He Is We~CD Review

He Is We’s story is the sort of tale that should begin with “Once upon a time…” In the summer of 2008, Rachel Taylor and Trevor Kelly went to work at Ted Brown Music Tacoma, Washington. Both felt like outcasts and while the other employees sold flutes and guitars, Rachel and Trevor became fast friends, confiding in each other and realizing they both were musically inclined. Their first collaboration was a track called “Such a Beautiful Sound,” written at a friend’s house,” and the transition from music store co-workers to band mates was a natural next step.

The duo’s quirky songwriting began to get attention when they posted “Pardon Me” online. At first the track got five or six plays a day; later it got thousands. So Rachel and Trevor wrote more songs and the musical connection between the two was apparent from the start.

By 2010 it was time for those fans to have more music than a few online songs. He Is We spent much of the year recording the ten tracks for their debut album with several producers. First with Casey Bates (Chiodos, Gatsby’s American Dream) at his Seattle studio, then with Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, Eisley) at his. Later the band flew to New York to record some tracks with Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson, Jenny Owen Youngs) and laid down a few more with Shep Goodman and Aaron Accetta. Working with so many different producers created what the band feels is a sense of open-minded diversity on the record.

 
The final album, which was released digitally in November, is a delightfully eclectic collection of acoustic songs that shine with enthusiasm and passion. The album as a whole is lovely and inviting, easily accessible for any listener. The disc evolves that initial meeting in the music store to prancing pop songs that always leave you wanting more. “Making the album turned our little demos into exactly what we were hoping for,” Rachel says. “It made our little babies grow up into beautiful young songs.” This is where you’d expect the story to close with “Happily ever after.” But He Is We is just getting started. As Rachel says, “It’s only going to get better.”

This is a wonderful album, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. I even found myself humming some of the melodies later. I hope to hear more great albums from this group in the future!

Buy it here: My Forever is available on Amazon.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

Infinity Socks~CD Review

                               

Gustafer Yellowgold

Since his creation by Morgan Taylor in 2005, Gustafer Yellowgold has become an international phenomenon, acclaimed by The New York Times, which described Gustafer as "A cross between ‘Yellow Submarine’ and Dr. Seuss." Entertainment Weekly praised "…The most infectious original songs. It’s like tapping into some pleasure center in the brain- both adult and kid…absurdly appealing. Grade: A." New York Magazine named Morgan Taylor "Best Kids’ Performer" in a recent "Best of New York" issue. "Mint Green Bee" from Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wide Wild World was a Grand Prize Winner in the Children’s Category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

The award-winning Gustafer Yellowgold DVD/CD sets include Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wide Wild World, Gustafer Yellowgold’s ‘Have You Never Been Yellow?’ and Gustafer Yellowgold’s Mellow Fever. The highly anticipated fourth set, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Infinity Sock, will be released in March 2011.

                                

This is a really fun album with lots of upbeat songs that the kids loved. Some favorites were~

Sock of Ages

Infinity

Snake Proms

You can purchase Infinity Socks here.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

The Family Garden~CD Review

                    

Out in the yard there's a patch of dirt
        where the sun shines hard and the sprinklers squirt,
where me and my whole family love to go ....

The Family Garden leaps spryly from country to ragtime to rock.  The music is peppy and fun, featuring songs for all age groups, from the interactive "I'm Thinking of an Animal" for the preschool set to a tune for older kids titled "It's Close Enough," which pays tribute to all things ALMOST perfect. Parents will dig Billy’s cover of the B-52s’ classic "Rock Lobster” — high-spirited rock and roll played with wild abandon.  Molly Ledford from the band Lunch Money co-wrote and joins Billy in singing the sweetly sincere “We Could Be Pen Pals.”  There’s even a patriotic country song written for Billy’s dad. “That Old American Flag” is based on the true story of a father-and-son project, erecting a 25-foot flagpole outside Billy’s childhood home. Other highlights include “Coney Island Washboard (a ragtime tune dating back to the 1920s), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (a tribute to Billy’s favorite movie), and the album’s title track, an ode to the joys of digging in the dirt with the whole family. Particularly noteworthy is “The Invention of the Straw,” which Billy describes as “a real up-tempo number, chronicling the amazing, albeit factually inaccurate, story of the invention of the drinking straw. This is a truly strange song, even for me. It’s loaded with completely false information from beginning to end. This song asserts, among other things, that Nancy Reagan was Queen of England in 1997. Also, it has a good beat and you can dance to it.”

On January 1st, 2009  Billy Kelly made a New Year's resolution to record a CD of some of the songs he had written over the years for his two daughters. A few months later Thank You For Joining The Happy Club was released.  Much to Billy’s delight, the album was rapidly embraced by kids’ music bloggers, kids’ music radio programs, and, most importantly, by kids!  His song “People Really Like Milk” went to #1 on Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live chart, remaining on the chart for the better part of summer 2009, and scoring a glowing review on NPR’s All Things Considered. Thank You For Joining The Happy Club made the Time Out New York Kids and About.com/Children’s Music “Best Kids’ CDs of 2009” lists.  Common Sense Media praised the album’s “School-House-Rock feel that’s super fun … vast appeal for kids and adults alike.”  Warren Truitt of Kids’ Music That Rocks called the CD “a super set of indie rock songs for kids … Breezy, slyly humorous tunes … Super duper children’s music debut!”

I took this album along on the babysitting night too! It was another favorite for the kids and we had little ones from 2 years old to 8 years old. Some of their favorite songs were~

The Happy Happy Whistling Song

Scootdootdoodlydoo

I’m Thinking of An Animal

You can purchase this album here!

You can connect with Billy Kelly on Facebook.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

All I Want~CD Review

                      

NICK JR. ARTIST DAVID WEINSTONE’S
ALL I WANT!

NEW ‘MUSIC FOR AARDVARKS & OTHER MAMMALS’ CD
TO BE RELEASED IN MARCH

Multi-faceted independent children’s recording artist David Weinstone, whose music videos are seen daily on the Nick Jr. channel, announces the March 8th release of his newest Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals CD, All I Want! (Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals, $13.98, for ages 0 – 7, run time 41 minutes.) The highly anticipated disc is the first full-length album of new songs in three years from one of the most influential children’s songwriters of our time.

David Weinstone is a phenomenon.  A Berklee College of Music-trained ex-punk rocker, Weinstone literally changed the face of children’s music by introducing songs pertinent to lives of contemporary children – songs that weren’t about eensy weensy spiders, but about taxis, subways, bagels, and playdates.   Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals began in 1997 as an “alternative” music class for young children and their caregivers.  Demand was strong not only for the classes, but also for recordings of Weinstone’s original songs, so he began to produce albums, which sold like wildfire.  He eventually formed The Music for Aardvarks Band, started performing live shows, and, ultimately, came to the attention of Nick Jr.  David Weinstone’s music videos are now a steady presence on the Nick Jr. channel, and Music for Aardvarks classes are offered in locations throughout the U.S. and around the world.

This is a fun album to listen too. I took it when my daughter was helping out on a babysitting night. The little ones were dancing around and trying to learn the words. Some favorite songs were~

Dance Song

I Can Touch The Sky

Fishin’Song

You can purchase the All I Want album at Music For Aardvarks.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

Shabbat Shaboom~CD Review

As Seen on FOX-5’s ‘Good Day New York,’ NBC's ‘Weekend Today in New York,’ SHALOM TV, and E Channel's ‘The Soup’ …

The original songs and stories on Shabbat Shaboom transport listeners to a place where the album’s warmly sincere pop-rock title track happily melds with a Gloria Estefan-meets-Fiddler on the Roof conga line tune, "Challah-Day,” where the reggae-influenced “Mazel Tov” meets a disco ditty, “Sabbath Queen.”  Shabbat Shaboom touches on such aspects as lighting candles, being with family (mishpocha), celebrating bat mitzvahs, and even the “workout” that Mama Doni mischievously terms "synagoguersizing." 

I played this album for Sloan last night when she was doing her homework. When she got finished she went and got the album and replayed some songs that she really liked. Then she asked me if she could have it. So, I would say this album spans lots of ages, Sloan is almost 13 (end of next month, sniff) and I enjoyed it too!

Some of Sloan’s favorite songs are~

Shabbat Shaboom

A Grape Juice Break Dance

Jewish Cowgirl

The Coolest Friend I Ever Had Was A Chicken

You can purchase this album at MamaDoni.

You can connect with the Mama Doni Band on Facebook.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

Daddy A GoGo~Grandkid Rock~CD Review

                    

DADDY A GO GO SAYS:

WHO NEEDS KID ROCK WHEN YOU’VE GOT

‘GRANDKID ROCK’?

Why Grandkid Rock? John Boydston explains, “Grandparents are cool, beloved, and cherished, which is why on each of my CDs there are a couple of songs with shout-outs to them. I thought why not put some of those tunes together and share a little grandparental love? I even re-tracked the lyrics on ‘I Caught My Daddy Watching Cartoons,’ making the old guy even older yet.”

Multi-award-winning children’s rock and roll recording artist Daddy A Go Go, a.k.a. Atlanta stay-at-home dad John Boydston, enthusiastically announces the April 19 release of his eighth CD, Grandkid Rock (Boyd’s Tone Records, $11.99, run time 40 minutes, for ages 3 – 10).

A leading advocate for rock and roll in kids’ music, former CNN producer John Boydston has been “rocking out and raving on” for families since 1998.  The acclaim has been tremendous.  Five Daddy A Go Go CDs have made Amazon.com’s “Best of the Year” critics’ list.  Come on, Get Happy (The Best of Daddy A Go Go, Volume I) was included this past November on the AOL ParentDish “Top 25 Albums for Kids” list.   Monkey in the Middle and Mojo A Go Go were honored with the prestigious Parents’ Choice® Award.  The Washington Post credited Daddy A Go Go with helping change the face of kids’ music by moving “playroom tunes into the pop-rock era.”   Kids’ music authority Warren Truitt (About.com/Children’s Music) characterized Boydston’s albums as “full of puns, parental pop music winks, and headbanging riffs … John Boydston lets the jokes fly and the rock and roll thunder.”  Daily Candy Kids declared, “Not some watered-down musician for wee ones, Boydston isn’t afraid to shred some serious guitar riffs.”

This is such a fun album for kids! Here’s a few songs I really enjoyed~

Ants in My Pants

I Caught My Granddad Watching Cartoons

It’s Hard To Be A Kid

I shared this album with the kiddo’s I babysit and we were all singing along as we learned the words. We listened to it for several hours and the kids didn’t get tired of it!

You can purchase a copy here!

You can connect with Daddy A GoGo on these social media’s, Facebook and Twitter.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.