Author Archives: kidscangroove

Interview with singer/songwriter Zee Avi

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 I always say I write music that makes you feel like pancakes…Warm and cozy. – Zee Avi

Zee Avi, a 28-year-old Malaysian born singer/songwriter, has had quite a successful music career. At 21, Zee began writing songs and publishing them to YouTube for a friend. One of her songs, “No Christmas for Me,” went viral and became a YouTube feature. The video was first noticed by Patrick Keeler, drummer for The Raconteurs, which led to a signed record deal with Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label and a publishing deal with Monotone (White Stripes, The Shins). Throughout her career as a young singer/songwriter, Zee has produced two successful adult records, was the first Malaysian singer to be included in Starbucks’ entertainment catalog, and has received high honors and awards for her musical abilities, one of which lead to inspirational speaking engagements for young kids around the world. Zee has also played at major music festivals (Rain Forest World Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Life is Good, Lilith Fair) and will be a featured showcase presenter at this year’s family music conference, KindieComm. Quite impressive!

When I first heard Zee’s children’s debut, Nightlight(produced by Kevin Salem of Little Monster Records), I was taken by her soulful voice but also curious to learn more about her inspiration for making a children’s album. Zee was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for me. Below we discuss an inspiring 8-year-old responsible for the adorable cover art, as well as how a karaoke machine and Joni Mitchell were childhood staples. 

Kids Can Groove: Your musical path started with a YouTube posting for a friend. Since then you have enjoyed a very successful musical career. What was your motivation behind posting a video for your first song on YouTube?

Zee Avi: I believe it’s the same then and now. It was mainly to share my stories in the form of tunes. It was also a kept secret from friends and family (besides the one friend). In a way, they were journal entries that also provided a therapeutic outlet.

KCG: At what age did you start singing and writing songs?

ZA: My real love in the art of singing began when I was very young, as I was brought up in a household where the karaoke machine was our main source of entertainment (for me, at least). Although, I began really writing songs when I was 21.

KCG: This album could easily serve as an album for adults. What was your inspiration for making a children’s album?

ZA:  The birth of this project happened quite organically. I was surrounded by people ZEE_NIGHTLIGHT_ART_FINALwho became the catalysts for this very special album to be created. The main inspiration, however, stems from the idea of preserving and rekindling one’s fond childhood
memories. The inspiration behind some of the songs are from an 8-year-old appreciator of my music, and a bright young ball of love, named Mackenzie Mauldlin. She is also the artist behind the cover art, that was a surprise for her.

KCG: How did you decide on the final song list?

ZA: The collection of songs on Nightlight are both a mix of Mackenzie’s favourites as well as mine. Joni Mitchell’s “Circle Game” was my staple lullaby to sing my little brother to sleep when he was a baby. The “Lullaby Medley” contains a group of malay folks songs my grandmother used to sing to me, and I decided on Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun” because I had to pay homage to one of the songs that led me to song write.

KCG: Nightlight is made up of cover songs. Had you thought about using some of the songs from your other albums?

ZA: My third album is currently in the works, which means there are songs that would’ve been contenders for Nightlight, however, Nightlight has such a wondrous tone and swatch within itself already and has such a bright personality that I decided to preserve that.

KCG: One of the things that I love about the album is that you stayed true to the lyrics in the songs you chose to cover. For example, The Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun” and Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game.” Did you second guess that at any point?

ZA: I did indeed for “Who Loves the Sun,” but as the recording went on, it felt right for it to be there. This was one of the songs that led me to realize that ‘love’ itself can be longed for in many ways. The song taught me about irony in the most gentle way, so I had to share that. As for Joni Mitchell’s “Circle Game,” it was no question. In fact, that was one song that came up first in the recording process. I love Joni Mitchell’s ideals and values. “Circle Game” brings you on a journey of growth while at the same time it teaches you that the only way is ahead, though sometimes it’s alright to look to the past in order for you to recognize your present in all blessed ways.

KCG: How would you describe your style for those who are new to your music?

ZA: I always say I write music that makes you feel like pancakes. Either it makes you want pancakes, or feel like you are one. Warm and cozy. Haha! I am such a young artist who is still learning and evolving and who knows, I might write music that makes one feel like barbecue sauce soon.

KCG: Do you have any thoughts for kids/families writing music with the intent on publishing?

ZA: I will always be a student and a learner of all my experiences, and if this experience leads me to that..why not? I will definitely give it a try!

For more on Zee Avi’s Nightlight, read the full album review here.

 

Check This Out: Zee Avi’s Nightlight

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Artist: Zee Avi
Album: Nightlight
Label: Little Monster Records
Release Date: April 2014

Music has it’s way of making an imprint for sure, gently taking your hand and reassuringly leading you back into your memory bank, nostalgically connecting you with those times when you were sonically swooned. That’s the feeling I get from Zee Avi’s Nightlight.

Nightlight, Avi’s debut into the children’s foray, is filled with breezy acoustic melodies. There is very much a “coffeehouse” vibe to Avi’s style. Even Starbucks picked up on her comforting, soulful sound by including her second adult album, Ghostbird, in their entertainment catalog. A special reward for Avi as the first Malaysian artist to be recognized by the coffee mogul. Although this is only a small accomplishment compared to the many awards she has already received. Most notably, Avi won the International Youth Icon Award and was honored with the Brand Laureate Award for leadership as a singer/songwriter and establishing a successful career in the international music scene.

Over the course of 30 minutes, Avi covers unexpected songs such as the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun,” and Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game,” neither of which is compromised in the way of lyrics just because it’s a kids’ album. The integrity Avi maintains while floating over every word is just beautiful. There are songs which are familiar as well such as “Rainbow Connection” and Bobby McFarrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” the former of which is rendered in its own unique way, featuring Avi’s jazzy vocals. Avi also pays tribute to her Malaysian roots in “Nightlight Medly” which is a sweet mix of American and Malaysian lullabies.

Zee Avi’s Nightlight invites you to close your eyes and follow along as the warm glow of her voice lights up your room. This is something every family should have in their collection.

You can listen to samples, as well as purchase Nightlight via Amazon and iTunes.

Learn more about Zee Avi in my interview with her here.

Below is a sweet lyric video for Avi’s “Who Loves the Sun,” as well as a Nightlight sampler courtesy of ZeeAvi via YouTube. Enjoy!

View This: “Marsupial” – Danny Weinkauf

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Danny Weinkauf released his first solo kids album on April 29, 2014! For those unfamiliar with Weinkauf, he is also the bassist for They Might Be Giants, and the main man responsible for one of our favorite TMBG songs, “I Am A Paleontologist.”

In addition to the release of No School Today, Weinkauf released a video for the song “Marsupial.” This is definitely one of the standout tracks on the album, and the video is no less entertaining thanks to the talented folks at eg design. I particularly love the expression on the Tasmanian devil’s face while playing a rockin’ guitar solo. Pretty sweet!

While I was watching this video, I started to think about how often I’ve felt – and still sometimes feel – like a marsupial, whether it was carrying my daughter around in a fabric pouch during her infancy or walking through the swimming pool with her arms strapped around me koala style. But, alas, humans do not qualify as marsupials. However, Weinkauf’s video gives a good lesson on which animals do, i.e. the Tasmanian Devil and the Tree Kangaroo among others. And, it’s fun to bounce around with your little one(s) while shouting along with the chorus: “I AM, I AM, I AM, I’M A MARSUPIAL!” Go on and give it a whirl. Great song, great video!

Want to hear more? Check out Weinkauf’s music page to sample songs from the album and learn about the inspiration behind them.

You can purchase the album from Merchdirect.com, iTunes and Amazon.

Note: “Marsupial” is the second video from No School Today. The first video, for the title track, can be found here.

FREE DOWNLOAD: “Who Grew My Soup” – Story Laurie

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Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate this holiday, Laurie McItntosh (aka Story Laurie) has a groovy tune available for free during the month of April.

“Who Grew My Soup?” is a happy reggae tune that Laurie wrote with elementary students during a Cultivating Connections songwriting workshop. The goal of this workshop is to cultivate student and community connections with the environment, healthy foods and nutrition, and farms.

The track was produced by Dean Jones and features vocal harmonies by Debbie Alan of Grenadilla and the elementary students with whom Laurie wrote the song.

In true Story Laurie fashion, “Who Grew My Soup?” Is playful while also delivering a wholesome message that is likely to prompt some great family discussion.

Grab your free download here: https://storylaurie.bandcamp.com/

Check This Out: Blink of An Eye – Frances England

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Since I became a parent, there have been so many times where I wish I could siphon out my memories at the end of the day and have them automatically recorded. I regularly feel compelled to stop time, and thankfully I have successfully done so with the click of my camera’s button. As my daughter got older and moved into a busier phase of her life – walking, running, jumping, biking, – life seemed to move faster than I could keep up with. Frances England‘s 2013 release, Blink of an Eye, has invoked great nostalgia, reminding me of my obsession with creating memories.

England has been recording gentle, acoustic melodies that capture the wonderment of childhood as it appears and is felt through the perspective of a child. Since her 2007 debut, Fascinating Creatures, each song has consistently been delivered with beautiful emotion, winning over the hearts of many grown-up listeners, as well as kids.

Blink of An Eye is filled with songs that create a vision of togetherness. My favorite tracks, “Day You Were Born”, “The Sun Will Shine Again” and “Salt Water Swirl,” gorgeously illustrate the awestruck relationship and tender bond between parent(s) and child(ren).

Sometimes music provokes a physical and emotional reaction and this album strikes a chord in both categories. The warmth of England’s soft voice is akin to the feeling of the sun shining on your face as you are cradled, buoyantly, in a lush, grassy field.

Typically, England’s sound is acoustic. For Blink of an Eye, England recruited the masterful Dean Jones which is made obvious by the “kitchen sink” rootsy and eclectic accompaniment on many of the songs (most notably “Blink of An Eye” and another one of my favorites, “Move Like A Saturday Night”). Elizabeth Mitchell and Molly Ledford of Lunch Money also lend their talents in ways that enhance England’s unique sound, ultimately creating achingly beautiful harmonies. “Bicycle Built For Two” is a perfectly paired collaboration between Ledford and England.

England’s fourth album to date, Blink of An Eye, captures the sentimentality and sweetness of being a parent. Just as a mirage offers temporary wonderment, so do the fleeting moments of childhood. Thankfully, England reminds us of those precious memories in this album.

Blink of An Eye is available through England’s site, CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes. You can also sample clips from this album (along with previous releases and her awesome artwork!) at her official site.

Bonus: Below are some beautifully produced videos from the album. Get ready for some goosebumps!

“Sun Will Shine Again” [Courtesy of Frances England via YouTube]

“Day You Were Born” [Courtesy of Frances England via YouTube]

“Tell Me It All” [Courtesy of Frances England via YouTube]

Check this Out: “My Daddy’s Record Collection” – Sugar Free Allstars

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Yay! A new single by the Sugar Free Allstars. In honor of Record Store Day (April 19, 2014), this funky fresh band will be releasing their new single, “My Daddy’s Record Collection” on a shiny vinyl 45. Oh glorious vinyl!

As Chris “Boom” Wiser sings about spending time with family (a child and their dad in particular) and sharing a vinyl connection, I am reminded about my own childhood and how I too adored listening to my father’s LPs. We would sit and spin records for what seemed like hours and once that needle dropped, I sat back and reveled in the raw, authentic sounds of analog music while my dad shared all kinds of musical facts with me. Those experiences are exactly why my passion for all kinds of music still remains strong today. And what better way to enjoy music than with family.

Check out their lyric video below for their song “My Daddy’s Record Collection” and head on over to their official site where they are now offering the vinyl 45 for sale which features a deliciously groovy B-side called “Banana Pudding.” Check it out!

Purchases of the record will receive a free digital download card. For those without a record player, both songs will be available through the Sugar Free Allstars store, as well as iTunes.

 

View This: “No School Today” – Danny Weinkauf

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Danny Weinkauf will soon be unleashing his first solo children’s album. Who is Danny Weinkauf you ask? Excellent question! Weinkauf is the bassist for a swell little band by the name of They Might Be Giants (“TMBG”). He is also a Grammy winning songwriter and responsible for writing one of our favorite TMBG songs, “I Am A Paleontologist.” With the upcoming release of No School Today, Weinkauf will continue to entertain listeners with stellar songwriting that includes clever wordplay, interesting facts and a great sense of humor. The rockstar marsupials featured on the album cover up there should give you a good idea of what’s in store.

No School Today will be released on April 29, 2014, so mark your calendars!

The video for “No School Today,” directed by the very talented high school student and artist, Ryan Hanrahan, cleverly depicts the lengths young’uns will go through to get out of just one day of school (even if you are a sock puppet!).

Parents of elementary school children: you will absolutely relate to the myriad of familiar excuses contained within this song and Danny wants to hear about it! Post your favorite/funniest “No School Today” excuses in the comments below to be shared with Mr. Weinkauf himself.

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Want to hear more? Check out Weinkauf’s music page to sample songs from the album and learn about the inspiration behind them.

 

Check this out: Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke “Animal Alphabet” and new Mibblio mibblet

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It’s National Reading Month and to celebrate Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke you can listen to a bit of their rockin’ song, “Animal Alphabet” from their highly acclaimed release, Pleased to Meet You.

Additionally, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke have paired up with Mibblio to produce an Animal Alphabet mibblet (Mibblio’s animated musical story book) for iPhones and the iPad. 

Through gorgeous illustrations and clever use of alliteration, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke’s “Animal Alphabet” sets in motion the foundation for language development and reading. Although there are many renditions of the alphabet song out there, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke quickly capture their audience’s attention with creative language like “…nautical narwhals nuzzling noses.” And thanks to Mibblio’s interactive musical interface, kids can jam along with the animal alphabet band, too. When we were done jammin’ with the band, Em and I made good use of the mibblet’s pause button to practice reading at our own pace while further admiring Key Wilde’s glorious artwork.

This is one artistically arranged animal alphabet adventure you won’t want to miss.
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View This: World Premiere – “Five Sea Lions” by Jason Didner and the Jungle Gym Jam

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Do you know the difference between Sea Lions and Seals? I frequently get confused! Here in the Bay Area, there are a number of both. So when I holler out “Oh, look at that sea lion!” I always internally question whether it really is a sea lion or a seal. Now, thanks to Jason Didner and the Jungle Gym Jam‘s groovy tune “Five Sea Lions,” I have regained confidence! With the premiere of this playful video, Didner and the crew educate listeners on the differences between these sleek marine mammals.

As a bonus, “Five Sea Lions” doubles as a counting song which is always good fun for the youngest of listeners. Didner explains, “Pre-schoolers and toddlers are learning to count down from five, as they might with other songs like ‘Five Little Monkeys’ or ‘Five Freckled Frogs,’ while at the same time, grade schoolers are picking up a little marine biology and the differences between sea lions and seals. Later on in the song, we get into the reason for those differences.”

Didner and his wife Amy wrote the lyrics to this song as a gift for their now-three-year-old daughter based on the excitement of knowing that the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, their local zoo, was to open a new sea lion exhibit. “This news touched on a fond memory we have of our first trip to California together, where the sea lions were playing and barking on the pier at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf,” Amy added. “We were inspired.”

“Five Sea Lions” is the Jungle Gym Jam’s third video from their debut album Everyone’s Invited! and the band’s first animated video thanks to Glen Biltz (known for his work directing multiple live-action and animated videos for award winning kindie band Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights).

Want to learn more? Read the story behind the song here.

You can sample and purchase this song along with the rest of the album via CDBaby. Downloads of Everyone’s Invited! are also available at iTunes | Amazon MP3 | Google Play.

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View This: “Call Me Mista Cookie Jar” – Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips

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Lately, C.J. Pizarro, i.e. Mista Cookie Jar, has been making his way ’round the kindisphere, contributing colorful lyrical stylings to various recordings like Todd and Cookie and Jazzy Ash, for example. And now he’s got some stock of his own to share. “Call Me Mista Cookie Jar” is the 10th official music video by Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips and the 5th video release from their album, “Ultramagnetic Universal Love Revolution.”

The video for “Call Me Mista Cookie Jar” contains lovely imagery thanks to the assistance of Mrs. Cookie Jar and their daughter, Miss Ava Flava. The project took just about a year to complete as the Cookie crew worked hard on the hand-drawn illustrations and placement of photographic and retro-style cut-outs that make this video so appealing. They even made their own paper and a Buster Keaton hat from scratch! When all the elements were in place, Pizarro began working on the visual effects including the silent film aspects and stop-motion animation. Their hard work definitely paid off here. In fact, I had to listen to the song a couple of times because I was so focused on all the awesome imagery!

Interesting tidbit: The song was originally written as answer for all the kids who have asked Pizarro why he calls himself Mista Cookie Jar. Now, those inquiring minds can check out Mista Cookie Jar’s Facebook Page which features the lyrics for “Call Me Mista Cookie Jar” and what “Mista” actually stands for.