Recess Monkey posts the first of 4 videos they'll be debuting from their upcoming album The Final Funktier (with more possibly on their way later this summer). This one is for the leadoff track to the disk, and recounts the band's trip to the moon. You can tell what kind of trip it'll be when the suits clearly were the most expensive part of the shoot. Way more entertaining than Capricorn One.
Recess Monkey - "Moon Boots" [YouTube]
Kindiependent Ironically Not Independent At All
At Kindiefest a couple weeks ago, one of the few sustained conversations I had was with the guys from Recess Monkey. We talked about how the key with the kids music genre is the continued sharing -- rather than fighting over limited pieces of a pie, try to make that pie bigger so everybody gets more. Especially if it's pecan pie. Mmm, I love me some pecan pie.
But I digress.
Anyway, the guys in the band said they'd been working with some of the other Seattle kids music bands to try to cross-promote their shows and music, but they didn't reveal their secret weapon, which is the most awesome name: Kindiependent, which almost makes me like the whole "kindie" name which I've never fully been able to embrace. It's a Seattle kids music collective featuring Recess Monkey, Caspar Babypants, The Not-Its, Johnny Bregar, and the Central Services Board of Education.
Check out the cool poster art from Kate Endle (Chris Ballew's wife, who's also done both Caspar Babypants covers) -- with help from Johnny Bregar and Jack Forman -- for a show on June 13th. It's the record release party for RM's The Final Funktier -- apparently it's going to be one seamless set where each band's set overlaps with the one preceeding it.
So, yeah, Seattle's totally going all for one, one for all, 5 Musketeers-style. (And maybe more, once other Seattle folks get the word.) Other areas might be thinking the same thing, but Seattle's taken the visible step. And secured the website.Kindiefest 2010: Recess Monkey
Dan Zanes may be the godfather; They Might Be Giants, the legitimizer; and Laurie Berkner, Ralph Covert, and Justin Roberts the genre's superstars.
But Recess Monkey is the heart of kids music today.
There was nobody at Kindiefest who was in more places at once (except for maybe the organizers) than the band. (And that's not just because there are three members in the band.) Jack Forman appeared on a video panel, and all 3 of them were always engaged in discussion with other folks. They're successful enough to be emulated but not popular enough - yet - to be unapproachable. (Heck, they all still have "regular" jobs.) So they were approached - a lot.
And their commitment to the scene is total. I don't think there was anyone else in the audience who was as supportive of the other artists playing the Saturday industry showcase as they were -- if there was handclapping to be done, they did it. During their own Sunday showcase, they brought in Chris Wiser from Sugar Free Allstars to play on "Booster Seat," Johnny Bregar on "Knocktopus" and Tor Hyams on "Moon Boots." And although I'd left by then to head back home, they filled in for Aric Bieganek's stuck-in-traffic bandmates and played 5 songs with him during the Royal Order of Chords and Keys showcase later Sunday afternoon.
And the silver pants. Man, the silver pants. Commitment. Owning their stuff, indeed.
Fun set, fun guys. Kids music needs them, and not just because they rock.
Recess Monkey - "Booster Seat" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) - [YouTube]
One more video and pictures of the band and Mayor Monkey, the band's hand puppet band manager, after the jump.KidVid Tournament 2010 Semifinal #2: Recess Monkey vs. Brian Vogan
The other semi-final matchup of KidVid Tournament 2010 is an all-Seattle affair. (We've had a number of those this year.) It features the Leadbelly Regional winner Recess Monkey and their "Marshmallow Farm" video from Field Trip -- the video defeated the Not-Its in an epic Round 2 Seattle-based matchup. That video's going up against the Woody Guthrie Regional winner Brian Vogan and "That's How a Pumpkin Grows" from his Little Songs album -- it defeated a Readeez video in Round 2.
KidVid Tournament 2010: Recess Monkey vs. The Not-Its
The first round is for weeding out the pretenders -- the second round of KidVid Tournament 2010 features nothing but heavy-hitters -- or, to mix sports metaphors, it's the Slam Dunk Tournament of kids music. The first matchup today is the Leadbelly Regional final featuring Recess Monkey's "Marshmallow Farm" from their Field Trip CD against "Come Play at Our House" from The Not-Its' We Are the Not-Its! album.
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, but the official results are based on the poll at the bottom of the page. One vote per person, please. One vote per person! Votes due by noon tomorrow (Thursday) East Coast time. And, as always, play nice -- that means encouraging folks to watch both videos and avoiding trash-talking. Don't make me come back there.
Recess Monkey - "Marshmallow Farm" [YouTube]
The Not-Its - "Come Play at Our House" [YouTube]
Listen To This: "Constellation Conga" - Recess Monkey (World Premiere)
That's right, it's your chance to listen to "Constellation Conga," a powerful sludge of a hard rock/polka/chillwave tune from Seattle's Recess Monkey... ahhhh, who am I kidding? It's a breezy, danceable tune from their upcoming album The Final Funktier, out June 15. Listen to the song below, courtesy of the band, then listen to a variety of new tunes from the album throughout the weekend... more details here.
Sorry, too late. I'll be posting this track on my radio station soon...
Photo: Kevin Fry
