The Austin Tamale House Number Two Does Not Serve Tamales and Has No Other Locations. Discuss.

...and while you discuss it, check out the poster for the Family Music Meltdown (click on it for a full-size version, which you should feel free to print out and distribute widely if you're in central Texas):



A huge thank you to designer and drummer extraordinare Jay from Lunch Money for doing the poster!

Do you remember the poster he did for their show up here? You don't? Go look at it.

Playlist for 8-25-2007

Thanks to Monty Harper for filling in!

The archive is here.

They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock

They Might Be Giants - Happy Doesn't Have to Have an Ending (Bed Bed Bed)
Phil Collins - No Way Out (Brother Bear Soundtrack)
Clifford with the Surf Rats - Under the Boardwalk (Muppet Beach Party)
Two of a Kind - Think of It as an Adventure (Family Album)
Monty and Evalyn Harper - Oklahoma Annie (Get a Clue)
Brian Wilson - Vega-Tables (Smile)

The Beatles - Birthday (The Beatles)
Charity and the Jam Band - Happy Birthday Baby (Rock Your Socks Off)
Roger Day - The Greatest Day on Earth Day (Dream Big!)
Constant Wonder - Walk With Wonder (Walk With Wonder)

Will Hale - Citizen of the World (All the Best)
The Beatles - Drive My Car / The Word / What You're Doing (Love)
Alan Bernhoft - Chocolate Chip Cookie Rock (Play Date)
Little Richard - Itsy Bitsy Spider (For Our Children)
Joe McDermott - Smart Little Creatures (I Am Baby)
Chuck Berry - School Days (The Great Twenty-Eight)

Steve Blunt and Friends - Back to School (Outta School!)
The Hipwaders - Educated Kid (Educated Kid)
Monty Harper - Dog Books (Paws Claws Scales & Tales)
Mr. Billy - The Dog Ate My Homework (Mr Billy Greatest Hits)

Stephen Fite - Cool To Be In School (Cool To Be In School)
Twink - Alphabent (The Broken Record)
Aaron Fowler - Room Mom (When We Gather)
Bill Harley - I Wanna Play (I Wanna Play)
Imagination Movers - Field Trip (Eight Feet)

Milkshake - School (Bottle of Sunshine)
Barry Louis Polisar - I Don't Wanna Go to School (Family Concert)
John Hadfield - The Principal's Office (Robot Monkey Head)
Trout Fishing in America - Why I Pack My Lunch (It's A Puzzle)
Asylum Street Spankers - You Only Love Me for My Lunchbox (Mommy Says No!)

Brian Wilson - In Blue Hawaii (Smile)
Brian Wilson - Good Vibrations (Smile)
They Might Be Giants - Impossible (Bed Bed Bed)
They Might Be Giants - Spare the Rock

Updated: Are You Excited? I'm Excited. You Should Be Excited.

By what?

They Might Be Giants's Here Come the 123s is available for pre-order, and with a release date (October 2).

So are you excited?

Updated: Our pals at This Might Be a Wiki have posted the track list.

Keith Munslow at Cup & Top

Well, I cleverly brought the camera to the station, but less cleverly forgot to take any pictures.

Nonetheless, I did bring it, and use it, at Cup & Top:

He drew that robot in about two minutes, while playing "Tequila" on the kazoo:



That's that wicked cool Afro-Peruvian drum thing:



The ever-delightful Helen, who owns Cup & Top, and her son:



And Helen's daughter (on the left) and daughter's friend (on the right), helping tell a story:



Keith's live show is really wonderful. Incredibly engaging, very funny, clever, silly, and almost ludicrously multi-faceted. See him if you get a chance.

Playlist for 8-18-2007

Exciting day, with Keith Munslow on the show (and at Cup & Top), our addition continuing to move along, and a lot of great music...

The archive is here. Rock!

(By the way, the Afro-Peruvian instrument Keith plays is crazy cool.)

They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - No! (No!)
Brandi Carlile - Have You Ever (The Story)
Wilson Lake & the Rock Bass - Walking in the Woods (s/t)
Hollow Trees - Forest Melody (s/t)
Uncle Rock - Play Outside Today (Uncle Rock U)
Gabby La La - Walkie Walkie Walkie (Be Careful What You Wish For...)
-song ID/PSA (Sammy's Big Night)
Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach - A Little Max (Parfait) (Money Jungle)
Baby Loves Jazz Band - Ten Little Monkeys (Baby Loves Jazz)
Andre 3000 - Throwdown (Class of 3000)
Quincy Jones - Sanford & Son Theme
Keith Munslow - Dressed Up For the Party (Dressed Up for the Party)
-song ID
Jonathan Richman - Roadrunner
Mary Lou Lord w/ Semisonic - Sugar Sugar (Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits)
Asylum Street Spankers - Mommy Says No! (Mommy Says No!)
CandyBand - Octopus on My Head (Calling All Kids!)
Hipwaders - Spare the Rock and Spoil the Child
Hipwaders - Speed of Love (Educated Kid)
Prince - Get on the Boat (3121)
-legal ID (9:00)
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
-Keith Munslow live in-studio
-I Love The Beach
-Dragon Breath
-Two Wet Dogs
Sly & the Family Stone - Dance to the Music
Gwendolyn & the Good Time Gang - Get Up & Dance (Get Up & Dance)
White Stripes - Rag & Bones (Icky Thump
Kevin Kammeraad - Best Poem Ever (Tomato Collection)
Telephone Company - Big Bom Bom
Deedle Deedle Dees - Vegetarian Tyrannosaurus Rex (Freedom in a Box)
Doctor Noize - Banana (Ballad of Phineas McBoof)
Channels with Damon Locks - Always Check for Holes (Play)
Pixies - Tony's Theme (Surfer Rosa)
Steve Weeks - Monkeys (Alphabet Songs Vol. II)
Recess Monkey - Aquarium (Aminal House)
Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Max Roach - Very Special (Money Jungle)
-song ID
They Might Be Giants - Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - Man It's So Loud in Here (Mink Car)

Sammy's Big Night

Local listeners should try to attend this. Chris and his family are friends from church, and Heather's death was a tragedy in so many ways. Plus, it's a crazy good lineup for just fifteen bucks. I'm teaching Thursday nights this year, so I can't make it, but hopefully many others will.

TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY, AUGUST 20 at NBO for SAMMY'S BIG NIGHT Benefit Concert
Thursday, September 20th ~ 7:00 pm
Chapin Auditorium, Mt. Holyoke College, S. Hadley, MA

An intimate night of exceptional music featuring performances by:
John Gorka
Cliff Eberhardt
The Nields
The Young At Heart Chorus
The Drunk Stuntmen
The O-Tones
The Kitchen Table
Leah Kunkel
Andy Jaffe
and Special Guests
Emceed by John Allen and Johnny Memphis

On Thursday, September 20, a special benefit concert, SAMMY'S BIG NIGHT, will take place at Chapin Auditorium, on the campus of Mount Holyoke College, Route 116, South Hadley, Massachusetts. 100 percent of the concert proceeds will benefit Samuel Owen Haynes, born May 23rd, 2007. His mother Heather Egan Haynes passed away four days later from complications relating to childbirth. The 7:00 pm concert is open to the public and all are welcome. Tickets are $15 advance, $17 at the door and will go on sale Monday, August 20 at the Northampton Box Office, online at www.nbotickets.com or by calling 413-586-8686 or 800-THE-TICK.

Sammy's father Chris Haynes, a music professor at Springfield College, talented musician, and an anchor for the Pioneer Valley music scene, is raising Owen. Each of the celebrated performers at the benefit have donated their services and encourage their fans to come to this special event. Proceeds will go to the Samuel Owen Haynes Fund c/o First Churches, 129 Main St, Northampton, MA in support of Sammy's care and education.

For more event information, contact Peter Nelson @ petenlson@aol.com / 914-977-3385
For venue information, contact John Laprade @ jlaprade@mtholyoke.edu
Driving directions available @ www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/hr/directions.shtml
Ticket information and online purchase can be found at www.nbotickets.com

Wondertime & Gwendolyn and the Good-Time Gang

Two unrelated items:

1. Ella's in the new issue of Disney's Wondertime magazine. Way back when she was in first grade, a writer or editor there was looking for kids with obsessions; her teacher mentioned Ella's love for the classroom hissing cockroaches and insects more generally. (Disney's magazines' editorial offices are in Northampton.) They did a photo session back then. Then this year, they decided they wanted a slightly different style, so they did another photo session. She's not that into insects now, instead being a much broader nature interest. But oh well, it's a great photo.

2. Stefan's announced iti, so I guess it's probably official -- Gwendolyn & the Good Time Gang will be on the show November 3, and at Cup & Top in Florence right after the show.

Photos from Ellen & Matt Visit

We sure enjoyed having Ellen and Matt visit last week, and to meet their son Noah. I, typically, forgot my camera, but happily, Ellen did not:







Anyone go to their NYC shows?

Ella Jenkins Interview

Okay, even if you haven't listened to last week's show, I need to emphasize how much you need to listen to the interview with Ella Jenkins. I've even created a separate MP3 with just it; you can listen to it here. Feel free to ignore my babbling; the parts to listen to are her talking with my Ella. Those parts show you, quite exactly, why she's properly considered the first lady of music for kids.

The Deedle Deedle Dees at Bard

We had a great time seeing the Dees again at Bard. Some pictures..

There was, of course, dancing:





And drumming (during "Drum," natch):



The venue was a cool backdrop:







And we also checked out the Martin Creed exhibit at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard. Okay, mostly we checked out the balloon room at the entrance:



But we did go through the gallery a bit as well.

Happy Birthday to Gooney Bird Kids!

Read more at their site.

Playlist for 8-11-07

Sunday update: We've returned from a birthday party at a water park in the Catskills and seeing the Deedle Deedle Dees rock the tent (yes, a tent, albeit a tent with stained glass). So now, the archive of Saturday's show is here.

Brr! It's cold here! (Seriously. It's like 55.)

-legal ID (9:00)
They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - Dr. Worm/Famous Polka Live
Dan Zanes - Catch That Train
Gabby Lala - Backpack (Be Careful What You Wish For...)
Telephone Company - (Panda Brain preview)
Keith Munslow - Accidentally (Accidentally (On Purpose))
PSA (Bike Safety)
-song ID
Ellen & Matt Interview
-Side By Side
-Under Construction
-song ID
Polyphonic Spree - Running Away (Fragile Army)
Jimmies - Bedhead (Make Your Own Someday)
Professor Presley - Find a Cause (History Rocks)
Sippy Cups - Move Your Pants (Electric Storyland)
Apples in Stereo - Energy (New Magnetic Wonder)
Lunch Money - Cookie as Big as My Head (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child Live at Jalopy)
Dirty Sock Funtime Band - No Good Reason Party (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child Live at Jalopy)
PSA (Children's Art Museum)
-legal ID (9:01)
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Renee & Jeremy - Three Little Birds (It's a Big World)
-Ella Jenkins interview
Ella Jenkins - Tahboo (Cultural Children's Songs)
ScribbleMonster Live (Sort of) at Kidzapalooza
PSA (Women's Sports Foundation)
Asylum Street Spankers - Sliver (Mommy Says No!)
Mr. David - Jump in the Jumpy House (Jump in the Jumpy House)
Uncle Rock - Polar Bear Over There (Uncle Rock U)
TMBG - Spare the Rock
TMBG - Birdhouse in Your Soul Live (Severe Tire Damage)

Family Music Meltdown

That's the name of the September 15 Austin event with Laura Freeman, Telephone Company, Joe McDermott, and the Deedle Deedle Dees. Thanks to Mr. Leebot for the name suggestion!

And, by the way, we will be playing I-think-exclusive new music from Telephone Company's forthcoming CD Panda Brain this Saturday.

Yet Another Cool Thing This Week

It's not like the Ella Jenkins and ScribbleMonster-at-Lollapalooza stuff wouldn't be enough for at least a month's worth of shows, but prepare to have your mind blown, because check it out -- we'll be playing the interview with Ellen and Matt this Saturday too. They sing two songs and chat a bit about what their lives are like.

And if you're in New York this Saturday, go see them play - one show with Astrograss! More info here.

Myths and More...

Beth Blenz-Clucas of Sugar Mountain PR, one of the very few PR folks who specialize in helping kids' musicians, dropped me a line today. She was having trouble posting a comment to my earlier post linking to the AP story about Dan Zanes and kids' music.

Rather than just getting it posted as a comment, though, I thought I'd post it here to hopefully trigger more comments:

I love your quote and Amy's, Bill, but why do these writers insist on creating this myth about Dan Zanes being the "first" person to ever record a cool kids' record? The truth is that, like today, you could never in the 1990s just walk into your regular record store or big box retailer and find good stuff. There was PLENTY of great music for kids in the 90s when my kids were small, it was just very hard to find. LUCKILY today we have bloggers and new media folks like you and Amy who are making good things happen for very deserving indie artists.

Thoughts?

(And if anyone else is havng trouble posting comments, can you drop me a line and describe the problem? show AT sparetherock DOT com is the address...)

Lots of talking this week...

...but it'll still be worth listening, promise.

First up will be a phone interview with legendary Ella Jenkins.

And then we'll also play back the great ScribbleTeam coverage from Kidzapalooza. ScribbleJim and other folks from the band and his family talked with artists (folks from Hipwaders, Sippy Cups, and several others) plus various people doing the kids' activities. It is great. You'll enjoy it.

Also, our patio now looks like this:



So if we seem a little distracted over the next couple of months, just remember that we have addition brain.

Playlist for 8-4-07

Archive is here.

Legal ID
They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
Guest DJ set from Quiet One Andy:
The Troggs - Little Red Donkey (Cellophane)
The Beach Boys - Little Honda (All Summer Long)
David Bowie - The Laughing Gnome (Deram Anthology 1966-68)
Jonathan Richman - Ice Cream Man (Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers)
Antsy Cowfold - Little Wing (Antsy Cowfold)
Music for Aardvarks - I Like Your Toys (Run Around Kid)
Banana Splits - I Enjoy Being a Boy (Bubblegum Classics III)
The Yobs - The Worm Song (The Boys - The Boys)
Neil Hefti - Batman Theme (TV Land Presents Favorite Theme Songs)
Muckafurgason - Dictionary (s/t)
Kinks - Picture Book (The Kings are the Village Green Preservation Society)
Lynn Redgrave - While I'm Still Young (Smashing Time Original Motion Picture Score)
Television Personalities - Smashing Time (Yes Darling, But Is It Art?)
The Smoke - My Friend Jack (It's Smoke Time)
Syd Barrett - Effervescing Elephant (Barrett)
Donovan - I Love My Shirt (Barabajagal)
Bruce Haack - The Robot Dance (The Way Out Children's Record)
Tiny Tim - Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I'm A Nut) (God Bless Tiny Tim)
Bonzo Dog Band - Urban Spaceman (Urban Spaceman)
Daniel Johnston - I Killed the Monster (Artistic Vice)
-legal ID
Guest DJ set from Sippy Cup Rudy:
(to be typed in once I listen to it and write it down)
Guest DJ set from Hipwader Tito:
Song ID
Bonzos - Hunting Tigers Out in "Indiah"
NRBQ - Rats in My Room
Twink - Alphabent
-legal ID (9:00)
Maxwell & Mosher - Blow Wolf
Frances England - The Books I Like to Read
Song ID
Telephone Company - Mustache
Louis Jordan - Five Guys Named Moe
Pizzicato Five - Good
Chipmunks - Japanese Banana
Kaiser George - Shake in the Middle
Elastik Band - Spazz
Harry Nilsson - Little Cowboy

Video Fun

Hooray for Gooney Bird Kids!



When watching, I strangely feel like it's 9 AM on Saturday morning.