performed in 10 languages from mothers and children from various countries and cultures of Africa. The colorfully illustrated book features the CD insert, a map, and translations of each lullabye and rhyme. It's entrancing and significant. We're very excited, too, about the November release of Portland-based artist Laura Veirs' first family music CD, Tumble Bee. The recording covers a wide range of folk songs, from early 20th century work songs to the ballads of Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Peggy Seeger and Harry Belafonte. Guest artists include Colin Meloy (Decemberists), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Bela Fleck and Brian Blade (drummer for Bob Dylan) among many others. As Smithsonian Folkways recording artist Elizabeth Mitchell says, "This is a luminous, smart, essential and truly extraordinary album." I think you'll agree that the cover art by Carson Ellis makes purchasing the full CD a wise investment. |
| Cool Music for Kids News: Holiday 2011 Award Winning Music Makes a Great Gift Ah, it's that time of year again, that magical time when you spy a look of utter panic on a parent's face. As always, music is the perfect way to soothe holiday jitters. A colorful CD is the best stocking stuffer or highly prized gift wiith lasting value. Believe it or not, the CD is not dead in the family music arena, particularly when you consider at the artful, kid-friendly packaging featured on so many of this year's award-winning titles. For soothing seasonal music, check out Putumayo's new Celtic Christmas, the latest in their beautifully packaged holiday CDs. And, for holiday hilarity that crosses cultures and musical genres, check out the inimitable Mama Said Nog You Out from The Jimmies. It's now available at all Barnes and Noble stores and their online shop. This year's Grammy nominees were announced today, and we'd like to congratulate all of the happy nominees in the Children's Album category. This was not an easy year for any of the artists on the ballot, because it was such a great year for family music and the fact that children's spoken word recordings were squashed back in with musical albums this year. The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be announced on Sunday, February 12th in Los Angeles. Other awards reflect the continued blossoming of excellent indie family music. We're proud to say that four of our clients were included in the "Best CDs of 2011" by the Fids and Kamily poll critics. Congratulations to Ashley Albert of The Jimmies, Brady Rymer and his band, Lloyd Miller of The Deedle Deedle Dees and Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band for their stellar 2011 releases. Alastair Moock, Ella Jenkins and Chip Taylor all received Honorable Mentions. What a great year! About 40 regional parenting magazines are running reviews of this year's NAPPA Gold Award winners. Congratulations go to Trout Fishing in America for their delightful Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important, and to the Secret Mountain's Spanish language book-CD set, Un Pato en Nueva York. Alastair Moock won a Gold award for These Are My Friends and Brady Rymer, Lucky Diaz and Ella Jenkins can all slap on gold stickers, as well. Several other parenting experts have picked their favorites from the year, including New York Family and Time Out New York Kids' picks, which included many of our clients' tunes, including Laura Veirs' new Tumble Bee and a reminder about Justin Roberts' classic 2011 Grammy nominated album Jungle Gym. New Sights and Sounds for Early 2012 We are proud to announce the launch of an ambitious new family entertainment company with two complementary branches: MyKaZoo TV and MyKaZoo Music. MyKaZoo TV, an always-on, kid-friendly channel featuring music videos from many of today's kindie stars, is in its testing phase and will launch in January. The new multi-platform music label MyKaZoo Music, created by accomplished industry execs Rick Dobbis and Richard Ellis in partnership with Universal Music, will debut with Nature Jams by Farmer Jason. The good farmer (known to parents as Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers) raked in an all-star list of guest artists to sing and perform with him on Nature Jams, including Steve Gorman of The Black Crowes, Mike Mills from REM, Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, Iris DeMent, Brandi Carlile, Hank Williams III and Tommy Ramone. Nature Jams includes 16 original songs and 4 music videos, plus a 20-page picture book, all designed to encourage kids to get outside and enjoy nature. Other top artists will sign with MyKaZoo Music in 2012. Coming in February are new releases by two pioneers of the independent children's music world: Katherine Dines and Bill Harley. Katherine has collected some of her fans' most-requested songs, plus a few previously unreleased songs, for Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta HITS, and Bill will release a new disc with a couple of songs and stories that will generate belly laughs as well as belly flops - High Dive and Other Things That Could Have Happened. As always, Harley manages to engage kids and send adults on a trip to their own past. Are these stories true? Bill says, “The more I tell them, the truer they get...” Putumayo Kids, which wins awards and kudos from all corners of the globe, will release an Instrumental Dreamland lullaby disc in February. Listening links will be coming soon. Their new World Culture Collection books have gotten raves from parents and kids alike. The Secret Mountain just launched a new iPad app collection adapted from their award-winning picture book-and- CD sets. The debut title is the classic A Duck in New York City by Connie Kaldor, and more apps will become available from the iTunes app store in early 2012. Best-selling indie folk songwriter Ellis Paul will release his second family music release, The Hero in You, this winter. His smart lyrics and engaging melodies help spotlight not only familiar heroes like Benjamin Franklin, Woody Guthrie and Rosa Parks, but also little-known but equally important people from history like Nellie Bly, Chief Joseph and Tee Tot. Just drop us a line if you'd like to review any of this new and forthcoming music. Beth Blenz-Clucas, Sugar Mountain PR beth@sugarmountainpr.com Tweets! at BethBC PS: Have you noticed our “2 Tunes 2 Ways” blog posts at BunchFamily? |