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Cool Music for Kids News - NOVEMBER 2009
As a mom blog review notes, “rockin’ kid songs DO exist if you look hard enough.”

New Releases
We’ve got a huge stocking full of musical offerings which honor children while entertaining the adults.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family have released a wondrous CD called Go Waggaloo, available now from Smithsonian
Folkways. It has already won awards from Dr. Toy and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, and it should be on everyone’s “best
of the year” playlists.

While it’s not aimed just at kids, Putumayo’s new A Family Christmas is truly kid friendly. The bopping, rootsy song
choices by artists like Leon Redbone, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brave Combo, Deana Carter, Martin Sexton and kindie
folker Johnny Bregar, among others, are already getting my family in the holiday mood. Johnny will perform at the
Grammy Museum in Los Angeles for a Putumayo Holidays around the World family concert on December 12th.

If classical music leaves you sleepy, and the symphony orchestra scares you, check out the over-the-top educational
Stories in Music CDs from Maestro Classics. This award-winning series is produced by a symphony conductor-
composer and a music educator, a husband-wife team who have created young people’s concerts for the Kennedy
Center. Their new release, The Tortoise and the Hare, combines performances by the London Philharmonic Orchestra,
humorous narration, musical instruction and colorful liner notes with illustrations and activity ideas.

Bay Area kid rockers Charity and the JAMband will release their long-awaited Party Like a Twinkle Star,  a double-
CD gift set that will be available in locally in December and then nationally released with a full JAMband CD release party
in San Francisco come January. Check out the FREE song of the month on the JAMband website to catch a sample of
Charity Kahn’s soulfull, jazzy and utterly hip music for families.

Disney’s Princess and the Frog and Creole for Kids
Terrance Simien, one of the top talents in zydeco and Creole music (he appeared in The Big Easy), is a featured artist
on the soundtrack for Disney’s first animated film featuring an African American princess. The story is set in Louisiana,
and Terrance’s lively accordion music is on the song, “I’m Gonna Take You There.” Terrance is an internationally
recognized expert on Creole culture and music, and frequently presents his award-winning Creole for Kids programs in
thousands of concerts and school performances.

A Free Song for Flu Season
Bill Harley has written a funny song for kids that is certainly very timely. Put your free download of Bill’s “Wash Your
Hands” song into your H1N1 musical mix now from Bill’s website. It’s featured this month on Education.com’s Swine Flu
information page too. This is a very helpful page full of great information.

A Great Cause
The Grammy Award winning duo of Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are hosting a “Heartstrings” program to support a
great cause – Guitars Not Guns – in the Washington DC area. Check out their blog for more details about this great
fundraiser.


Looking forward to 2010
We just learned about a wonderful country- folk band called I See Hawks in L.A.. Some of the band members have spent
some time this year recording songs for kids under the new banner of Earthworm Ensemble. Their new CD by the
same name will be released nationally on February 19th. Check out the listening page now, and please let us know if you
want to get a CD for review shortly.

Putumayo Kids will release what may be the first international jazz recording for kids. Their Jazz Playground is due out on
March 9th, continuing in the lively and best-selling tradiiton of their acclaimed Playground series of world music CDs.

In January, the new music label Minivan Productions  plans to reissue some of Peter Himmelman’s albums that have
been out of print. The cover art will be done by Pete Oswald, the talented artist behind the new movie Cloudy with a
Chance of Meatballs. Oswald says he enjoys creating art for Himmelman’s CDs: "Peter's music is full of amazing imagery.
He paints each song with playful lyrics. Peter is like Van Gogh, but with two ears."

Lastly, if you l ike the new Wild Things movie but think it may be a bit too scary for your youngest kids, check out the
original animated adaptation of Sendak’s story from the Scholastic Storybook Treasures series. This collection of
stories also includes an interview with Sendak in his studio.

We’ll send out a holiday update next month. Till then, keep those tunes spinning and contact us if you want to hear
anything!
Cool Music for Kids News - DECEMBER 2009
Happy Holidays Edition
www.sugarmountainpr.com


Grammy and kamily
The 52nd annual Grammy Award nominees have been announced, and we’re pleased to say that our clients
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer's Banjo To Beatbox was nominated for Best Musical Album for Children.
Congratulations to Cathy, Marcy and Christylez Bacon!

If you like awards, check out the recently posted national critics’ poll of the Best Children’s Music of 2009, the
Fids and Kamily Awards. You’ll see familiar names and faces, including Peter Himmelman, Billy Jonas, Sarah Lee
Guthrie, Captain Bogg & Salty, Ben Rudnick and Robbert Bobbert, clients we’ve been bragging about all year.
Now through December 10th, you can order all of these award winners with free shipping from Pokey Pup, one of
our fav specialty music e-tailers. Clients Peter Himmelman, Robbert Bobbert, Rocknoceros and Billy Jonas also
made NPR's "Best Kids' Music of 2009." These are the personal picks of Kids Corner radio's lovely host Kathy
O'Connell.

Holiday shows galore
Holiday time is ripe for music. It’s a great time to treat the kids to a live concert. Putumayo Kids hosts the Holidays
around the World show (featuring artist Johnny Bregar) at the Grammy Museum on December 12th. Captain Bogg
& Salty will be telling tales and singing their rock-charged sea shanties in Portland at their Yo Ho Holiday Concert
on December 6th. Hot Peas ‘N Butter will present their multicultural musical treats  at New York City’s Symphony
Space on December 19th. Bill Harley has family concerts planned this weekend and next. Cathy Fink and Marcy
Marxer host their 24th annual Winter concert; Justin Roberts has pre-Christmas shows planned in his hometown
of Chicagoland and will be counting down the hours at Legoland on New Year’s Eve. And Peter Himmelman is the
starred attraction at the second Minivan Family Concert on December 6th in Venice, CA.

Starry, starry night --- and day!
Charity and the JAMband is happy to have their new double CD set Party  Like a Twinkle Star  out in time for
holiday giving. You can hear all of the tracks and download the entire album now (or buy the lovingly illustrated
hardcopy set) from the JAMband website.  The JAMband will host gala CD release concerts soon in San Francisco
and Berkeley, CA.


Fun stuff to do, watch and read
Putumayo Kids Dance Off wants your home videos! Right now and through December 30th, you can submit
videos of kids and parents dancing to Putumayo tunes. Details are on the site.

Jitterbug TV is fast becoming the go-to place for fun music videos. They recently posted a host of Justin Roberts
tunes and videos on the site. It’s a fabulous and FREE place to discover new artists.

Mamarama author Evelyn McDonnell published a trend story in the Los Angeles Times recently, featuring Peter
Himmelman and other rocking artists in the alt.kids genre.

Coming up in 2010
Save your gift cards because Key Wilde & Mr Clarke’s Rise and Shine will be available at retail stores across the
country on January 5th. Get a sneak preview here: and send me your review copy requests now.

Earthworm Ensemble is a new group of talented Los Angeles area Americana artists who collaborated to create a
fun collection of original tunes for children. Their self-titled CD debuts on February 16th, and you can hear the
music and view the video “Mama Loves You” now.

Cathy and Marcy’s Songshop has kept their elves busy getting three new releases ready for February. The
Grammy Award winning performers are launching a new Meet the Instruments educational DVD series for
preschoolers with two videos: Things with Strings  and Tap and Clap. They’ll also release a new Little Ditties for
Itty Bitties audio CD by Michele Valerie of DinoRock fame.

Stay warm and enjoy the season!
Cool Music for Kids News - Winter 2010
Back to the Future
www.sugarmountainpr.com

Waggaloo on Vinyl
In a move that can only be described as 21st century retro, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings recently announced
the March 16th vinyl release of the Oppenheim Toy Award winning CD Go Waggaloo. Created by Woody Guthrie's
granddaughter Sarah Lee, and featuring performances by the entire Guthrie clan as well as Pete Seeger, Go
Waggaloo blends traditional folk music with contemporary lyrics and instrumentation. Among the surprises on Go
Waggaloo are a scratching drum machine, songs about Xboxes and DVDs, and a spur-of-the-moment song recorded
on a cell phone by the Guthrie family on a road trip. For yet another fresh twist, the vinyl release will include a
coupon for a free digital download of the entire album. Catch Sarah Lee Guthrie and family's one-hour music special
with Robbie Schaefer on Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live in March.

Old School Songs for a Green Generation
Next week, the collective effort of some of Los Angeles' top Americana artists will celebrate the sprouting of their new
CD Earthworm Ensemble. The self-titled CD includes 11 original songs that will bear repeated listening by kids of all
ages. These songs offer an imaginative, child's eye view of nature and the universe, with light and humorous touches
throughout. "Bang a Drum" is a deceptively simple percussive piece that will get kids up off the couch and banging
along to the beat. A healthy, DIY message is humorously delivered in the father-to-son song "Pizza Moon," and we
can come along for the ride on old-timey songs like "The Traveling Train" and "Walking Boy." Don't take our word for
it; check out DailyCandy's rave review.

Cathy & Marcy's Songshop News
Grammy Award divas Cathy and Marcy have been making smart songs for kids for more than two decades. Their
recent EP Banjo to Beatbox continues to generate buzz and awards because of its ingenious combination of
traditional folk sounds with of-the-minute urban beats (as performed by Christylez Bacon). This winter, Cathy &
Marcy's Songshop will release two new instructional DVDs called Meet the Instruments: Tap and Clap and Things
with Strings. The artists speak directly to the viewers, who will feel that they're getting friendly and personal
information about music and instruments. And for the first time, Cathy & Marcy's Songshop will release the work of a
fellow artist, with Michele Valeri's delightful new collection of activity songs for babies and toddlers: Little Ditties for
Itty Bitties.

String Band Music for Kids
Talk about old made new! One of America’s best-loved string bands with a loyal fan base, Rani Arbo & daisy
mayhem, took the kids' music blogosphere by storm earlier this winter, and will soon offer the national release of
their CD Ranky Tanky. There's definitely no hanky panky going on here. Their rendition of the Cat Stevens hit "If You
Want To Sing Out" is enjoying heavy rotation on Sirius XM's Kids Place Live. Check out band member Anand Nayak's 3
year old son Jack on Youtube -- he's got rhythm!

Pop and Funk: Good Stuff Coming this Spring
Debbie and Friends delivers sold pop tunes for kids who are "all grown up" On most weekends, this Berklee College
of Music dean hits the stage and becomes a kindie pop sensation. Folllowing the success of her Story Songs and
Sing Alongs release two years ago, Debbie Cavalier will deliver More Story Songs and Sing Alongs on March 30th.
Debbie's got a host of great music videos, including some that were featured on the season premiere of TV's "24"
last month (check out what Jack Bauer's granddaughter is watching this winter!). Debbie's blog is also worth
checking out for the latest performance news and free offers.

Some of the funkiest music ever made for kids is coming out of... Oklahoma!!!??? It's true, we recently discovered the
witty vibes of the Sugar Free Allstars. Their 2007 disc Dos Ninos created a sensation with the Fids and Kamily critics
poll, and in late April, the duo of Chris (Boom!) Wiser and Rob (Dr. Rock) Martin will deliver some new goods with
Funky Fresh and Sugar Free.

We'll soon have news about new music from Justin Roberts, Elizabeth Mitchell and more, so stay tuned