Well, on Friday night I was on NPR.
Then on Saturday I saw Gustafer Yellowgold in concert, something I helped put on.
And I just got back from being Justin Roberts' roadie. (Seriously, unloading and setting up, then taking down and loading, the sound system.)
It's been a blast, and a great weekend of family music -- pictures and video to come -- but I'd like to rest now. I probably didn't need to have all that beer last night, either, but it went great with all that Iranian food I ate.
Live in Phoenix: Justin Roberts (March 8, 2009)
I already told you what I'll be doing on March 7, but I mentioned I had something else to announce for the weekend.
It's going to be a busy weekend, because on Sunday, March 8, Justin Roberts will be coming to town for his first-ever Phoenix concert. Justin and the Not Ready for Naptime Players will be playing at Phoenix's Church of the Beatitudes at 2 PM that afternoon. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for kids, and just $30 for a family of four. The show is part of a kids series I'm coordinating for the church, which was kicked off by Randy Kaplan late last year.
Tickets are available at the door, or call the church office (602-264-1221) to purchase tickets in advance.
Tell one, tell all. (Tucson folks, he's playing the Rialto Theatre Saturday the 7th.)
Photo copyright Todd Rosenberg 2006. Used by permissionVideo: "Our Imaginary Rhino" (Live) - Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts Is Good For The Ears
... and he wants to make sure he stays that way.
I know it's been reported elsewhere, Justin will be performing at a press event in Chicago on Nov. 19th to kick off ASHA's "Listen To Your Buds" campaign targeted at getting kids to be concerned about hearing levels (turn down the iPod, hint hint). I wanted to take a listen to the podcast that he recorded for the American Speech-Hearing Language Association before figuring out if it's worth your time.
And it kinda is, at least once you get past the sort-of stilted first three or four minutes. After that, it settles down into a discussion of writing music for kids.
I found it ironic (or sad or apropos), though, that I thought the volume level for the podcast was waaay too low. I had to crank that volume way up.
An Open Letter to Residents of Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
So I've been getting newsletters from Elizabeth Mitchell on a regular basis talking about her late summer tour of the West Coast. I knew, therefore, that she was going to be singing with Renee & Jeremy earlier this month (Suni Paz in LA was a surprise) and Frances England and Charity Kahn this past weekend. I even knew (I think) that she was going to sing with Justin Roberts last month. (They sang the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning.")
What I didn't expect is that nobody was going to upload any video to the Internet. C'mon, people! I don't have one of those fancy iPhones or other cell phones with a camera in them, but somebody out there must've gone to the show with one in hand.
And now I hear that the lads from Recess Monkey are going to be joining Elizabeth on stage for their shows in Seattle this Saturday.
Seattle -- you can do it! Video! Video! Video! (Hey, I gave you, like, fiveRecess Monkey videos.)
(Note: Unless, of course, recording is expressly prohibited by the terms and conditions of the ticket entry. Then, er, forget I ever asked.)
All This, and Some Authors, Too
I don't typically mention single concerts around the country (unless, you know, I'm helping to put on the show), but occasionally a lineup stands out.
Like next weekend's Target Children's Book Festival in Bloomington, Minnesota. On Saturday, Sept. 13th, at Hyland Lake Park Reserve, the Festival's hosting a great lineup of kids musicians to enjoy for free. And, yeah, I guess since it's a book festival, there might be a few authors hanging around. Books, music, it's all good.
Set times for musicians (there are authors scattered in between there) are...
10:00 The Jimmies
11:25 Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players
1:10 Nick Jr.'s The Wonder Pets!
12:35 Lisa Loeb
1:55 The Jimmies
3:05 They Might Be Giants
4:25 Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players
