The girls and I will be traveling most of the month of July. While traveling usually only slows down my blogging and doesn't stop it, I'm in dire need of a vacation, and I am taking one.
I hope to get good enough wi-fi to blog on my personal blog, so feel free to hop on over to Daily Goon to follow our adventures in Paris and Nice.
Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC and see Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen them a couple times before, once in Georgia, and love his enthusiasm, music and smile.
We spent a bit of time in the upstairs waiting area. The kids were asked if they would like to make some recordings for possible use on the station, and they all loved it -- they had to say "Sirius/XM Kids Place Live!" Camille ran around chasing one very fast little toddler who feels right at home at XM, wandering down this way and that.
We finally got to head into the performance theater. Brady in the band wandered in before Mindy got to play her "joke" on them. Brady jumped right into playing, starting off with the logical choice "Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could." The band members at this show were Brady on lead, Seth Farber on keybaords, Liz Queler on mandolin and vocals and then Chris Roselli stuck over in the drum box.
The concert was fantastic. Great energy, great selection of songs (though I would have loved to hear 15 more, of course). The audience really got into "I Found It!" Brady played older songs along with songs from the latest CD and even a couple new tunes, which we can't wait to hear on his next CD! He finished up on a high note with the popular "Road Trip." What fun!
We had a great time hanging out for a long time after the show. Brady and Bridget are so wonderful, happy and just great people to be with. We wish them all the best on their musical journey!
Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
The band and I have begun recording the next Uncle Rock CD with the always-impressive Dean Jones of Dog on Fleas at the helm. We're having a wonderful time and the tunes are sounding great. Working title: The Big Picture. ETA: Early 2010.
Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC for our third time in May! It was so great to see Randy Kaplan perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen him a couple times before, but never for a full show, and it was great! We love his sense of humor and way of blending song and outrageous stories.
Chloe was thrilled that he did "Shampoo Me" and I was so happy that he played the "Grape Juice Hesitation Blues." He got the audience interacting on songs that they had never heard before. Everyone had a blast, but the loyal KPL listeners were quite anxious for him to get to the two songs that KPL has been playing (over and over) lately. After the show, he hung out with the fans until he had to run to catch his train. Camille and I found it amusing that Randy had the "Ladybug Without Spots" verse order taped to the guitar.
Wow. Round and Round from Melissa Green ended up in our swag bag from STINKfest, and we just LOVE it. I had no idea what to expect when loading it into the CD player, and I was so pleasantly surprised. Hope you enjoy it too.
I have always loved the Putumayo CDs, long before I was a parent. And now that I am a parent who is interested in kids' music, I love their CDs even more. The latest "PutumayoKids Playground" CD is European Playground, and we love it!
We have two copies of this new CD to giveaway. Just comment on this post by 11pm (ET) on the 27th of May (please leave contact info) and we will choose winners at random.
From the press release:
European Playground, the newest release in Putumayo Kids’ acclaimed Playground series of CDs, is a collection of 15 songs that takes families on a fun-filled cross-genre musical tour around the continent. It will be released in the US, Europe and more than 60 other countries around the world.
Europe is a favorite destination for travelers who marvel at the continent’s rich cultural variety. Europe is home to almost 50 countries, each with its own unique culture, history, traditions, food and music. European Playground features a lively and engaging selection of family-friendly music from contemporary artists from these very diverse regions. The multilingual songs are easy to sing and dance along to, no matter what language you speak.
Again, we have two copies of this new CD to giveaway. Just comment on this post by 11pm (ET) on the 27th of May (please leave contact info) and we will choose winners at random.
Last weekend, we went on a quick tour of Europe, thanks to the European Union Embassies Open House in Washington. This week, we continued our European tour with European Playground from Putumayo Kids. I love the fabulous mix of languages and musical styles present on this new CD! We will listen again and again.
A portion of of Putumayo’s proceeds from the sale of this CD will be donated to the European Federation for Street Children (EFSC), a Brussels-based non-profit organization committed to the improvement of the rights and situations of street children in Europe and beyond.