Steve Denyes and 20 Kindie Artists Write 20 Kindie Songs in 20 Days

Sounds like a logic problem, right? "If Steve Denyes and 20 kindie artists write 20 kindie songs in 20 days, how many days would it take Steve Denyes and 1 kindie artist to write 1 kindie song?"

The answer -- contrary to what logic would tell you -- is one day.

Or, to be more specific -- today. That goes for whenever you read this, because for the next 20 days, Denyes (best known as the main guy in San Diego's Hullabaloo) and a guest artist will pick a song title out of a hat and, by 5:00 PM daily, write, record a post a song based on that title. Actually, both Denyes and the guest will each write a song, so it's actually 40 songs in 20 days, but Denyes' title was already set. (Logic is tough, y'all.)

Why would Denyes do such a thing? I'm sure there are many intrinsic motivations, but an external one would be to raise money for Happy Star Melodies, a San Diego-based charity that brings musical instruments and performances to kids facing long hospital stays. Denyes has already raised a nice sum of money, and although the time to suggest songs is long past, I'm sure the group could use whatever you can spare via the donation page.

I could list some of the guest artists, but then I'd be afraid of leaving some out, and, really, there's no good way to handle the issue other than to say the guest artist for the first day, February 1, is Jason Didner, and there's plenty more good stuff coming.

Denyes' plan is to post the song(s) by 5 PM Pacific time daily, and my plan is to update this post -- hopefully daily -- with all the songs.

So, again, visit that donation page and give a little bit if you can. And enjoy the music!

"My Best Friend Riley" - Steve Denyes / "My Best Friend Riley (Is a Dog)" - Jason Didner

"Ant and Bee Went Looking for a Cookie" - Steve Denyes / "Mr. Ant and Mrs. B" - KB Whirly

"My Trip to Paris" - Steve Denyes / Ashli Christoval (aka Jazzy Ash)

"Hugs for My Family, High Fives for My Friends" - Steve Denyes / Randy Kaplan

"Help!" A Snake Is Gonna Eat Me" - Steve Denyes / Jim Cosgrove (aka Mr. Stinky Feet)

Radio Playlist: New Music March 2017

I'm still trying to catch up with the relatively few playlists recently, so this month's playlist is chock-full of music, 41 minutes' worth to be exact. (The last list, from January, is right here.) Long enough to get you to and from school/doctor's appointment/errand of choice.

As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums. But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here (or right here in you're in Spotify).

**** New Music March 2017 (March 2017 Kindie Playlist) ****

"A Fact Is a Gift That You Give Your Brain" - StevenSteven

"Night Owl and Early Bird" - Jim and Jayne

"Buccaneer on Broadway" - The Might Magic Pants

"Raise a Ruckus" - Hullabaloo

"Symphony for Dogs" - The Moonlights

"Tongue Tied" - Randy Kaplan

"Domino Knock" - Dog on Fleas

"Upstream" - Pointed Man Band

"Truly Peculiar" - mömandpöp

"Hill and Gully Rider" - Little Miss Ann and Amy D

"Old McDonald's Vacation" - Jacob Johnson

"I Got You!" - The Little Ditties

"Rhythm and Blues" - Julie Frost Kids

"Anything Song" - Mr. Daniel

"Michael Finnegan" - The Binkees

Itty-Bitty Review: I Chew - Hullabaloo

I don't know if practice makes perfect, but it usually helps things considerably. When you write a song a day for a month as Steve Denyes of San Diego's Hullabaloo did last year, not all the songs are going to be keepers, but the songwriting muscle will be stronger at the end than at the beginning.

For the band's latest album I Chew, Denyes (along with bandmate Brendan Kremer and Shawn Rohlf) took the best of the bunch, added a handful of new songs, and recorded them in their familiar simple folk-roots style. The result is a collection of 16 songs that cover a surprisingly broad range of styles in its 21 minutes. Silly songs like the nonpartisansong "Senator John Arthur Clydesdale III" bump up against the political "I Wear Pink," which gently makes the apparently still controversial argument that boys can wear pink and play with dolls. (I know! But Denyes sings of actual pushback he received.) "Air-O-Plane" is a sequel in many ways to Woody Guthrie's "Car Car" and "Aeroplane," while "I Can't Let It Go" speaks just as much to the 40-year-old obsessives as the 14-month old ones. There's a hint of Shel Silverstein, too, in "Boring," not to mention the spoken word "Worm with Wings." (The tracks will be most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7.)

Denyes didn't just have a month to hone his songwriting -- he's been playing for kids for more than a decade. And slowly but surely, he's become one of kindie's better songwriters, a living argument in favor of consistency while occasionally mixing things up (by, say, writing a song a day). As he sings about in "Day 16," start trying to write a song, and eventually you'll have a song. Do it often enough, and some of it will end up pretty good. Definitely recommended.

Radio Playlist: New Music March 2016

As compared to February's playlist, this month's new music playlist is definitely full. (If you want to catch my list from February -- briefer but just as high quality -- you can see that playlist here.)

As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums. But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here.

**** New Music March 2016 (March 2016 Kindie Playlist) ****

"I Like To Be Surprised" - Turkey Andersen

"Esperanca (feat. Tita Lima)" - Sandra Sandia

"Lousie Loves Art Song" - Emily Arrow

"I Wear Pink" - Hullabaloo

"I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" - Beleza

"The Melody of Misfit Souls & the Open-Hearted" - Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips

"The Silly Dance" - Holly

"Life is Like a Noodle" - Lard Dog & the Band of Shy

"Drum Factory: I'm My Own Grandpa" - Cory Hills

"This Old Man" - The Wunkabunks

"Seven" - Dan Crow

"Somebody Come and Play" - Rory

"Bird on a Wire" - The Not-Its!

"Barefoot Floors" - Jane Roman Pitt

Interview: Steve Denyes

One of the things I admire about musicians who've been musicians for awhile is just that -- they've been musicians for awhile. It's difficult enough to have the same job for a number of years, but when that job is primarily one which generates creative products as an output, keeping things fresh over a long period of time is particularly difficult.

Which is one reason I wanted to talk with Steve Denyes of the band Hullabaloo. Their brand new album I Chew features songs mostly written last year when the San Diego-based Denyes set himself the goal to write and record one song a day for nearly a month. Anyone who wants to challenge himself that way has figured out how to keep things fresh and wants to try new things.

And indeed, when I suggested that instead of doing an interview over Skype to record it, rather than by phone or over e-mail, Denyes was game to sign himself up for Skype and tackle this interview in a slightly different manner.

So in just a shade under 30 minutes you can listen to his thoughts on the growth of his band, the origins of I Chew, and how surfing helps him be a musician.

Photo credit: Natalie Chiles

Best Kids Music of 2014: Top 30 Songs

I know. This is madness, right? Trying to come up with a list of my 30 favorite songs from the past year? Completely. Nuts.

But that's what I'm willing to do for you, dear readers. More so than a list of albums or debuts or videos, however, a list ranking favorite songs is ephemeral, subject to the whims of a particular moment. More than that, it probably tends toward the poppy, upbeat, and lively. Tender lullabies have to do more work to stand out in my (or your) memory if you've heard literally thousands of kids' songs over the past year.

But regardless of how different my list would next week (or late in the evening), these 30 songs are among the best that kids music offered us in the past year. ("Year," as always, defined as Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014, though that's harder to stick to given the prevalence of singles which might have been released on either side of that window. Deal.)

Also, these are in alphabetical order -- if you think I'm going to attempt to rank all these, you're even more nuts than I am in deciding to pick them.

Anyway, I've combined these into a handy Spotify playlist found at the bottom of this list (click here if you're already in Spotify). Enjoy!

Bears and Lions - "Pancakes"

The Laurie Berkner Band – "Fireflies"

Caspar Babypants – "The Girl with the Squirrel in Her Hat"

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – "When I Grow Up"

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band (w/ Laurie Berkner) – "We're in Love"

Laura Doherty - "I'm a Little Fish"

Django Jones – "Counterpoint"

Gustafer Yellowgold - "Toothloser"

The Hipwaders – "Kings & Queens"

Charlie Hope – "Harmony" (feat. Elizabeth Mitchell)

Hullabaloo – "Like a Bird Must Feel"

Jazzy Ash - "Throw Me Something Mista" (feat. Mista Cookie Jar)

Randy Kaplan – "Not Too Young for a Song"

Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights – "Food Fight"

Josh and the Jamtones – "Green and Spakkled Frogs"

Luscious Jackson – "Hula Hoop"

Walter Martin - "Hey Sister" (feat. Kat Edmonson)

Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips – "My My My"

The Not-Its! - "When I Fell (The Scab Song)"

The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Through the Woods"

The Pop Ups - "All These Shapes"

Raffi – "Love Bug"

Recess Monkey - "Smooth Sailing"

Red Yarn - "The Fox"

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could – "Just Say Hi!"

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – "Imaginary Friend"

The Short Films – "The Mysterious Okapi"

Ben Tatar and the Tatar Tots – "The Grape Jam" (feat. Spare Parts)

Danny Weinkauf – "Oh No Oh Yeah"

The Whizpops! – "Sea Turtule"