I think it's safe to say that The JumpArounds have been, shall we say, a polarizing band. The comments on my original post about the band are about as vitriolic as comments around here get. (Based on the few minutes of minutes of video I saw, I didn't understand the vitriol on either side -- generally forgettable but not execrable music that held the promise of being very addictive to young kids.)
Well, I'm not sure you'll have the JumpArounds to KickAround anymore. Not because they're going off the air permanently, but because they're changing their name. A listing for a NYC Central Park SummerStage concert this Sunday lists a concert featuring DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba! and some group called the Fresh Beat Band, a description of whom sounds very familiar...
Check out The Fresh Beat Band consisting of four best friends -- Marina, Kiki, Twist, and Shout -- who attend music school together and love to sing and dance. The foursome will star in an upcoming Nickelodeon TV series that teaches preschoolers about music appreciation and how to express their feelings through movement and song. Packed with hip, catchy songs, dynamic choreography, and clever storylines, the band will get the whole family singing and dancing.OK, yeah, and the picture is identical, too.
And sure enough, WHOIS searches on thefreshbeatband.com and freshbeatband.com show that Viacom (Nick's corporate parent) registered those domain names just last week (and the JumpArounds site is pretty bare, promising new videos at some future point).
So perhaps it's time to steel yourself for a Fresh Beat Band onslaught. (Though I gotta tell you, snoozer of a name.)
