The kids music world was abuzz today with the news of a Time magazine article on kindie rock, which, though brief, gives shout-outs to Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Recess Monkey, and Justin Roberts. (There's an accompanying photo gallery with stock photos of a few more artists as well.)
I know that the original article was much longer (and I'm sure more insightful) but most of it got stripped away in the editing process so what's left is little more than another "did you know that people make music for kids?" article. (Again, not the fault of the author, who spent a lot of time talking to folks last week.) In the end, I wonder how much impact it'll really have on the genre.
So it's nice that Time was willing to put together the video clip below, filmed at Kindiefest and which focuses mostly on Roberts. Maybe the nicest thing of all? The shout-out Roberts gives to Ella Jenkins at the end of the piece.
Kindiefest 2010: Frances England
Of all the sets I was anticipating at Kindiefest this year, Frances England's was probably at the top of the list. Many of the others I'd seen (heck, I'd even booked Justin Roberts and Recess Monkey for shows myself), but Frances was not one of them, and despite my relative West Coast proximity, her comparative touring seclusion meant that my chances of doing so were not great.
Based on other, older YouTube clips of her live show, I'd wondered how England would fit in among the rockers on the showcase. How would those delicate songs translate live?
I'm stupid and need not have worried, of course, because they kicked butt live. England and her band turned "Busy as a Bee" from her debut Fascinating Creatures into a shuffling rocker that picked up momentum every time the quartet headed into the chorus. The other old songs had a similarly-beefed up sound, and the new songs from her fall release (we hope) tentatively titled Mind of My Own also sounded rambunctious and ragged in a good way, as if the little toddlers England once wrote for were getting comfortable in their own skin and exploring the world and getting into troubles of their own.
Oh, and the red hats the band whipped out for "Jacques Cousteau," another new track? Second only to Recess Monkey's silver pants in Kindiefest attire. (Pictures below.) So, yeah, I'm glad I made the trip.
Frances England - "Mind of My Own" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]
Two more songs (including another new one) and pictures after the jump...Kindiefest 2010: Justin Roberts and the Not Ready For Naptime Players
For the most part, I only caught brief glimpses of Justin Roberts at Kindiefest this year. When I did see him there, it seemed like he always had a crowd around him. After many patient years diligently practicing his craft, Roberts seems poised to finally make the leap to the (relative) mainstream awareness (hello, New York Times!, hello, other magazines who were around last weekend!) enjoyed by folks like Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and Ralph Covert. To those of us in the industry who have been thinking of Roberts as being at that level for a while now, it's just the rest of the world catching up.
Still, I think even the most devoted and dialed-in observer of the scene couldn't help but be a little bit bowled over by the Roberts' showcase-concluding set Saturday night. I chose to title this post "... and the Not Ready For Naptime Players" deliberately. Sure, Roberts' popularity starts off with his sharp songwriting skills, but there's no doubt that the full 5-piece NR4NP is an essential part of Roberts' success, both on record and live. Liam Davis brings a keen producer's ear to Roberts' albums and is only slightly less energetic on stage than Gerald Dowd is on drums. Jacqueline Schimmel on bass and Dave Winer on trumpet, laptop, and court jester play no less important roles. They're loose (Winer's "Little Dave" riff on "Kidniefest" -- spelling intentional -- nearly brought the show to a comedic halt) but when they play, they are tight.
As I noted before, Roberts and his band were so great, at least a couple other performing artists said it inspired them to improve their own performances. Audience members shed tears. The brief 23-minute set was like watching a Super Bowl halftime show except the band wasn't dialing it in and the new stuff was every bit as good as the classics.
Yeah, the new stuff is great, too. The two tracks they performed from the Jungle Gym -- "Trick or Treat" and "New Haircut" (were there more? "Gym Class Parachute," maybe?) -- weren't quite as orchestrated as on record (I wanted somebody to cue the flutes -- a reference which will be clearer once everyone hears the disk). But the band already sounded very polished on the new tracks (and Roberts already had hand/arm motions worked out for audience participation). As for "Trick or Treat" (excerpted below with Roberts' permission), which is a Halloween song that the New Pornographers would be proud to include in their collection, I had a conversation with a radio person afterwards who said, "I don't think I can wait that long to play that on the air." We decided Labor Day would be OK. That's going to be a huge song in concert for Roberts in the fall.
In other words, win.
Justin Roberts - "Trick or Treat" (Excerpt from Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]
More pictures after the jump.Kindiefest 2010: Own Your [Stuff]
I've launched into a series of posts focusing on the individual artists who showcased at the 2010 edition of Kindiefest, but I thought a few words about what I took away from the conference would be appropriate before getting too far down that path.
If the thread running through last year's conference was that of community, the thread running through this year's conference was that of hard work and committing to the craft of making music for kids and families.
Or, to put it another way, committing to owning your stuff.
Except when we (or at least I) talked about it this weekend, we used an earthier word in place of (but close to) "stuff" that I don't feel comfortable using on the intrawebs. And we (or at least I) used that phrase a lot.
Danny and Sarah and Nori from The Not-Its walking around in their band trademark black and pink outfits? Owning their stuff. Recess Monkey putting together sweet little videos on the cheap? Owning their stuff. Justin Roberts playing a set so awesome that at least a couple other performing artists said that it inspired them to improve their own game and making at least one audience member literally cry? Completely and totally owning his stuff.
As I suggest above, that commitment requires time and attention to detail. The panels this year were, with the exception of my Old School Meets New School panel, technically oriented. And what I saw of the panels suggested that people can't do this lackadaiscally. The panel on videos moderated by Michael Rachap of Readeez brought to life the truism that when it comes to making videos good, fast, and cheap, you can only pick two of them (and nobody suggested dropping "good"). Though I didn't see all of the production panel, what I heard suggested that the producer wasn't necessarily going to make your life easier. Better, hopefully, but you'd be working even harder.
And the distribution panel might have been the biggest cold water splash of them all. Veronica Villarreal from E1 Music said that only 500 of 4,300 Walmarts carry music, of which most of it is TV-based. The Walmarts and Targets of the world are look for you to sell 400-500 CDs per week. Kevin Salem from Little Monster Records was again one of the most quotable folks around, pointing out that the question isn't just (from the artist to the distributor), "What are you doing to get my record into stores?," but also (from the distributor to the artist), "What are you doing to get your record out of the stores?" Said Salem in that regard, "Nothing is as powerful as doing a great show, even if it's for 10 people." In other words, you've got to take your career -- even if it's a part-time one seriously. You have to, yes, own that stuff. (Just like Cathy Fink did in giving her initial comments for the panel while accompanying herself on an electric guitar-styled ukulele.)
My own panel on "Old School Meets New School" was fun, but I'm a poor judge of that, I suppose. It was the only panel that wasn't specifically designed to be nuts-and-bolts. Instead, I viewed it mostly as an opportunity for the more experienced hands on the panel to a) reassure newer folks that this was a valuable path to travel, but b) it wasn't going to be easy. Bill Harley still sets aside an hour a day to write new stuff. That's commitment to the creative side.
Sustaining this Kids New Wave is going to take a lot of hard work and effort. You don't have to do it full time. But whatever time you give to the genre, you're gonna need to give it your full attention. If you don't own your stuff, nobody's going to do it for you.
More thoughts after the jump...Kindiefest 2010: Bill Harley
Everything I so enjoy about Bill Harley is wrapped up in this picture. The Kindiefest panel that I'd moderated that included the amazing group of Bill, Suni Paz, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Kathy O'Connell had wrapped up some time before. I found myself talking with Bill near the exit and looked down at the garbage can just outside the window and saw my name card -- and just my card -- discarded on the top. "Aw, man!," I said, jokingly, and decided I needed to get a picture of the proof of my impermanence. At which point Harley said, "No, wait -- I need to get my card out and in the picture." We then ran outside like a couple of giddy 7-year-old boys, he found his own card in the trash, arranged it artfully on top, and then I took the picture.
It's that ability to see the absurdity and humor in the day-to-day life of us all that makes Harley such a beloved performer. He's a hard worker (he said at the panel that he sets aside an hour or two each day to write), but it's that essential humanity (honoring the child, as he said) that's given him such a long career, I think.
On Sunday, Harley performed at the public showcase. It was a fun set, though I was a bit distracted because I had to leave for the airport and so spent part of the set saying my last goodbyes. But I had fun, as did the rest of the crowd. Harley also let his friend Keith Munslow, who backed Harley up on keyboards, do a song of his own. Good stuff all around. Maybe that Bill Harley placecard's on eBay by now...
Bill Harley (w/ Keith Munslow) - "Everybody's a Baby About Something" (Live @ Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube] (my favorite part of this -- also generally indicative of Harley -- is that he teaches the crowd to whine. In harmony.
More pictures (of the actual Bill Harley) after the jump.Kindiefest 2010: Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
I'll be posting a bunch of stuff -- photos, videos, rambling thoughts -- from my weekend at the 2010 edition of Kindiefest over the next week or so. That's probably a dozen posts, so without any further ado...
I liked Ranky Tanky, the first kids' album from Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, a lot, but didn't totally love the disk.
I loved them in concert. It doesn't entirely surprise me, as I get the sense that their strength is their live show, four talented musicians making music together. But in Brooklyn they got the audience involved for each and every song until ending with a stunning a cappella version of "Wildflowers" that transfixed the crowd.
If they can bottle just a little more of that live energy into their albums, they are going to become big, big stars on the kids music circuit if that's what they want.
Here's their take on the title track from Ranky Tanky...
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem - "Ranky Tanky" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]
One more after the jump...
