Recess Monkey's Latest Soon To Be "FLYING" Off The Shelves

Recess Monkey is one of our favorite kindie bands here at ChiIL Mama.   They rocked Kidzapalooza 2010 and you can check out our interviews, stills, and live video HERE.    They were our ChiIL Mama Win A Disc Wednesday feature band a number of times last year, and we are beyond excited to bring you their brand new release, Flying, due for release on summer solstice, June 21.   Flying is produced by infamous Lollapalooza Co-Producer and annual Kidzapalooza MC, Tor Hyams!


If you didn't win this week, we have 2 more copies of Flying that could be flying off our blog and into your home soon.    ChiIL Mama's review of Flying will be up in the very near future.    Check out their web site HERE and check in with ChiIL Mama early and often for more Flying fun and other great new releases.





IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S …

‘FLYING!’

with

RECESS MONKEY

NEW CD TO BE RELEASED JUNE 21

“These kids’ songs are … awesome!  … There are bands you can’t go wrong with, and this is one of them.” – USA Today

“RECESS MONKEY:  If Seattle is the new bastion of kindie rockers, then the trio of elementary school teachers — Jack Forman, Daron Henry and Drew Holloway  — are the city's breakout stars.” – Time magazine

“RECESS MONKEY, The Final Funktier:  The clever trio kick it space-age style on a boppy set with songs like ‘Ukulalien’ and “Beat-Box-a-Robot’ that future astronauts will find irresistibly fun. ★★★★” – People  magazine

“BEST KIDS’ CDs OF THE DECADE:  This trio of Seattle teachers (who have even garnered Beatles comparisons) has become a force to be reckoned with in children's music.”  –AOL ParentDish

For those who understand how a gravity-defying leap from the couch is mightily enhanced by wearing a bed sheet cape, celebrated independent children’s recording group Recess Monkey offers a superhero-inspired collection of music on their seventh studio CD, FLYING! (Monkey Mama, $14.99, for ages 3 – 8, run time 47 minutes. Release date: June 21, 2011.).  

Superheroes usually populate a world of make-believe, but most of the songs on FLYING! are firmly grounded in the everyday, real-life experiences ofRecess Monkey as teachers, parents, and (former) kids and graced with the knowledge that an ordinary person can, indeed, transform into a superhero. Think Wonder Woman re-imagined as a five-year-old playground dynamo covered in band-aids, Superman as a “Superkid” who bravely tells the truth and stands up for what's right, or a tribute to one of the greatest superheroes of all time: Grandma!

Kids’ music authority Stefan Shepherd (Zooglobble) has declared, ““Dan Zanes may be the godfather; They Might Be Giants, the legitimizer; and Laurie Berkner, Ralph Covert, and Justin Roberts the genre’s superstars.  But Recess Monkey is the heart of kids’ music today.” 

“Kindie” music favorites Chris Ballew/Caspar Babypants, Molly Ledford (Lunch Money), Justin Lansing (The Okee Dokee Brothers), Dean Jones(Dog on Fleas), Johnny Bregar, Tom Baisden (The Not-Its!) and Chris Wiser (Sugar Free Allstars) play superhero on FLYING! The album’sproducer, Tor Hyams, launches flights of keyboard fancy on several tracks, and children’s author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka (Lunch Lady, Punk Farm) contributes FLYING’s stunning interior comic strip artwork, showing the world just how Recess Monkey became superheroes.

The three members of Recess Monkey are teachers who met while working at the same Seattle school and shared a genuine enthusiasm for a grad school project that morphed into their 2005 debut release Welcome to Recess Monkey Town. This was followed by another popular (and zoologically correct) hit, Aminal House.  The teachers — Jack Forman, Daron Henry, and Drew Holloway — made history with their next release, Wonderstuff,the first double CD children’s album produced from material generated at a kids’ summer camp workshop. Likewise, 2008’s Tabby Road, 2009’s Field Trip, and 2010’s The Final Funktier each came from real life children’s experiences.  

From a plethora of remarkable Seattle-based “kindie” musicians, Seattle Magazine chose to honor Recess Monkey in 2010 with its “Best Local Kids’ Music” accolade. The band’s 2010 release, The Final Funktier, was highlighted on CBS-TV’s The Early Show and in People magazine. The Final Funktier was on “Best of 2010” lists by Amazon.com  ; Parents Magazine; The Washington Post; Time Out NY Kids;Kidsmusic.About.com  ; Boston Children’s Music; Cool Mom Picks; Daily Candy Kids; MetroKids; MilwaukeeMoms.com ; Minivan Blues; You Know, for Kids; Zooglobble; and more. The album was a KIWI magazine 2010 “holiday pick” and was featured in ParentsConnect’s holiday gift guide.   Each of Recess Monkey’s previous albums has received similar acclaim.

Tour dates for ChiIL Mama's Kindie Fans Nation Wide:

(...'cause everyone loves recess!   If they're not coming to your town, do I hear a chorus of road trip...road trip...road trip emanating from the peanut gallery?)

RECESS MONKEY in Performance

Highlights – Spring/Summer 2011

April 30                       Brooklyn Central Library                                                                Brooklyn, NY

May 1                         92YTribeca                                                                                     New York, NY

May 7                         The Moore Theatre                                                                         Seattle, WA

May 21                       Tulsa Mayfest                                                                                  Tulsa, OK

May 30                       Northwest FolklifeFestival                                                               Seattle, WA

June 18                      Mt. Baker Center – CD RELEASE SHOW!                                     Seattle, WA

April 23                       Off Broadway                                                                                  St. Louis, MO

May 15                       92Y Tribeca                                                                                     New York, NY

July 3                         Top of the Park                                                                                 Ann Arbor, MI

July 16                       World Café Live at The Queen                                                        Wilmington, DE

July 19 - 23                Wolf Trap Theatre in the Woods residencey                                    Vienna, VA

July 24 - 25                Long Island Children’s Museum                                                       Garden City, NY

July 26                       The Colonial Theatre                                                                        Phoenixville, PA

Our next Win A Disc Wednesday feature is another favorite of ours, Muddy Water Beaver Dam Band by Mr. Singer & The Sharp Cookies, to coincide with their upcoming live Beat Kitchen show on Sunday the 22nd at noon.    Enter here to win 4 tickets to the show and/or your own free Muddy Water Beaver Dam Band download.    Mr. Singer gives us a rockin' good set of tunes and a great excuse to say dam in front of the kids without raising eyebrows or owing the swear jar.    They're working on a new release and may be breaking out new material on Sunday, but for now, we're still diggin' this one.