Looks like I was right about those cool Bazillion videos:

Take a tablespoon of Recess Monkey, add a heaping cup of The Hipwaders, and stir in a bit of power pop to even out the heavy rock flavor, and you’ll have the recipe for Minnesota’s new kids’ band, The Bazillions. Yum!

The Bazillions is the family-friendly iteration of the grown-up band The Humbugs, but their kids’ fare sounds much happier (though their grown-up songs are actually very good, too).

As the Bazillions they sing about Mac -n- Cheese and a Super Sonic Rocket Bike, perfect for the younger generation. Their lyrics are witty and silly and, above all else, they rock!

Their new album, Rock-n-Roll Recess, features the requisite Hello and goodbye songs, but done in a decidedly rock fashion (vey cool) and the last two tracks are lyric-free recordings of previous songs so you can sing along at home karaoke style. Kids love that.

Keep an eye on these guys—I have a feeling they may be putting out some really neat videos soon.

Have you ever heard of a bandicoot? I hadn’t, at least not until I was introduced to Anne Lawson’s lovely Australian nursery rhyme book, Mr. Bandicoot & Other Tales.

Mr. Bandicoot is a group of rhymes thought up by Anne when her children were little. They’re all decidedly Australian with stories about kangaroos, gum trees, and, of course, Mr. Bandicoot himself.

Anne says:

The songs and rhymes are filled with fantasy, imagination, and above all else, a mother’s love. The illustrations are whimsical, and as an added treat, Kate Rowe (of Space Rabbits fame) lent her talents to the accompanying CD, so you can listen to each of the songs while you read along with your kids. It’s really an amazing collection.

Anne also shared with me the way this book came about:

And the rest, as they say, is history.

I love the idea that these songs had been sitting in a box in an attic somewhere, collecting dust, worried about being forgotten, when they really lived on in the hearts of each of Anne’s children. Suddenly it became clear to the entire family that they should be shared with everyone.

Visit Mr. Bandicoot online to learn more about his story and listen to some of the songs.

When we heard that Justin Roberts was coming to town we were ecstatic—how could we possibly miss this?

When I saw that the concert was at 4:30 in the afternoon I had to reconsider. That’s prime just-woke-up-from-nap-and-ready-to-scream time for Ivan. Would this really work?

We decided to go for it. This is Justin Roberts after all, and if anyone can get Ivan out of his afternoon funk it has to be Justin and his Not Ready for Naptime Players, right?

The concert was held at the Regattabar in Harvard Square, a new venue for us. The room is on the third floor of the posh Charles Hotel and has a very open ballroom feel with lots of huge windows overlooking the square. The stage is at the same level as the audience, giving the show a very intimate feel, even though the room was packed. There were tables here and there, but most families were sitting or dancing. Actually, most of us were moving about quite a bit!

Ivan perked up immediately and got right into the groove—what had I been worried about? Ivan is a natural rocker! Justin played an hour’s worth of songs from past albums with a few new songs from Jungle Gym thrown in for good measure. He opened with Cardboard Box, which used to just be my favorite song on the new album, but is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite songs overall.

Justin has so many awesome songs that you can’t help but get excited when they launch into Stay-At-Home Dad or Yellow Bus. Probably the hardest part of a Justin Roberts concert is that there are simply too many good songs to choose from; there are bound to be one or two that you wished he had played but just couldn’t get to. I know one little girl who really missed Willy Was a Whale. But Willy was there to talk to the audience!

Yesterday’s show was delightful. If you missed out on this one, be sure to catch Justin when he’s in town next. Justin Roberts and his band have a wonderful way of interacting with the audience and moving the show from song to song, up and down, and playing with the energy level in the room superbly.

We danced, we swayed, we jumped, we laughed, and everyone had a great time. I’m always amazed by how much fun kids have at concerts and by how well performers are at engaging and directing the audience. It’s a group effort, a game played with band and audience, and the final product is a beautiful thing.

Debbie’s at it again (along with her very talented animator) making a new video for one of Ivan’s favorite songs, Opposite:

And Debbie’s also put together a sweet montage of photos from past concerts showing her fans laughing and dancing along to the groovy music. Look closely and you may just find Ivan in there somewhere!

Slow motion makes everything better…

I especially love the build up of anticipation on the guy’s face.

As we drive around town I usually pick two or three CDs to play in the car. The three we’ve got on rotation right now seem to compliment each other so well that I thought it might be nice to do a giveaway for all three!

Bari Koral’s Rock & Roll Garden came out earlier this year and was an instant hit with everyone in our family. Bari strikes that perfect balance between rock (strong tunes with electric guitar) and sweet (songs about duckies and dancing). Her lyrics tend to be simple, which make the songs easy to sing along to even the first time you hear them. But she also throws in a couple of songs with some really deep messages, like Uh Oh (my favorite song on the album), about all the possibilities that lay ahead for any kid (or grown up for that matter). Where will we end up? Will we remain friends through it all?

Bari’s voice is light and fun and we just love listening to this CD over and over. We’re also very excited to announce that Bari is planning a Massachusetts tour in August and will be playing four shows in our area! On August 5th she’ll be playing at the Lowell Summer Music Series, on August 7th she’ll be at the Hingham Launch Shipyard, and on August 10th she’ll be playing at the Watertown Library! You’ll want to get your hands on this CD so you can prepare for these three upcoming shows!

We’ve also been listening to Lisa Monet’s newest album, My Best Friend. This CD came out last year and is a nice combination of traditional and original songs. Songs like Buffalo Gals and Candy Man are always fun, but I love the new silly songs like Goin’ to a Restaurant (where mom and dad learn that it’s actually easier to just stay in and make dinner at home) and the dancing tune Shake it Up! (Ivan’s favorite on the CD).

Throughout the CD Lisa keeps returning to the themes of friendship and play, both great messages for kids. If you think about it, that’s what childhood is all about! This album is definitely worth checking out.

The last album in our rotation is the newest kids’ CD from Meredith LeVande, What are the Odds. This is the first time I’ve heard Meredith’s music and I’ve become an instant fan. Her vocals are so playful and endearing and you can really tell that she loves singing songs for kids. Meredith says that she thinks “every song should originate from a wonderful connection with a child” and that really shines through in her work.

Plus her songs are just so much fun to sing! The title song, What are the Odds, is a silly tune about odd numbers and it ends in this fast repeating verse that goes through the odd numbers one through nine over and over. It’s so much fun I dare you not to sing along!

Meredith’s new CD won’t be released until August 31st, but if you enter this contest you can get your hands on an early copy!

Now here’s your chance to win one copy of each of these CDs! Just comment on the post below or send me an email. It’s that easy!

One entry per person. CDs will be mailed to the winner. We can only ship in the US at this time.

Would you like to earn an extra entry? You can…

• Subscribe to my email or RSS updates;
• Let your friends know about the contest on Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace;
• Post about this contest on your own Blog or website;
• Add Boston Children’s Music to your Blog Roll;
• or email five of your friends and tell them about this contest.

Be sure to send me an email or comment on this post to let me know what you did for your extra entry.

This contest will end Sunday, July 31st at midnight!

Good Luck!

Have you listened to Leeny & Tamara’s song, Singing Beach? It’s a beautiful song about a beach with sand that “speaks a squeaky melody” under your feet.

I’ve always loved the imagery of this song and the whimsical idea that a beach could sing to you while you play on it. It never occurred to me that it was real!

But talking to Leeny last week she mentioned that they have a show coming up on Tuesday, July 20 at Masconomo Park, right down the road from Singing Beach. “It’s a real beach?!” I asked. “Does it really sing?” Leeny informed me that indeed the beach does sing and if only I had listened more carefully to the lyrics in the song I would have understood how this was possible:

And, according to Wikipedia, that’s exactly why the sand at some beaches makes noise when you step on it!

Leeny says: “We wrote the song Singing Beach because the idea of a beach where the sand ’sings’ under your feet seemed so fantastical and almost had a mythical quality to it. In reality, it’s more of a squeaking sound, not like the sand is singing or speaking to you, as it does in our song. But we took some artistic liberties.”

“Also, Singing Beach holds special significance for me because that’s where I met my husband, Nick, back in the summer of 2001!”

That is a special beach!

If you want to learn more about Singing Beach (the real place), you can visit the Manchester-by-the-Sea site or check out Singing Beach’s FaceBook page (yes, the beach has it’s own FB page).

If you want to learn more about the Singing Beach song, visit Leeny & Tamara’s site where you can listen to the song and read the lyrics.

And if you’re near Manchester Harbor, don’t forget to check out their free full-band outdoor show at Masconomo Park on Tuesday at 6pm!

Some very fun outdoor events coming up this weekend, beginning with one of our favorites tonight!

• Ben Rudnick & Friends will be playing as part of Lexington’s Summer Music Concert Series tonight at 6:30pm. This is always a super fun show. Just look for the huge crowd over by the Battle Green by Lexington’s Visitor’s Center.
• If you’re looking for farm fun, Saturday offers two options. Verrill Farm is holding their annual Blueberry Pancake Festival from 9am to noon with special musical guests the Yankee Stompers! And Lookout Farm says that peaches are ready for picking. You can visit the farm for pick-your-own fun then hop over to their kids’ area to listen to jeanniemack play music at 12, 1, or 2pm.
• This is also the weekend for the Green River Festival over at Greenfield Community College. The festival will be held all day on Saturday and Sunday and is featuring some of our favorite artists on the kids’ stage, like The Flannery Brothers, Ratboy Jr, Starfish, and Sarah Lee Guthrie. For a complete list of performers, click here.

So grab your sun screen and floppy hats, drink lots of water, and head out for a sunny musical weekend!

Ellis Paul’s kids’ album, The Dragonfly Races, is a sweet and bright folksy collection of songs with lots of acoustic guitar and mellow melodies.

His songs are full of imagination and curiosities. From traveling to the bottom of the ocean to attending the dragonfly races, Ellis takes the listener on an adventure through music. The CD almost sounds like the soundtrack to a fanciful cartoon!

Ellis says in an interview with Sienna Wildfield at Hilltown Families that he wants to get kids thinking about life as a journey:

And Ellis’ explorations are bringing him to Club Passim in Cambridge for a set of shows celebrating his 20 years in music—looks like he’s going to sing every song he’s ever recorded in order over the course of five shows on Friday and Saturday! To learn more about his daring plan, watch this video on WGBH.

On Saturday at 3:30pm he’ll be performing songs from The Dragonfly Races. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids.