Monthly Archives: January 2016

Mighty Mo Productions – Heart Beats: Feel Good Songs for Families

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Some kind of musical artistry dances in the magic of a “mix tape.” Hand picked tunes set in just the right order to create just the right sentiment for just the right person. The result is a collection of music that is personal and intimate. A present that doesn’t need a card attached. The message is in the music.

Mix tapes have staying power. Compilation albums, albums comprised of various artists, can have the same impact when curated well.

Mighty Mo Productions, a Kansas City-based indie record label started by Jim Cosgrove and Tim Brantman are curating music with the intent of delivering the same sentiment and appreciation as a mix tape. As a follow up to their 2015 debut Smiles Ahead, Mighty Mo Productions returns with Heart Beats: Feel Good Songs for Families, an album full of songs that are primed to bring you warm fuzzies.

Heart Beats assembles some of the same artists featured on Smiles Ahead such as Caspar Babypants, Brady Rymer, Katydid, Rissi Palmer and The Verve Pipe as well as newly added Ratboy Jr., Sunshine Collective, Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights, Andrew & Polly, Josh and the Jamtones and label creator, Jim Cosgrove (featuring Jazzy Ash). It’s a Who’s Who line-up of the indie kids music genre.

The 12 tracks swirl around the album’s overall theme: Love. Most tracks land solidly on the message of I Love You while The Verve Pipe’s “One Became Two” touches upon family, Brady Rymer’s “Light of Love” rallies for listeners to send joy out into the world, and Katydid’s “Love My Lovey” gets bonus points for its superhero ode to childhood “loveys.” (Perhaps a child’s most loyal love, aside from mom and dad, of course.) Joanie Leeds’ voice soars on the comfort of a goodnight hug and kiss in “Give Me A Hug,” and Ratboy Jr. gets tender with “E’s Lullaby” to cap it all off.

Music is a gift, and giving the gift of music is something really special. Heart Beats arrives just in time for Valentine’s Day, and really is worth a spin to lift the mood anytime.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the 7-year-old girl in the backseat who shouted “Turn it up!” so she and her best friend could sing along together. That, my friends, is what heart beats are made of.

Heart Beats is available for purchase through the Mighty Mo official site where you can also listen to samples of each track.

Bonus!: In celebration of the album, there will be four all-ages concerts taking place around the U.S., 3 of which are in Hallmark stores. The concert schedule is below and be sure to store locations and hours for more info.:

Saturday, January 30 at 11 am – Amy’s Hallmark Shop, Manhattan Village, Manhattan Beach, CA – a morning sing-along featuring Andrew & Polly, Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove and Mista Cookie Jar (featured on Mighty Mo’s first album release, Smiles Ahead). Save 10 percent on CD purchases that day! FREE admission.

Sunday, January 31 at 11 am – McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA – a full-length family sing-along with Andrew & Polly, Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove and Mista Cookie Jar. Tickets: $10 each (kids under 2 free).

Saturday, February 6 at 11 am – Amy’s Hallmark Shop, Airport Plaza, Farmingdale, NY. A sing-along with 2-time GRAMMY Award nominee and North Fork resident Brady Rymer, Brooklyn based kid-pop star Joanie Leeds, and Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove. Save 10 percent on CD purchases. Free admission.

Saturday, February 13 at 11 am – Amy’s Hallmark Shop, Crown Center, Kansas City, MO. A sing-along with KC based artists Katydid and Jim “Mr. Stinky Feet” Cosgrove. Save 10 percent on CD purchases. Free admission.

Behind and Beyond the music 2015 edition: Stories, features, interviews, guests posts from 2015.

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Friends and random acquaintances routinely ask me, “Why do you listen to kids’ music?” I’ve asked myself the same question many times.

In poking through my Top 20 albums of 2015, an answer snuck up on me: the joy of music discovery. To be presented with and to explore new music is exhilarating – like discovering a whole new color or flavor. Sharing this passion with my daughter Emily (now 7 years old) is great fun and such a bonding experience. She is growing, and the music is growing with her.

For me, music discovery is more than just the songs at face value. It’s uncovering the stories behind the music; it’s connecting with the music makers and understanding the magical, teeny bits of real life, of real people that make the album art come alive. The artists that make up the kids’ music genre are welcoming and supportive and it’s been a pleasure to dive into what drives their creativity and thus, bring their stories to life. Continue reading →

Mindful Moments Countdown w/ Kira Willey: Gain focus with a Rainstorm

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With the world all abuzz, stillness and focus can be hard for young children. There’s so much to do! So much to play with! As kids grow and enter school, the direction of their attention changes and the need for focus becomes more necessary.

Mornings can be especially tough for kids to zero in on the tasks at hand with the pressure of getting to school on time. For younger children, sitting for five minutes to eat a bite of breakfast can be tricky. I even find this to be true with my 7-year-old daughter. And then there’s later in the day when kids may have a “screen time hangover,” or maybe they’re overtired or just wound up – usually when parents are winding down.

Often I find myself wishing I could stop time for just a few minutes, slow things down. Breathe. So how does one find a brief reprieve?

There is an answer! Kira Willey’s forthcoming album, Mindful Moments for Kids, offers kids (and the parents who love them) 30 quick and easy ways to help sharpen focus, inspire a more centered energy, find some calm, and settle into a peaceful state of being. The actions are presented in a fun way, encouraging kids to participate as though they are playing along with Kira right in the room.

Mindful Moments for Kids releases this Friday, January 15, 2016 and I am so happy to participate with Kira in her #MindfulMomentsCountdown. As a special treat, for Day 3 of the countdown, listeners can download a track from the album (available as a free download for 24 hours from the time this post was published).

Today’s mindful moment is called “Rainstorm,” which leads kids through a simple exercise to create the sounds of a rainstorm (lightning, thunder, wind and rain), using their bodies as instruments. The track calls upon the familiarity and simplicity of nature’s elements and offers kids a whole body and mind experience.

Rub your hands together to make the sound of the wind, it’s really picking up! I feel a few raindrops…tap your finger and thumb together to make the sound of the raindrops coming down. Now it’s really starting to pour!  Hands on your lap, make the sound of the rain pouring down, faster and faster…

“Rainstorm” provides wonderfully tactile and sensory input to get kids in a centered and attentive frame of mind, any time of day. What I love about this track is that kids are tuning into their bodies and the actions are simple enough that kids can bring them along on car rides or onto the playground.

For more mindful moments, follow Kira at her official page or through Facebook.

Click here to grab your free download (good for only 24 hours).

Fresh Press: 58th Grammy Awards Annual Children’s Concert 

Posted in Fresh Press, Playlists by

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It’s that time of year again! A time filled with anticipation and excitement for the recording arts industry. As the 58th Annual Grammy® Awards get closer, so does the annual children’s Grammy nominees benefit concert. This event is always exciting as it brings a rare opportunity to see award-winning artists from around the U.S. perform under one roof. And it’s open to the public! For families looking for a special Valentine’s Day gift this is a sweet treat to indulge in for the little music lovers in your life (and for yourself, really).

This year’s list of Grammy® nominees for Best Children’s Album is unique because all five are independent artists representing a nice variety of styles including jazz, indie-pop, folk, and even bilingual Latin American. See below for more info on the artists, as well as a special Grammy playlist! Continue reading →

Hootenanny: Back to Basics 2 – A Kindie production by Bill Childs and Stephanie Mayers

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The Kindie genre is thriving, and one of its strongest aspects is the community. There have been industry conferences, such as the now retired Kindiefest, the newborn (relatively, it’s more like a toddler now) Kindiecomm, and some artist meet-ups and showcases. There is no shortage of people working passionately to support and move this genre forward. Two of those people are Bill Childs (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child) and Stephanie Mayers (Mayers Consulting).

Bill and Stephanie are producing Hootenanny: Back to Basics 2 (“Hootenanny 2”), a one night event featuring nuthin’ but music from a solid set of collaborations covering a broad range of styles. So solid.

While Hootenanny 2 is primarily geared toward industry folks (kids’ musicians and (kids) music biz folks), it will be open to the public.

The event will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at Jalopy in Brooklyn. Tickets are available here.

Lineup:

Rachel Loshak and Morgan Taylor (Gustafer Yellowgold)
Joanie Leeds and Dan Elliott (Pointed Man Band)
Vered Ronen and Walter Martin
Michael & the Rockness Monsters and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Jazzy Ash and KB Whirly
Ashley Albert and Tim Kubart
Danny Weinkauf and AudraRox
Sonia de los Santos and Brady Rymer
Shine (Shine and the Moonbeams) & Dan Zanes
The Deedle Deedle Dees and Moona Luna
Elena Moon Park and The Pop Ups

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Top 20 Albums & Honorable Mentions

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Happy New Year! I’ve been tinkering for weeks about whether to put together a “best of” list. Lists have never been my thing, but this week when I pulled up past interviews, reviews and music, I was quickly reminded that 2015 was in fact another incredible year in kids’ music. So, let’s do this thing!

The list below represents a sampling of the 20 best albums from 2015 plus one from 2014 (because I included my picks for the Fids and Kamily Awards which considers albums between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015) and a few honorable mentions. The albums are presented in no particular order, and are personal favorites of mine and those of my 7-year-old daughter Emily. They appeal to families who love music, the adventure of finding more of it, and parents who want to foster a love of music in their own kin. This, for me, is the big enchilada. It’s what I enjoy most about being a part of the industry and covering it for you.  Take 10 minutes and sample a few songs on each album. I promise you’ll find more than one to love, regardless of your age.

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Pointed Man Band – Flight of the Blue Whale (Interview)

[Flight of the Blue Whale] is eccentric. There is a meticulousness in the overall composition that captured my attention, in addition to the variety of instrumentation. Waltzes serve as segues, buoyantly carrying the listener along, while nontraditional objects are used to emphasize critical pieces of the story, e.g. Drinking glasses sonically illustrating weightlessness as a baleen whale takes flight.

 

Animal-Tales-Cover_smKey Wilde & Mr. Clarke – Animal Tales (Review)

Imagine if you were to open a National Geographic Kids or Ranger Rick magazine and there was music playing on each page. Animal Tales takes the pages of these beloved magazines and brings them to life with soundtracks cleverly matched to a variety of animal personalities. Each song is rich with fun animal facts, infused with the artists’ lovable sense of humor and clever ability to play with words and phrases, making it one of the most listenable and entertaining albums out there.

 

51TlHTX-0hL._SL500_AA280_Big Block Singsong – Greatest Hits (Interview)

The musical variety of Big Block SingSong is tremendous and the lyrics are insightful and amusing, A block with a German accent singing in euro-funk style about hair; a monkey snapping off bluegrass-y lyrics about a “Two Banana Day”; and, with a catchy indie-pop backdrop, caveman named Dave pointing out that an erupting volcano is a hot mess. These are just a few of the priceless gems you’ll find in this collection.


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