Kindie Songwriting Club, Vol. 1: Green Beans Everywhere

KSCbasiclogo_lowres.jpgFirst there was the idea -- pick a few artists, give 'em a title to base a song, and set 'em free to do what they do best. Then there was the picking of the title. Now, it's time for the album. It's called Green Beans Everywhere, and it features five fun songs from (in geographical order): Hullabaloo (San Diego), The Hollow Trees (Los Angeles), Charity and the JAMband (San Francisco), Matt Clark (Portland), and Johnny Bregar (Seattle). Some of the artists took a pretty simple approach (similar to what you might see at a typical songrwiting club night), some fancied it up a bit, but all the artists rose to the challenge of creating something out of the barest germ of an idea. Thanks to all the artists for participating. And, for a limited time (at least until we run out of free downloads), you can download the 5-song EP for free. Even if your kids (or you) don't like green beans, and even if one of these songs don't change their (or your) mind, you'll enjoy the album anyway.

Kindie Songwriting Club: Round 1: You Pick the Title!

KSCbasiclogo_lowres.jpgIt's time for the next stage in the first go-round of the Kindie Songwriting Club. As noted before, Hullabaloo's Steve Denyes went up and down the West Coast and picked these five fine songwriters (going up the coast from south to north): Steve Denyes from Hullabaloo (San Diego) Gregory Hollow Tree from The Hollow Trees (Los Angeles) Charity Kahn from Charity and the JAMband (San Francisco) Matt Clark (Portland) Johnny Bregar (Seattle) Readers e-mailed/commented/Facebooked their suggestion(s), and now I have three for you, loyal readers, to choose from. Here are the three song titles: 1) "There's Dirt in My Bed" 2) "Crunchy Munchy" 3) "Green Beans Everywhere" Your task is to pick your favorite via the voting widget below. All votes are due by 9 PM Friday night West Coast time (of course). One vote per day, please. The winning title will then have not one but FIVE songs written using that as inspiration. Such a deal. Go forth and vote!

Kindie Songwriting Club: An Introduction

KSCbasiclogo_lowres.jpgRecently, Steve Denyes, the hardworking songwriter behind the Southern California duo Hullabaloo, came to me with a suggestion. He said that he'd participated in songwriting clubs where a group of musicians are given a song title or phrase and use that as a jumping-off point for writing a song. And, given my big interest in collaboration, he was wondering whether or not I'd be interested in hosting a songwriting club for family musicians. I think you probably can guess my answer. So I'm excited to announce the creation of the Kindie Songwriting Club and the first set of participants. Denyes went up and down the West Coast, picking some of his favorite songwriters and making some new friends, resulting in these five fine songwriters (going up the coast from south to north): Steve Denyes from Hullabaloo (San Diego) Gregory Hollow Tree from The Hollow Trees (Los Angeles) Charity Kahn from Charity and the JAMband (San Francisco) Matt Clark (Portland) Johnny Bregar (Seattle) The basic concept of the KSC is this: 1) Readers suggest a song title. Or two. Or twenty. Go ahead, stuff the ballot box! 2) I pick 3, then readers vote on their favorite. 3) The favorite having been chosen, the songwriters craft a song using that song title as inspiration. 4) They record that song however they'd like (though this isn't intended to require fancy studio time). 5) The songs get posted for your enjoyment. 6) World peace is achieved. (OK, probably not. But I'm not ruling it out.) So it's time for the first step -- your suggested song titles. Post 'em here in the comments, on Facebook, or even send me an e-mail (ksc AT zooglobble DOT com). Suggestions for this first round are due by Tuesday, May 31. And stay tuned for further details (voting on your favorite title, hearing the final results). Should be a blast.