Austin's Jellydots have posted a new tour date on their Myspace page -- the mysteriously-named and possibly-incorrectly-spelled "Greasypaloosa" in Portland, Oregon on March 11, 2007.
Hmmmm.... could our friends Belinda and Hova have anything to do with this?
(And I think "Palooza" has now officially entered the lexicon as the arts' world's "-Gate.")
By the way, for those of you wanting to strum along at home to the fabulous songs on Hey You Kids!, song charts are now available here. Kinda appropriate, seeing how the songs were originally created to, uh, help teach kids how to play guitar. (Hey, how would they sound on ukelele?...)
How Do They Celebrate the New Year on the Sun?
Perhaps patrons of the Bowery Club on Dec. 31 will find out, as Gustafer Yellowgold will be opening up for the jazz musician Hayes Greenfield for an early New Year's Eve show, complete with noon ball drop. Two of New York's finer kids'-related artists teaming up -- should be awesome.
I'd Like Jelly With My Breakfast, Please
Denizens of the fair city of San Francisco, what might be the most interesting live show of 2007 awaits you. On Saturday, January 20, Doug Snyder of the Jellydots will be joining Enzo Garcia for his Breakfast With Enzo show.
It's as if Matthew Sweet decided to join Tom Waits for a show. I don't know what it'll sound like, but I'd imagine that even the stuff that doesn't quite work will at least be interesting. Should be a hoot and a half.
Kids Music Phanaticism in Philly
Phoenix might have just passed Philadelphia to become the nation's fifth-largest city and while I'm sure there can be plenty of trash-talk exchanged at such a time, one thing is clear -- Philly has Phoenix's kids-and-family music scene whupped.
Just check out the list of upcoming artists at World Cafe Live's Peanut Butter & Jams Series: Lunch Money, SteveSongs, Trout Fishing in America, They Might Be Giants, Gustafer Yellowgold, the Deedle Deedle Dees, AudraRox, Rebecca Frezza, Ernie & Neal, Uncle Rock, Justin Roberts, and Robbie Schaefer. Among others.
Whew. That's an impressive list, for whom much credit needs to go to Stephanie Mayers, who's moved on to do PR work for artists.
Did I mention that the golfing is excellent this time of year 'round here?
How Do You Like Dem Apples, Gustafer?
News is slowly trickling out about V2/Artemis Records' new kids music imprint, Little Monster Records. And so far, they're batting 1.000. (See? It's baseball playoff time, and I made a baseball reference? Get it? Yeah, OK.)
Not only have they signed up Gustafer Yellowgold, as previously rumored (they'll be re-releasing Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD in March), they've also signed Robert Schneider, leader of the indie rock band The Apples in Stereo. Schneider's alter ego Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine (with the year's best PR line -- "If the number of B's in a name represented fun, Robbert Bobbert & The Bubble Machine have cornered the market!") will release an album for Little Monster in spring 2007.
They'll be performing together at Joe's Pub in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 4. Should be a blast -- if you're in NYC, go.
But Wait, There’s More... ScribbleMonster at Kidzapalooza, part 2
Last month, Chicago-area kids' musicianScribbleJim was kind enough to report on his (and the rest of the ScribbleGang's) experiences playing at Kidzapalooza. After I posted the report, however, he said that the rest of the story, "must be told."
And indeed it must. Vacation and the launch of the new site put a little time between the installments, but it's worth the wait. Be sure to jump past the fold to get to the picture that tells, well, if not a thousand words, well in excess of 600 or 700.
Many thanks to Jim for taking the time to write this up. Be on the lookout for the upcoming Kevin Kammeraad's new album A Curious Glimpse of Michigan, with lots of ScribbleMonster-y goodness, due out in October.
*****
On Sunday, the Kidzapalooza stage has one surprise after another. The first act is The School of Rock All-Stars – a group of about fifteen kids between the ages of 12 and 18 performing classic rock tunes. These kids are unbelievable. Quite possibly the most talent I see all weekend. There’s a really nice crowd on hand and they are loving these kids. The response is so great, they invite the kids back to perform the final set on the Kidzapalooza stage that afternoon. Want to talk about the potential of kids? Want to get your young musicians inspired? Holy cow! I’ve got to go back to school.
Perry Farrell & Peter DiStefano draw a huge crowd and you can tell they are both sincerely excited about Kidzapalooza and doing something for the kids. Tor Hyams reminds the crowd (which is primarily adults) that this stage is for the kids and requests that everyone make way so those with kids can get to the front. His request is met with applause and friendly compliance. Peter DiStefano brings a handful of kids on stage with him, one at a time, to help him play the guitar. He does the string work while the kids strum and they all sound great. It’s a simple little thing, but it brings so much joy to these kids and their families (and Peter).
