Momma Daria's Kid's Music Review

CD Review: Beautiful Rainbow World by Daria

2007-07-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

Who: Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, an amazing, world-renown folk singer who has preformed in over 14 different countries.

What: Daria's 3rd CD, Beautiful Rainbow World, a wonderful world tour of music that combines traditional folk favorites and touching original songs. Over 10 different cultures are represented on this album of peace and harmony.

Where: International day at school or anytime you want to hear instruments from other cultures.

Additional Positives: There are more instruments on this CD than I have ever seen. Daria also does a great job on the liner notes, providing additional information about each song.

Things to grown on: A pronunciation guide would help those of us who would like to sing along to the music but after listening a few time you can pick the words up.

CD Review: Robot Monkey Head

2007-06-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

Who: John Hadfield, an Delaware based, East Coast touring, multi talented musician.

What: Robot Monkey Head - John's follow up CD to his 2002 Children's Music Web Award winning debut album, Monkeys in the House.

Where: This is totally a LISTEN EVERYWHERE album. My daughter loves this CD and has asked for it every day since I played it for her. I think it is great for the 5-8 year old set. There is a ton of variety in the music - everything from a country reel to the title song which has a little bit of a Devo feel to it. I don't think I have heard another ode to salt on an album and this one is hard to shake loose once you hear it.

Additional Positives: I love it when musicians use a lot of different instruments. John and his guest musicians break out a Dobro, mandolin, sax, stand up bass, banjo, ukulele, octachime (I have no idea what this is), duck tape, and whoopee cushions (2 of which got blown out during the making of the CD).

Things to grow on: The one song that I didn't really like is Bunny Foo Foo, the High School Years. It is an anti-bullying song but the moral of the story is you shouldn't be a bully because someone bigger will hit you with a carrot one day. Not quite what I was hoping for. The second thing I would like is in John's first album his liner notes gave small blurbs about each song. I loved reading them. This CD doesn't have it. Bring the blurbs back.

For those of you who live in the Washington DC metro area like we do... John will be playing 4 concerts in Fairfax for the Arts in the Parks series. Click here for more information and dates.

CD Review: Play! Milkshake

2007-03-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

Who: Milkshake This Baltimore band has hit the big time with the preschool set. They have videos on both Noggin and PBS Kids. They manage to provide fun, happy music that doesn't drive parents crazy.

What: The band's 3rd CD PLAY! which is jammed packed with 13 songs and three BONUS tracks from Discovery Kid's ToddWorld. That's 15 songs for those of you counting. The songs are so easy to sing you are chiming in before you are even finished listening the first time. From pirates, to baseball, to planting a garden, to being in a band... The variety in the tunes means this CD won't get old quickly.

Where: Perfect for long car rides because everyone can sing along and the songs don't get on your nerves.

Additional Positives: Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. helps with a voice over on the Baseball song. How cool is THAT?

Things to grow on: Hummm. This one is really hard for me. Milkshake is doing a great job developing into a top notch kid's band. I see them getting their own imagination/music kids show some day. But in the meantime maybe they should try a polka? Everyone loves a polka RIGHT?

Quick Shoutout to Yosi and More on the Imagination Movers

2007-02-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

So this blog, while only a few months old, has been YEARS in the making. I go to so many kid's concerts and I love talking to the musicians. In fact last summer in a conversation with Yosi, he complimented me on my insight into kid's music and suggested that I start a kid's music blog. I didn't have faith in my writing ability, my knowledge, or even my opinions so I put it off. Until now. Thank you SOOO much Yosi for the suggestion.

With all of the contacts I have had with kid's musicians (in person and via email). I have not met a single artist who wasn't kind, polite, and eager to talk to their fans. I have been to a few concerts where I wondered if the performers were performing for the wrong group (like adult humor they think kids won't get but I think some of the savvy kids did). Some kid's musicians are such positive role models I want to make sure not just their music is highlighted in this blog.

The perfect example of this is the Imagination Movers. They are from New Orleans and their album Eight Feet (referring to the level the water rose in one of their houses after Katrina destroyed their city) is AMAZING. The song 'We Got Each Other (the Evacuation Song)' talks about what really matters when leaving a city because of a hurricane. We have seen the Movers 2 times and in both cases the guys walk through the crowd shaking hands and saying heart felt "Thank yous" for coming to see them play. Firm hand shakes, posing for photos with kids followed by a show full of so much energy that it just makes you smile. Not only that but they sell their DVD and CDs for $10 at the show. $10... can you believe that? We bought the DVD for our daughter and she watched it every day for about 6 months. When we went on vacation last summer we woke up every morning to requests for the Movers (Lesley couldn't say Imagination). I sent an email at 6:30am one day saying how happy I was that their website had videos and had a response from one of the Movers in a matter of hours. The Imagination Movers have signed with Disney which is a pretty big deal. I do not know what this means for them and their concerts, I would hate to see them go the way of other children's artists who now hock breakfast cereals to our impressionable children. I have a feeling that Rich, Scott, Dave, and Smitty just wouldn't let that happen.

Take Care,
Momma Daria

CD Review: The Hipwaders

2007-02-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

This is my second CD review and I have been procrastinating not because of the CD but because I have very little faith in my reviewing abilities. Please bear with me.

Who: The Hipwaders These California guys really bring me back to days of House of Freaks - an awesome band out of Richmond, VA. Totally NOT your average kid's music band! They cover it all from 1920 jazzy percussion, guitar with great leading vocals to 1960s trippy tunes.

What: The self titled CD The Hipwaders. My family loves the 'Messy Room Song' which has had some nice air play on XMKids. When this CD landed in my mail box I was thrilled. It is packed with 18 songs but more than half are under 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Where: You're going to want to dance to most of these songs. Pretend to be a bus, a plane, a green bicycle. I think the songs are a little too short to be car friendly but maybe not.

Additional Positives: Any band that had a mandolin, airsynth, bass and congas on their CD gets a vote from me.

Things to grow on: I really wish more of the songs were longer. 18 tunes are a whole lot for a CD. Pick the best and expand on them - some songs sounded too similar to each other.

So in a nutshell this is a GREAT first album. The Hipwaders have a lot of promise and I wish them a great future.

CD Review: Snow Day! by Eric Herman and the Invisible Band

2007-01-25T16:54:00.000-08:00

This is my first CD review and I have NOOO idea what I am doing so I am going to do the best that I can. Feedback from readers would be appreciated.

Who: Eric Herman and the Invisible Band. He sounds like a Disco/Electronic Yosi. I'd love to see a full band show sometime.
What: The CD Snow Day! Their third CD filled with 12 songs many have funny zinger at the end (like "Melony Ring" or "When I Grow Up".) The songs are different enough you won't find yourself feeling TRAPPED listening to the CD. There were two positive thinking songs, "No Big Deal" and "My Lucky Day", that I think are good for kids to hear. The album ends with two beautiful songs, "Hide and Seek With the Moon" and "This Little Light of Mine". I wish they weren't at the end of the CD.
Where: A great CD for the car or home. "Dance Like an Animal" would fit in at school or at a
Additional Positives: GREAT Liner notes...very comprehensive.
Aditional Positives: Compared to the previous CDs it seems like Eric is coming into his own now. The CD is very professional and he seems to have found his audience. I wish him the best of luck.
Things to grow on: I would probably put the songs in a different order and I'd love for him to write a few "Universal values" songs, like about sharing, caring, love, etc. I think that teaching these values to kids though song is a wonderful thing.

So in a nutshell I really like Snow Day! And my guess is you will too. If you're interested check him out at CDBaby.

Take Care,
Momma Daria

A Great Kid's Music Day... Milkshake at XMK!

2007-01-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great day! Lesley Lou and I joined a TON of XMK and Milkshake-lovers in XM Radio's live session studio to see Milkshake preform for the Valentine's Weekend Rumpus Room concert. I am not going to review this one because a XM concert isn't like any show you will see anywhere else and this one was even more special because they were filming it add it to their DVD. Talk about COOOOOOOL.

What I will do, is in a few weeks, I will add my review of their new album (their 3rd), Play. For those of you who want to check it out yourself before then I suggest you pick it up at CD Baby.

FINALLY... The promised review of Robbie Schaefer's 12/31/2006 show at Jammin Java

2007-01-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy few weeks for us at Momma Daria's house so I am late in getting this review out. I would like to apologize for that. Hopefully that won't happen again, but sometimes even adults break promises that they mean to keep.

Let me start of by saying that we have never seen Robbie Schaefer preform. He has been playing in this area as a member of Eddie From Ohio (EFO) for years and even though they are our closest friends' favorite band we have never even heard any of their CDs. This is going to change because if their adult music is as great as Robbie's songs for kids then we have been missing out on a good thing.
So here's the rundown of the concert-
Who: Robbie Schaefer with a few special guests including 2 of his sons - Ethan and Owen, several children and 2 parents (one of them was me)
Where: Jammin Java
When: Dec 31, 2006 3pm show (There were two shows on that day)
How: $10 per person for tickets bought at Jammin Java. A $3 convieniece fee is added for every ticket bought online or over the phone. OUCH.
What did I think: WOW... What a great show. We'd do it again tomorrow if we could. Lesley is crazy about Robbie now.

The show started with Robbie flanked on stage by two of his sons singing "No, No, No". I thought "Ohh this is so cute.. Can you imagine all the songs they sing at home?" But soon I realize that this is their life. They loved it. They were smiling and preforming as much as their dad. The next song was "Chicken Lips " which is Robbie's cover of a Bruce Springsteen song. This isn't the easiest song to sing but I was pleasantly surprised that most of the kids in the audience knew all of the words.

Then Robbie asked for parent volunteers and my hand flew up before I could stop it. I got my 15 minutes of fame singing "The Donkey and the Mouse". My friends and family will not be surprised at all that I got to be the DONKEY (and a pig, and cow and a walrus). All I had to do was make animal sounds. I have been practicing for this gig for the last 4 1/2 years since Lesley Lou LOVES animal sounds. Here is a small video of the spectacle.

The concert continued with "Cowboy Bob" which is such a fun song to sway to. Next Robbie asked for 6 kids to come join him on stage to help sing Professor Schnoodle. Each child was given a piece of poster board with a color on it (Blue, Brown, Purple, Green, Poka dot, and Red) and they were supposed to raise their sheet when their color is mentioned in the song. The kids did a GREAT job!!!

Next Robbie explained a little bit of the background of "Carp in the Tub" and then Owen and Ethan joined him to sing it. They also had some very cool choreography to the Carp Carp chorus. The old favorite "There Ain't No Bugs on me" was next on the list followed by one of my favorite songs now "Sally Can I walk you home?" This songs is GREAT to sing to your kids. It is hard to mess up and Sally can easily be replaced with most names. We (Lesley Lou and I) thought that Robbie used drums on this song but in concert it was just him slapping his guitar. Who would have thought?

By this time of the concert they were passing out small cups of apple juice (remember this was the New Year's Eve Show) and Robbie began talking about Resolutions. When he asked what a resolution was some smartie pants parent said "Something you break". Robbie continued on without skipping a beat and we all sang the Resolution Song. All of the kids covered their hearts and help up their other hand and made their resolutions.
When the song was over, we counted down from 10 to 0 then shouted "Happy New Year". The kids toasted each other and we began singing "auld lang syne".

At the end of the concert Robbie, Owen and Ethan posed for photos, signed CDs, postcards and sold stickers (Lesley's is on the head rest in front of her carseat and she kisses it all the time).

What a GREAT way to end 2006! We can't wait to see Robbie again sometime really soon. Let me know if you have ever seen Robbie play and what you think.

Never heard of Robbie Schaefer? Pick up his CD at CD Baby.

Lots of love,
Momma Daria

New Music Reviews Coming Soon!

2007-01-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Momma Daria is taking some time of to deal with some personal issues (see her other blog for details). She will have a review of the wonderful Robbie Schaefer concert at Jammin' Java in Fairfax, VA as well as CD reviews from Eric Herman and the Invisible Band and the Hipwaders!

Note to musicians: If you'd like to have your CD reviewed, please send them to the address at the bottom of this page. Thank You to the artists who have sent CDs already. Momma Daria is enjoying them immensely and will post a review soon.

WOW WHAT A GREAT DAY!!! (Yes I am shouting.. but in a good way)

2006-12-31T19:17:00.000-08:00

Ok here is a teaser of what is coming this week... I spent this afternoon at a GREAT Kid's music concert. Robbie Schaefer (Yeah, the Eddie from Ohio guy) and his sons were at Jammin Java today for 2 shows. I even got to go on stage and have my own 15 minutes of fame. I am STILL giddy over it. In case you can't guess this will be a wonderful review and a taste of what his live shows are like so that you can decide before paying $10 to see him (OK I was pretty manic at the time so my review is VERY biased. BUT in my humble opinion, 10 Bucks was NOTHING and he was worth every PENNY.)

Goodbye 2006.. Hello 2007

2006-12-30T01:41:00.000-08:00

Wow what a GREAT year it has been for Kid's music! As I said in my first post, music has been a HUGE part of our life since practically the day my daughter was born (I didn't mention it but for the first 5 weeks of her life I was listening to a WHOLE lot of Raffi... Hey now, be nice, I didn't know there were other artists out there.) This year, however, Lesley REALLY began to get it.

Aside: A little bit about Lesley Lou. My first born daughter Lesley is the love of my life (sorry Poppa Todd - Big T Little odd). She is almost 5 (Feb 13 is her Birthday) and has mild Cerebral Palsy. She is the most wonderful little girl. She is sweet, kind, happy, and NEVER gives up. She has problems walking and has both legs in braces and a strapping system called Theratogs to help her get around. She is also developmentally delayed - I'd say she is about 1 year behind. This year things have really begun to click. She learned to jump during the summer, recently she started to be able to walk up and down a curb unaided (the mechanics of simply walking and and down a curb is unbelievable ... but most people just take it for granted). She has started doing a ton of chores like putting away the dishes, helping with laundry, picking my lunch out of the freezer each morning, and helping put away the groceries. WOW, writing all of this just makes me so proud of the great little kid that Lesley Lou is becoming. In the last month or two Lesley has started loving kid's music MORE than me. And she is starting to learn all the dances associated with the songs (the big ones are Justin Roberts's "I chalk", "My Brother Did It", and "Billy Was a Bully"). She has also started asking for specific songs by name like "Sheep" by Zoe Lewis or "Get Your Goat On" by Terri Hendrix. OK, this aside has gotten a little too far aside. Back to the main post.

So in honor of 2006 coming to an end I thought I would have the Momma Daria Kid's Music Awards. This is only my personal opinion and I hope you will chime in with your thoughts in the comments section. Everyone is entitled to their opinion here as long as you are nice about it. So let the show begin.

For best kid's show of the year, the nominees are:

Ralph's World (full band show) at the XMKid's Rumpus room in DC

Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players at National Geographic Live in DC.

Imagination Movers at the Olney Theater in MD

Yosi at the Celebrate Fairfax Fair in Fairfax, VA

SteveSongs outdoor concert for the Arlington UUC Co-operative Preschool

And the winner is (drum roll please)..... Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players at National Geographic Live in DC. I can not tell you how awesome this show was. It was extra special because it was Liam Davis's Birthday. It was the first full band Justin Roberts show that I had ever seen and he has SKY ROCKETED to the top of my "FAVORITE Live Shows" list.

For Best Album of the Year, the nominees are:

Celebrate the Difference by Terri Hendrix

Meltdown by Justin Roberts

Eight Feet by Imagination Movers (I think this might have come out last year, oh well.)

Songs for Kids Like Us by Robbie Schaefer from Eddie from Ohio

And the winner is.... Celebrate the Difference by Terri Hendrix. Man this was a hard one to pick. I think Lesley Lou would pick Meltdown by Justin Roberts slightly ahead Celebrate the Difference but this is my Awards Show (in a few years she will have her own don't you worry). We only got Robbie's CD for Xmas so there has been limited listening time unfortunately (and I am thrilled that we are going to see him live for the first time 12/31/06 at Jammin' Java in Vienna). And I haven't gotten Steve Weeks new CD yet, the last in the Alphabet series, so that will be included in next year's nominees.

For Best Kid's Song of the year, the nominees are:

Chicken Noodle Soup by Yosi

I Chalk by Justin Roberts

Nerves by Terri Hendrix

Sheep by Zoe Lewis

And the Winner is... Sheep by Zoe Lewis. What a great, fun, happy song. I could listen to it over and over (and often do). XMK plays the version from the PUTUMAYO Folk Playground album which is slightly more kid's friendly than the one on her non-kid's CD Sheep. Zoe Lewis doesn't have a kid's album out yet but when it comes I will buy it the first day. She is AWESOME. Her stuff isn't for everyone (unfortunately) but I would TOTALLY suggest you cool, hip parents check it out... that is if you buy CDs for yourself. Thanks Absolutely Mindy for suggesting that I take a risk and buy a CD for myself.

Well that brings my first Momma Daria Kid's Music Awards show to an end. Thanks for sticking though it... it went a little longer than I had scheduled. On a personal note, we have MAJORLY great plans for 2007 and I am so worked up about them. I can't sleep so posts at 5am may be occurring for awhile. So there might be errors or I may forget someone I should have talked about, please forgive me. I am new at this and still getting used to writing.

Remember everyone, What Goes Around Comes Around so try and be the person you would like to be best friends with.

Love,
Momma Daria

2006-12-29T00:20:00.000-08:00

Where to begin?
Well how's this.... My daughter's first concert was when she was 6 weeks old. I had just bought our first Ralph's World CD and we had been listening to it constantly for days. Lesley had really bad colic and music was the only thing that helped calm her down. When I went to check out his website I saw he was doing a Kid's Show at IOTA in Arlington, VA. We didn't have any other plans so we went. She was dressed in a little Cubs outfit (because Ralph is from Chicago and a Cubs fan like my husband Todd). She got her first hand stamp which I joyful captured on (digital) film. And that day the obsession began. I realised I like this music as much (OK sometimes MORE) that my daughter did.
When Lesley was about 6 months old my husband bought me an XMRadio for our car. Lesley still loved music and I was wearing out all of our CDs. We thought XM would be a great place to "go". WOW was it ever. We loved the DJs (Kenny, Mindy, Jynx and now Dee) and I soon began calling and sending emails. With a name like Daria I am easy to remember. Soon I became Momma Daria and Lesley is known as Lesley Lou. Soon our family expanded to include Cassie Boo (our second daughter Cassandra Anne who passed away in 2005). Since we live in Northern VA, the XM Staff started to invite us to their amazing live recording studio to attend Rumpus Room concerts. We have seen so many awesome bands there. Imagination Movers, Justin Roberts, Trout Fishing in America, Rebecca Frezza to name a few.
But I still couldn't get enough Kid's music so we started attending shows at local fairs, bars, and coffee shops. I love talking to the musicians and giving them ideas of good venues to play. Most recently we have started going to National Geographic Live Family concert series. I was lucky enough to hook up with the guy who books the shows and he asks for my suggestions for who to bring (I like to think that I was at least partly the reason why Washington DC had it's first Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players FULL BAND SHOW).
So after thinking LOOOONGGG and hard and procrastination a whole lot I am ready to accept the challange and put fingers to keyboard and help you (yes, YOU) the parents of the world desperate for really GOOD kid's music find exactly what you are looking for.
And if you are a musician who would like me to review your CD please feel free to contact me.
So be prepared for my first review... coming shortly.
Blessings.
Daria