Kindie Christmas

The Holiday Season has Begun

2010-11-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

If Halloween is any indication, this is going to be a terrific holiday season. The Hipwaders took to the pavement and pumpkin patch to bring audiences our Halloween tunes and - little did the kids & families know - the songs from our next album. Yep, the songs are written and we performed the next album in it's entirety several times over the month. We go into the studio in January and for the first time actually have the songs arranged and even the running order figured out. Now, of course, things could always change (say, if a killer new song is brought to us by the muses...) but for now we're extremely happy. We'll divulge more later...

In the meantime, we're happy to note that our holiday album, "A Kindie Christmas" just won a NAPPA Honors Award. The best part of the award was the review that accompanied it:

I’ve always said that Christmas albums should rock out. There are plenty of traditional albums out there filled with sleigh bells and “Drummer Boy,” but there are none that we know of that feature a song called “Santasploitation,” where Mr. Claus himself is the rock star! The funked-up “It’s Wintertime” truly captures the hip-kid feeling of Christmas. From there, we taste a bit o’ country in “Santa’s Train” and the fun doesn’t stop there. The album gets progressively more and more rockin’, with some nice poignancy coming through in “Tinsel and Lights” that better describes the Christmas scene than traditional songs do. Complete with full rock band, distorted guitars and even a little country twang here and there, this album is the Little Miss Sunshine of kids’ CDs. (Don’t worry. There’re a few sleigh bells on this album, too!)

I had to laugh at the "Little Miss Sunshine of kids' CDs" bit as it seems to infer we have no problem letting our freak flag fly. Which we don't. Or, as one reviewer said of "Little Miss Sunshine":

"Little Miss Sunshine teaches us to embrace that middle ground, acknowledging that life may just be a beauty pageant, where we're often going to be outdone by someone prettier, smarter, or just plain luckier, but if we get up on that stage and be ourselves, everything will turn out fine."

We couldn't agree more.

Kindie Christmas: Mommy the Superhero (free download)

2010-05-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kindie Christmas: Mommy the Superhero (free download)

Yes, It's Christmas

2009-12-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well, after more than a year of blogging at this site, Christmas 2009 has finally arrived. Keeping up with all things Christmas has been a truly daunting but enjoyable task and I've learned quite a bit. One of the things I've learned is just how ridiculous the "War on Christmas" is. Don't get your religion mixed up with the ancient celebration of the winter soltice and nobody gets hurt. Since the dawn of man, people have prayed for the return of warm weather for the return of crops and better hunting. It's been co-opted a million times over to suit whatever religion/philosphy/scam wishes to make it their own and it will continue to be co-opted. I say stick to your belief and I'll stick to mine.

I'm throwing my hat in with Santa Claus. Nobody ever went to war in his name and he's got a positive message - "Be good for goodness sake".

The message of the Kindie Christmas has always been about love. I really think Christmas (and I can't think of anything better to call it) should just be about paying attention to those in your life who look out for you, encourage you and love you. And, you them.

I was fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas early when Hipwader DJ and I performed for the UCSF Children's Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center's Pediatric Ward. Expecting sad, miserable kids we found instead happy, joyous children challenged by adversity but not showing any signs of letting their medical ailments get their spirits down. Hearing the children laugh and seeing their beaming smiles during our performances gave us more joy than we would have ever expected. Like the Grinch, I think my heart 3 sizes that day.

I'm going to try and carry that feeling for the rest of my life.
Now, on a less serious note...here's a cartoon!

Planet Sunday is amazing!

Love and Merry Christmas, Tito

Everybody Say, "Let it snow!"

2009-12-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

So, I woke this morning to a couple of surprises. First, Kalani Hubbard had uploaded the video for "It's Wintertime" which we had collaborated on. I spent hours (really) viewing public domain VHS cassettes full of old Christmas cartoons. I never realized how many of them existed. Unfortunately, most of them were pretty bad. Fortunately, I located some scenes that fit the lyrics perfectly.
Kalani then came over to our "studio" (garage) and videotaped our bobbleheads on our winter-decorated stage - an Angelina Ballerina doll stage purchased on eBay!). Add some cool Noggin Bop wind-ups and a robot Santa and you got some wintertime fun.

The second surprise was it has snowed in the Bay Area! First time in over a decade it's actually snowed enough to stick on the ground and there's actually a few inches in some places.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, indeed!

This just in...another fanstastic review!

SANTA'S WORKING OVERTIME blog

Monday, December 7, 2009
CD Review: "A Kindie Chrismas" by The Hipwaders
The following is a review of a promotional copy generously provided by the band...

I went into my first listen of this CD without knowing that The Hipwaders are an award winning kid's music act and for once my ignorance paid off allowing me to listen without preconceptions. Well, I did actually have some preconceptions, based on my misreading the album title (as "A Kindle Christmas") and it's whimsical graphics I was expecting a collection of novelty tunes with names like "The 12 Days of Facebook" or "Twas the Txt b4 Xmas". Imagine my (very pleasant) surprise to find, instead, a charming sleighful of lightly rockin' rootsy Christmas tracks that the whole family can enjoy throughout the holiday season. Then I re-read the tite - Kindie = Kid's Indie. Doh!

As I mentioned The Hipwaders are a kid's act but there's nothing juvenile about their work. This is the new wave of kid's tunes with integrity and street cred popularized by the likes of They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Dan Zanes, Peter Himmelman and Los Lobos. In fact my wife at first thought I was listening to REM. The songs are simple, catchy and a welcome addition to any family's holiday music collection.

"A Kindie Christmas" is a fun, everyone in the family friendly disc that is well worth listen. Preview and/or buy it at lala, order A Kindie Christmas at Amazon or visit The Hipwaders Website.

A Mel Brooks Version of The Beach Boys

2009-11-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Getting a mentioned in a poem has never been a band goal but now that this has happened I must say it's kind of cool. Poetry Midwest, an internet literary magazine, published the following poem by writer/poet/food & wine critic, etc... Jen Karetnick. In this poem, Mrs. Karetnick dons her travel writer/food critic/poet (paper hat) to document her experience at the Jelly Belly Candy Factory where The Hipwaders last performed over 3 years ago. I love her description of us as, "A Mel Brooks version of The Beach Boys".

However, I must point out that the band has never, nor will ever, perform songs from "The Lion King". This sort of treacle can join the list of songs by other composers for whom The Hipwaders will never perform such as Diane Warren and Andrew Lloyd Webber. We would rather eat a dozen boxes of Jelly Belly's Harry Potter Bertie Botts. With that said, after the poem enjoy our specially-made version of "Jellybeans" for the Jelly Belly company that has never been published. We were hoping the company could use the song in some way for promotion. Sadly, the never did.

Substitute Sugars By Jen Karetnick

The morning after the death

of the Pope, at the Jelly Belly factory

where his portrait hangs, fixed in candy

like pointillism gone mad, next to Elvis

with his licorice and cappuccino sideburns

and Ronald Reagan delineated in cream soda,

pleasant but long since flat, a band

called “The Hipwaders” belted out the theme

songs to animation—Spongebob Squarepants,

The Lion King—while we ate hot dogs,

carpeted with ketchup, in the hyper-cheerful

café. From the recorded message we’d gotten

instead of directions I’d thought they were

“The Hip Waiters,” picturing men in tuxedo

jackets and cargo pants—some combination

of Todd Oldham and Old Navy—but found instead

a Mel Brooks version of the Beach Boys,

encouraging toddlers to cry in four-part chorale.

I couldn’t blame them; I was there, too,

wearing a paper hat shaped like a hope

that had seen days more crisp

than just-buttered toast, rubber pants

on my leaking patience, answering

over and over why no Jelly Belly beans

tasted like Cabernet, even though then

Mommy might like them. In fact

all production had ceased, though not

because of the Pope; inventory was being taken,

particularly of the newest flavor, mango,

with its orange-pink skin flecked with green,

mimicking the tiny fruit just beginning

to peep like the eyes of frogs from beneath

the buds in our trees at home,

and blackberry, thorned fruit

I can never get to grow. John Paul II

lay in state, televised, polished

beyond rigor mortis for whatever resurrection

might come his way. I hope he wasn’t disappointed.

The jelly beans, as it turns out, go through

three separate processes, tossed relentlessly,

drinking in the sanction of choice. In the end,

I bought ten pounds of Belly Flops,

those that didn’t quite get what kidney

shapes are all about, and don’t quite care

about livers, either. Like me, and the two kids

I know, or might know someday. Go ahead

and eat. It’s okay to gorge yourself

in the name of terminal harmony

JELLYBEANS (Jelly Belly Version) - The Hipwaders

Lyle: 'How 'bout some more beans, Mr. Taggart?' "
Taggart: [fans his hat in the air] I'd say you've had enough!"

Mel Brook's "Blazing Saddles"

Santa's Train video

2009-11-22T13:11:00.001-08:00

Made back in 2001 to entertain my boys, this video features my HO scale train layout with some additional classic Christmas characters doing their thing. The most awesome Kalani Hubbard edited my crummy raw footage replacing my original demo to fit the new Hipwaders' recording.
My youngest slowly destroyed the layout during his toddler years and sadly, the layout was retired...

A Kindie Christmas

2009-11-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's the day that's been over 20 years in the making. Really. A couple of tracks from "A Kindie Christmas" date from the late '80's and like a good fruitcake have been properly aged to perfection.

OK, I can't believe I just wrote that either.

Despite bad analogies we think you may like our new album.

"moves from cool to super cool" - Boston Children's Music.com

"The album is a genuine gem of Christmas tunes - all original, some more Christmas than others, fantstic sounds throughout. It was worth the 20 years wait. Well done, 'Waders, one and all!" - A Christmas Yuleblog

"'Wake Up'... may just be the best 2 minutes of rock-n-roll Christmas tunage ever" - Jeff @ OutWiththeKids blog

"The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines childlike as “Like or befitting a child, as in innocence, trustfulness, or candor.” I love this CD, so if that makes me childlike, then hand me another cookie, fill my milk glass and let me enjoy the tinsel & lights!" - Bongobells

"It's relentlessly upbeat" - Mistletunes

"In something of a stylistic tour de force, The Hipwaders deliver a brilliant, if somewhat brief, set of original rock songs to celebrate the season. Candy! A Kindie Christmas is clever fun!" - Christmasreviews.com

"...a worthy new addition to your holiday soundtrack" - Albany Times-Union

"Ten breezy tracks of hip holiday fun" - Jeff Giles, "Dadnabbit.com

See, there's some believers already!

Really there's no real way of convincing you unless you check out the music, right? So, why don't you check out "Wake Up" animated by Santa's little helpers over at Planet Sunday...

Here's a preview of our coming attraction:

Want to hear more? Check out the samples over here:

or purchase through Amazon.com

We'll be back with more videos throughout the holiday season, so stay tuned and visit our YouTube channel for all of our videos!

Bonobo Joe & The Voodoo Queen

2009-10-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Hallooween Hip Kids!

Here's a demo of a new song we recorded in our garage for you to enjoy. It's the "true" story of "Bonobo Joe & The Voodoo Queen". Get it now cuz it's gonna be gone after Halloween...

The Hipwaders - "Bonobo Joe & The Voodoo Queen"

Here's us performing it live at the Western Railway Museum's Pumpkin Patch:

If you've been hearing "What's That Noise?" on Kids Place Live (XM Channel 116), here's what "that noise" sounds like live (and keep requesting the song!):

...and now for something completely different:

Have a fun Halloween and keep in touch with us on F acebook! We'd love to hear your comments, ideas and requests.

Preview of our Coming Attraction

2009-10-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

In a little over a week our Christmas CD, "A Kindie Christmas", will officially be released. Here's a preview of what one can expect from the album. It's for the song, "Santasploitation". It should answer any questions you may have.

Or perhaps not.Brian Clarke's amazing artwork.

Tricycle Music Fest West

2009-10-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

The first annual Tricycle Music Fest West occurred October 10th on the steps of the Main Library in San Francisco. First off let me say what an amazing library this is. I'm used to the libraries in the podunk towns I'm more apt to utilize. Next, security is tight. I'm not sure why, but it is the civic center area of downtown San Francisco where many a famous protest has taken place and is home to the many odiferous downtrodden of the city.

More importantly, it was the site of the first Bay Area kid music festival - that I know of. It kicked off to an appropriate start with Charity Kahn and her amazing JAMband. Stellar musicianship along with Charity's unique ability to engage children to participate in her "music & movement" proved irresistable.

Frances England then brought her band out to perform her brilliantly perfect folk/pop gems that appeal to her preschool fans as well as her adult fans who may be even more enamored with her music.

The Devilettes brought their Pipsqueak A-Go-Go show and got the little ones and their parents go-go dancing to long forgotten dances of the '60's. It was great to hear the Time-Outs' "Pipsqueak A-Go-Go" theme song coming out of the speakers in anticipation of their show later that afternoon.

Our band, The Hipwaders, performed next but more about that later...

After us, The Time-Outs brought out their '60's Frat Rock sound - think "Wooly Bully". Their originals e.g. "Scooter Cats" & "Bathtime (is Party Time)" have "that" sound that makes for FUN kids music. They had terrific taste in covers (in my book) as proven by their choices in performing Jonathan Richman's "I'm A Little Airplane" and The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird". They'd be first to admit they have no shame and that folks, makes for mighty fine entertainment!

Now we can't evaluate our own performance as that'd be ridiculous. You'll have to go elsewhere for that. However, we can say we had a blast and were fortunate to have Charity Kahn come out and help us sing the theme to "Sesame Street" and Frances England came out and sang her own "Books I Like to Read" as we backed her. Unfortunately, our show was marred by our a poor vocal mix (nobody's mic was as loud as mine!) so I'm unable to post any videos from those performances.

I am able to post these videos (although Zooglobble beat me to the punch!) even though drummer Nick's harmonies are still mixed way too low.

Lastly, we wish to thank Christy Estrovitz and the entire staff at the SF Library for hosting the show for the people of the Bay Area. Libraries ROCK!

The Hipwaders performing "Educated Kid"

The Hipwaders performing "Stand Up to the Bully"

The Hipwaders performing "Goodie Bag (excerpt)"

Have a Cool Yule Comic(al) Christmas

2009-09-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

When I was ten years old I traveled alone to Quito, Ecuador, to spend a summer with my relatives. After a few weeks of hearing & reading nothing but Spanish I began craving English. I wanted to hear it, see it, read it. I found it to be the strangest craving I’ve ever had. I quickly found that imported English-language comic books satisfied that need. It’s true that comic books are a kid’s best friend.

As an insecure, semi-neurotic kid, one would think I’d have a natural attraction to superhero comics. Actually, I found them kind of silly and difficult to get into as I felt I was dropped into the middle of a storyline due to their self-referential nature (*see issue #148!).

I found Archie comics to be much more interesting. Here were several people that acted like a family (of which I missed back in California) and they played in a band. Being the huge Beatles, Monkees, Jackson 5 and Partridge Family fan, I was a sucker for any story lines involving a band.

Jump to the present time and I’m surfing the net looking for something/anything to keep me in the Christmas mood while my band, The Hipwaders, records our Christmas album. Very few things can give one the feeling of Christmas while the weather is warming up and Spring is blooming all around.

I come across something called Cool Yule Comics and I’m instantly intrigued. Why, there’s this fellow named George Broderick Jr. who’s drawn some Christmas-themed comics involving a female superhero named “Christmas Eve” and she looks like she could have stepped out of an Archie Comic parallel universe with her Betty/Veronica looks!

I quickly order the package deal which includes 3 comic books and relieved to find the first book has the “origins” storyline of Christmas Eve. Everyone knows that the most interesting storyline for any superhero is the “origin” story. The fact that she’s a superhero doesn’t even bug me as it’s a Christmas tale and Christmas is the best make-believe world there is.

Now, George has not only come up with a great character, he’s come up with lots of great characters with witty, intelligent dialog and story lines. These are family-oriented tales that kids AND grownups can enjoy together on different levels. There’s funny stuff that only the parents will get and that’s the stuff that’ll get the parents reading to their kids. I instantly found a kindred spirit in George when it came to entertaining kids. The Hipwaders have always felt that family-oriented art - art that brings all family members together - be it music, literature or visual art, is truly the key to the best entertainment for kids. After all, if it doesn’t appeal to the adults, there’s a good chance it will never be seen or heard by kids.

So, check out George’s Cool Yule Comics. You can even see pages in E-Book form. The actual hard-copy books are very colorful and printed on quality paper – much better quality than what I was used to as a kid. If you’re looking for a new way to get yourself AND your kids into the holiday spirit, get yourself over to Cool Yule Comics and purchase some Christmas joy.

http://www.coolyulecomics.com/yulebooks.html

We thought so much of George’s work we asked if he’d do us the honor of using a song from our forthcoming Christmas CD, “A Kindie Christmas” and apply it to a slideshow of his Christmas comic book art. He did. So here’s The Hipwaders with George Broderick Jr.’s art…

"Yes, It's Christmas"

If you're interested in The Hipwaders' album, "A Kindie Christmas", it will be released officially on November 3rd, 2009. If you're the impatient type and want to hear the songs now , go HERE.

Back-to-School with The Hipwaders

2009-08-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when you're putting on those new clothes Mom bought for the first day of school and the kids from "last year" look a little different - older - than they did just a couple of months ago. An unfamiliar classroom, a teacher you're not sure about yet and a whole new routine that feels uncomfortable.

We thought we'd help you out by give you a couple of songs that have that familiar Hipwaders sound but perhaps they too seem a little different.

We recorded these songs in our garage with less than professional equipment but still tried to make it sound as good as possible for the money spent. Which was none. O.k., I did have to waste a few blank cds trying to get the mixes right as possible.

First up is our version of "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?"

We've been playing this song for a while and Hipwader Nick sings it. He actually sings a song off our forthcoming Christmas disc, too. It's a fun song to play.

Next up is our version of Frances England's, "The Books I Like to Read".

We've also been playing this song for a while and there's a live version of us on YouTube playing this but the sound & video quality is kinda lame but it also kinda rocks.

So download these songs onto your MP3 player and chill out on the bus/car/dirigible during your ride to school and ignore that big kid giving you the stink eye.

Adolph Adam: Birthday Boy

2009-07-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

It was just like Christmas when AM Radio broadcast it's first piece of music. Well, actually, it really was. Christmas Eve, 1906 was the first time that music was broadcast on the radio.

Reginald Fessenden was a brilliant Canadian inventor who got his start working for Thomas Edison and through his life received hundreds of patents in radio, sonar and television. After demonstration of a new alternator-transmitter at his transmitting station in Brant Rock, Massachusetts, a few days earlier, "Fezzie" (as he was called) broadcast the first radio show at 9pm on December 24th, 1906.

Fezzie laid down some smooth patter (unknown if he sounded like Wolfman Jack) and then had to read some bible verses after his wife and secretary got mic fright which resulted in the first case of "dead air" on the radio. Besides
playing Edison's cylindar recording of Handel's "Largo", Fezzie pulled out his violin, and, in the first "live on the radio" performance played, "O Holy Night".

Reportedly, the main audience for this first ever radio show was a number of shipboard radio operators along the Atlantic Coast. This landmark broadcast was barely noted and soon forgotten. Ouch! I guess Fezzie wasn't much of a violinist. Or perhaps his over-use of sound effects and gimmicks such as slide-whistle, bike horn and his incessant, "What's up, New England?!", was a listener turn off. In any event, I can't think of a better tune than "O Holy Night" to be the first song ever performed live on the radio.

"O Holy Night" is a righteous tune that I previously expressed my admiration for and wrote about (see December 24th, 2008 post). It was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to accompany the French poem, "Minuit, Chretiens" which I think might mean, "One Minute, You Cretins" or "Midnight, Christians". I'm not really sure as I don't read or speak French.

Today is Adolphe Adam's birthday and I really think the guys deserves a salute. Besides writing one of the most beautiful melodies in the world, he's well-known for his Operas (e.g. "Si J'Etais Roi), and (besides, "O Holy Night"), most notably his ballet, "Giselle".

Young Adolphe preferred to improvise music rather that study seriously. He studied organ and harmonium at the Paris Conservatoire. After playing triangle in the Conservatoir Orchestra and not winning the Grand Prix de Rome, his father discouraged his choice of a music career. Many students since have realized the lack of potential stardom from playing triangle. However, Adolphe got the last laugh after making a name for himself in the music world as a composer. It's a lesson to be learned that proficient technical skills on an instrument won't neccessarily put money in your pocket. Adolphe learned that you've got to write a hit.

I wonder if he maintained his own publishing?

"The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." or "Extracurricular Tito" (Part Two)

2009-07-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about being a kids/family music performer is that I get to meet a lot of other like-minded performers. Eric Herman has taken advantage of this and frequently meets and records other performers during his travels. Last year I had the privilege of getting a call from Ava Scofield who records under the name Ava & The Mystic Mangos. Ava told me she found out about me from a young girl that had sang on her previous album who stated that The Hipwaders were her favorite band. Easily swayed by flattery, I quickly agreed to Ava's request to sing on the album she was currently recording. It was the most difficult but thrilling vocal experience I've ever had. I would never consider myself "singer" but more of a vocal "stylist" and with that mindset tried to fit my voice to her music. Her music was performed by top-caliber jazz, classical, blues and pop musicians and I understood that I couldn't slack through the recording session. Ava was a great musical director and would ask me to sing phrases a multitude of ways. It really opened my eyes of what I was actually capable of doing with some direction and try to use that experience when I sing now.

Ava's album, "Jam 'n' Jive", covers the world of a child of earth - from the smallest bug to the great Blue Whale. You can check out my goofy vocal contribution on the interactive title track, or a more "serious" me on my favorite track, "Sailin' With a Whale". I love her "Sowbug" song that goes from gentle nursery rhyme to trip hop and back. The song grooves and grooves hard. The album peaks with a bunch of amazing young singers trading lines on the kid-empowerment song, "Millions of Voices". In a world of overly auto-tuned crap like the Jonas Brothers and other you-name-it Disney acts, it's refreshing to hear young talents that can actually sing.

Check out samples from Ava's album at CDBaby

A while back my boys were telling me they wanted to have their own webcast which suprised me as they rarely sing, act or otherwise perform when asked. I figure they got the idea from one of their favorite T.V. shows, iCarly, and saw that it could be a lot of fun.
Within a few days of them asking, I came across Gwyneth Butera's daughters' (The Gooney Bird Kids) "webcast", "The GBK Zoo". Featuring kid music reviews, cooking, and some random dancing, the show was a hit with my boys. I was quickly motivated to head out to the garage and see if I could could up with some music specifically for the show. Inspired by the Gooney Bird Kids and their exhuberant antics, I was able to write and record a 30 second theme for the show and quickly sent it out to them. They've used it on their last 4 shows and I love the way the vocal and instrumental versions weave in and out of the show. Right now the show is on hiatus as the gang is vacationing in France. Meanwhile check their show out GBKZoo and perhaps when they get back we'll have a "GBKLourve" episode. Sorry, I couldn't resist...

"The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." or "Extracurricular Tito" (Part One)

2009-07-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

"Take a while to laugh and smile and say, 'Hey, what a ride!'"

That's what Eric Herman sings on his latest CD release, "What A Ride!", and he couldn't be giving out better advice. "What A Ride!" is a sweet ride that goes from the existential to the absurd and finds humor in the mundane.

My family was fortunate to have Eric and his family as a house guest last year during one of his tours through the country and I gained some insight into the Endres family and what makes the world of "Eric Herman" keep spinning.

Eric and his wife, Roseann, are truly partners in his music. Besides acting as a sounding-board for his ideas, Roseann is also a lyricist, artist and animator. His daughters are his muses who are very enthusiastic about their father's music - as they should. The family is able to travel and enjoy "the ride" together - something that many of us can only dream of.

While staying with us, Eric asked me to say a few phrases into his recorder and even cajoled my son, Aidan, into speaking into his microphone - a very hard task I've rarely been able to accomplish since his was a toddler. Our "work" appears on his CD and I love seeing Aidan's name and mine together on the same album.

Back when Aidan was a toddler, he had no problem talking or singing into a microphone but once he started grade school he seemed to become a bit self-conscious. He sang on my first "kid/family" album, "The Smile Project", which was cool, but my favorite recording of him and I was a cover we did in 2001 of Blue Oyster Cult's "Go Go Godzilla". I had a blast grabbing bits of dialog from old Godzilla movies and we created a tribute to the movies that Aidan loved at the time. Check it out:

"GO GO GODZILLA" - Aidan & Tito Uquillas

...to be continued...

"Now, What's In This Here Goodie Bag?"

2009-06-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

As Gunnar Madsen says in the song, "Now, what's in this here Goodie Bag?"
Truth is we ran out of room to put the reviews of our "Goodie Bag" EP on our website. Hey, it's a cheap site and we'd rather spend the money on recording music and stuff!

Anway, I think I can add new reviews from time to time to this blog so I'll post the links here instead of making our cluttered website even more cluttered:

About.com (Kids Music)

Dadnabbit.com

Zooglobble.com

Chattanooga Parent Magazine

Cool Mom Picks

...to be continued?

The Bees Knees and a Christmas Mix

2009-05-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

So, our Christmas album is finally recorded and mixed thanks to the hard work and discerning ear of Robert Cheek. Next Friday I hope to have the project mastered and then we'll go about getting the art done and the cd manufactured in time for the holidays.
I had a lot of fun finishing up the recording and mixing but the best experience I had was hearing some music by a new artist that absolutely floored me. Jules is a local Sacramento musician who goes by the name, "Sea of Bees". Now I don't know what it is about the word "bee" but many of my favorite albums have the word in it. From a recent favorite "The Bird and the Bee" album, to my favorite Soft Boys album, "Can of Bees", to the best Guided by Voices album, "Bee Thousand", I think it might be impossible to have a bad album with the word "bee" in it and I know that the "Sea of Bees" album will be no exception.

The story goes that while on break from recording with the band she's in as a side person, Jules was singing and strumming away on guitar when John Baccigaluppi, The Hangar studio owner and engineer, heard Jules and asked her if she'd like to make a record. And so they are.
I was privileged enough to be asked to come into the small recording room they were working in to hear some of the tracks they had in progress. I was blown away by the quality of the songs and Jules quirky, inviting voice. John's arrangements are inventive and perfectly frame Jules' voice and the songs. I've heard at least half the album now and can say that "Sea of Bees" has a big future ahead.

Fortunately, Luxury Wafers (awesome blogsite...check out the amazing bands, including one of my favorites, The Heartless Bastards) was able to film Jules performing a few of her songs live at The Hangar.

Here's my favorite:

Sea of Bees - Willis - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

Mommy the Superhero (free download)

2009-05-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry Dads, but Mommies just may have an edge when it comes to superhero attributes. It's just Dads have the better PR department while Moms' accomplishments are much more inglorious.

Fortunately, we have a day to give Mom her due and sing her praises...which we in The Hipwaders are more than happy to do:

Always Mom - The Hipwaders

(from "Goodie Bag" EP)

Mommy & Me

The Hipwaders at Suisun's Kids Festival

2009-05-03T14:17:00.001-07:00

Life's richest moments and memories usually consist of both the good and the bad, the Yin & Yang, the sweet & sour. The bittersweet does provide the best memories and The Hipwaders just had that kind of a show.

The City of Suisun put on a Kid Festival yesterday and event chairperson Anita Skinner did her best to provide local kids and families with an awesome event. Cities are usually only able to put on one kid-oriented event a year and yesterday was that day.

But, it rained.

Now, normally, that'd be the end of the story. People wouldn't show up. Vendors would rue the day they paid their fee to hawk their wares as families won't show up to an event if a downpour is in the forecast.
With us it's a little different. Fortunately, the rain let up about an hour prior to our show and we were able to set up. Surprisingly, Lt. Governor John Garamendi showed up to the event as he had a meeting with the local city politicos later that day.

Our friend, Alan Blondin, did think that Garamendi went a little overboard with the Stormtrooper security.

I had the chance to speak with the Lt. Governor and took the opportunity to ask that he lend an ear to the concern of my fellow paramedics who don't have the power that police and fire unions have to highlight issues important to their profession. He reminded me of his role in the 1982 California State Senate bill that led to the licensing of paramedics. I also thanked him for his role as State Insurance Comissioner and Prop 103 in his fight to end corruption in the insurance industry that led to massive rebates in fees to car and homeowners.

Word on the street is John Garamendi may be running for Governor next year. I think he got The Hipwader vote when he introduced us to the crowd at the Suisun Harbor.

While "crowd" perhaps isn't the right word, people showed up from as far away as Sacramento and Brentwood. It's always fun to see our friend Alex rocking out. We were also happy he requested "Field Trip" off our new cd. It's probably our favorite song to play.

So while the people danced away - as a did a giant Subway sandwich (?) - we were able to have fun for and hour and a half until the rain returned and we had to cut the gig short. It was supposed to be a 3 hour tour!

We promised Anita Skinner we'd do all we could to help her in her quest to get Suisun City to have another kid-focused day this summer. While most of the planned events got rained out and the vendors got soaked (pun intended) we had a blast and got to meet up with old fans and made some new ones, too.

Oh, yeah, and the Lt. Governor asked for business cards. We also hooked him up with some cds (he's got 10 grandchildren). Perhaps The Hipwaders will be performing at a family function at the California State Capitol for "Governor John Garamendi".

National Library Week: A Celebration in Song

2009-04-17T08:37:00.001-07:00

I got the library bug from our rural school's weekly visits from the bookmobile. While in the midst of National Library Week we should point out that Melvil Dewey directed the first library program in the country at Columbia College in 1887. Best known for his system of classifying books, his greatest achievement was probably his invention of the hanging vertical filing system which premiered at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago.

But we don't have a song about that:

Dewey Decimal System (free download!)

The bookmobile went and lost a wheel
Crashed into my room
I fell in the book deposit bin
I could not swim
I was so scared so unprepared
I cried HELP

Ivan librarian gave me a card
He said this will take you places
Besides where you are
Head for the future
Or go to the past
A library card will get you there really fast

I decided to spread the word
About what I’d heard
So I fixed that wheel on the busted bookmobile
Backed out of my room
With good cheer I gathered all to hear
What I’d been told

CHORUS

Dewey has ten classes
each class has ten divisions
each divided on and on

First there’s generalities
Philosophy, psychology
Religion, social science, languages

Next up there’s math and science
Medicine, technology
Arts like music, clowns & puppetry

At the end there’s literature
Geography and history
The biography of Mr. Melvil Dewey...

The Hipwaders - Goodie Bag EP

2009-03-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Although our new CD isn't supposed to be officially released until April 7th, I though it was time to let everyone have a listen. Here's every track in glorious lo-fi. Buy the CD for true hi-fidelity and the neat album cover by Brian Clarke:

GOODIE BAG LYRICS ARE HERE

Now if you want some of the back story on this here album, here you go.

With the current way music is distributed and listened to, we've realized albums seem to be on the way out. Prior to 1965 and The Beatles "Rubber Soul" album from which no singles were released, pop/rock albums were - for the most part - a collection of hits with some filler added to pad out a release. Now, with easily accessible downloads and portable mp3 players, it seems like single songs are what interest people the most. It's pre-1965 all over again. We'd hate to put out a full length release and have difficulty selling it as, in reality, we've actually sold very few albums. Our downloads have slowly increased over time and we felt the best option is to release mini-albums. With a mini-album, we can record more frequently and at less expense.

We've actually been able to record 95% of our next release, a Christmas album, with the money we've saved.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy the "Goodie Bag", who's title came about when my family went and saw "Space Chimps" last fall (Chimpanzees in space? Come on, it's comedy gold.). During one of the scenes a character inquires about "goodie bags" and that set me off thinking how it'd be a great title for a song, album title and even a band name.

To record the album, we set off for The Hangar up in nearby Sacramento. Run by John Baccigaluppi, The Hangar is a funky warehouse that is home to Tape Op magazine - the best magazine on recording ever!

The Hangar is a comfortable recording environment where a skateboard ramp is situated in almost every room.

Our engineer, Bryce Gonzales, had us record live (Nick Baca - drums, Tito - guitar, DJ Kinville - bass) which wasn't as hard as I expected as we had been performing most of the songs live for the past year. Unfortunately, Bryce had to leave the sessions when the opportunity to record freak-folk cult hero, Devendra Banhart arose.

After a hiatus of a couple of months we able to get another engineer,Robert Cheek, to come in and record the vocals and a few overdubs. As Robert had actually recorded the Deftones' cool version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy"in the same studio, we felt we were in capable hands.

We quickly recorded the overdubs and mixed the album and then headed own the hall to MonsterLab Audio for mastering by the golden-eared, Eric Broyhill and his insanely friendly dog, Gypsy.

We not only enjoyed the laid-back recording vibe in Sacramento, but the local restaurants are really good and sometimes you're lucky and come across some cool photo ops:

THE SONGS:

1. BIRTHDAY RUCKUS. This song came about when we tried recording our samba-esque version of "Happy Birthday" in our garage rehearsal space as a birthday greeting for Evalyn Harper. She's the daughter of Oklahoma childrens' music performer Monty Harper - whose guide to kid-friendly radio shows is indispensible - and his wife, Lisa Harper. Lisa has a terrific podcast, Kid Music Planet, and was asking for children's music performers to just record a quick little message to wish Evalyn a happy 7th birthday. Anyway, our attempt at recording a greeting failed and when the other guys left I drank some coffee and sat down with my guitar and quickly came up with this ditty. When I sent it to Lisa I even told her I was gonna re-record it with my band as I really liked it. So, Evalyn, thanks for the inspiration!

2. FIELD TRIP. Probably our most popular live song. As a father with two young sons in elementary school, I've been on my fair share of field trips. Some lame, some pretty cool. With the budget crunch schools have been experiencing, I thought about what kind of field trips schools could have if they had Pentagon-sized budgets.

I'm a huge fan of songwriter, Scott Miller, of Game Theory/Loud Family. I had to give him some props by alluding to the first song I ever heard by him when his band was operating out of nearby Davis, CA. It's in the second verse where I mention his song, "Nine Lives to Rigel Five".

3. ALWAYS MOM. My mother passed away when I was young and never got to know her as an adult. Therefore, in my eyes, she will always be young, beautiful and saintly. My own wife is a terrific mother who tireless attention to our children is amazing. With both of them as an inspiration along with all the mothers who make the trek to our shows with kids in tow, I knew I had to write of songs for mothers everywhere.

4. PRELUDE TO A THING. A palate cleanser from all the upbeatness!

5. THINGS YOU WANT. Brian Boyd is a friend I've had since high school. He's smart, funny, and very creative and is the most interesting person I know to converse with. We had agreed to record some demos of song ideas he had floating around and said he'd send me some stuff. What he sent was a full 90 minute cassette (?!) of song (in varying stages of completion), jokes, vocal impersonations, and what-not. I picked out about a dozen songs I really liked. One partial song that really caught my ear was, "Things You Want". It was an upbeat romp with a terrific melody and a cool verse and chorus to which I added a bridge and another verse. I was hoping to record it in the style of NRBQ and even tried to do my best Terry Adams clavinet imitation. It doesn't sound anything like NRBQ.

6. MY NEW CAMERA. I remember when I got to use cameras as a kid and how much I enjoyed taking pictures. With their compositionally-challenged skills, kids can take some awesome pictures of headless parents and siblings with missing limbs. I thought I'd try and capture some of the joy I feel with taking pictures and especially had fun with the Free Design-type vocals.

7. WHAT'S THAT NOISE? Inspired by the Don Knott's movie, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", I decided to create a Halloween song about someone spending the night in a haunted mansion. Using music from a song I'd previously attempted to record a couple times before without success, we were finally able to come up with an arrangement that worked. Like, "Things You Want" it has the close harmony singing I love doing with Nick.

8. GOODIE BAG. The title track that was inspired by the Space Chimps movie. I'm not sure when the tradition of handing out goodie bags at birthday parties came about, but I know I didn't get diddley squat when I attended birthdays as a kid.

We were fortunate enough to have our super-talented friend, Gunnar Madsen, add some vocals to our recording. When I wrote the song I was having so much fun playing and singing it I felt like I should scat. I quickly realized scatting should be left up to professionals. Having remembered that Gunnar Madsen was the singing voice of Sammy Davis Jr., in a Rat Pack biopic on HBO I contacted him and he agreed to sing. Trekking on down to his place in Berkeley, I was privileged to watch him lay down numerous vocal tracks. Each pass was different and hilarious and I wished we didn't have to stop and choose just one. It would have been great to have videotaped the session and strung all the bits together. Coulda got Gunnar placed on a psychiatric hold:

So that's it. A goodie bag collection of audio trinkets we hope you'll have fun passing time with.
And, although it won't officially be out until April 7th, if you've made it this far you can find downloads and/or purchase the cd now at these places:

I-tunes and Digstation.

Cat in a Bathysphere

2009-02-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

The Hipwaders' drummer Nick Baca is an art teacher at a local High School and has seen many creative students come through his classes. One of those students, Anna Wagner, is a terrific artist, photographer and now music video artist. Here's here visual version of our song "Cat in a Bathysphere" from our last album, "Educated Kid".

After having become enamored with drawings of her own cat, "Rat Cat", and having seen her stop-animation line drawings of said cat tip-toeing through the tulips, we asked Anna to see what she could do with Rat Cat manning the controls of a bathysphere (actually a bathyscaphe which is actually much more navigational but didn't sound so good singing).

After extensive drawing and watercoloring, Rat Cat is ready for his/her (I really don't know!) closeup:

Thanks, Anna!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2009-02-25T15:29:00.001-08:00

Well, from our angle. We're getting ready to back into the studio - here forward to be known as "Santa's Audio Workshop". It's actually The Hangar in Sacramento. Santa's Little Helper will be Robert "Flossy" Cheek, who'll be recording us and creating the proper festive audio mood.

We've got 9 original tracks that will celebrate the Christmas season. Yeah, we're not getting into that politically correct argument about "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holiday" and try and please everyone with Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Baby Jesus songs. This will be purely secular. I like everything about "the holidays". Sure, I like the Hannukah stuff - the principles of Kwanzaa can't be beat - and the Christian holiday tunes are top-notch. But boy-oh-boy do I like me my Santa Claus and the commercialism, too. I like the tinsel & lights and garish plastic decorations and the giant inflatable penquins and the crowds in the mall. I like seeing the rude frantic shoppers trying to finish up their Christmas shopping. Why? I'm not really sure. Probably because it reminds me of my childhood. It's like a circus that comes once a year and I'm that innocent kid who's fascinated by all the hoopla and magic. It's the time of year when you get in touch with the family and friends you've lost touch with throughout the year and remember why your friends are your friends and your family...well...is your family.

So, come this Friday, I'm going to try and cram all those feelings into my head/heart/fingers and hands and create an audio recording that represents those feelings. Wish us luck..and a Merry Christmas.

As we wait the many, many months until "The Holidays";-) , here's a video from a telethon we performed at for on our local cable access station here in Vacaville. It's a great little town that has a wonderful downtown yearly tree-lighting ceremony and a very cool neighborhood called "Candy Cane Lane" where every house is exquisitely decorated.

The Hipwaders - "Here Comes Santa Claus"

Happy Belated-Birthday Felix!

2009-02-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry man, but I've been kind of busy.

Hey, everyone. It's the 200th year of Felix Mendelssohn's birthday on February 3rd, 1809 and the whole world should be celebrating. And the reason we should be celebrating is for Felix's most righteous Christmas tune, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing".
That's one fantastical tune that just comes blaring out in a triumphant fanfare to sing the praises of the...printing press?
Yep. The music is actually from Felix's "Festival Song", a cantata to commemorate Johann Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press. How cool is that? It's a secular AND religious tune. It's two tunes in one.

Now, you may think it's rude to refer to the great Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as "Felix". But as the most popular Romantic era composer, pianist, conductor and painter, he was a celebrity. Like Cher, Bono, Charo, etc... he's deserved to just have the single name.
From Vienna to England, Felix was in demand and loved by people like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Like every classical composer it seems, Felix was a child prodigy who started composing at 10 years old and composed his masterpiece, Overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream when he was only 17 years old! Whew! Talk about overachievers. No wonder he died at age 38 after a non-stop life of creativity.

I'm also fascinated by his sister Fanny, a talented composer and pianist herself who was unable to get her work performed as musical careers weren't considered proper careers for women during those times. Fortunately, he was able to present some of his sister's work under his own name. He always was very close to his sister (I have this mental image of them sittin' together at the piano crossing arms in a duet of "Heart & Soul") and when she died in 1847 he became depressed . Exhausted, ill, and distraught over his sister's death he died a few months later.

But, hey, we're here to celebrate his greatest accomplishment (for me, at least).

These kids can sing! Kidz Bop this ain't:

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - The Vienna Boys Choir

....roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news about this version:

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - The Fab Four

Just Like Christmas...

2009-01-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

After having put a good word in...

I never thought this day would come! Hopefully, the decades long plutocratic corruption will stop and our children will actually have a future.

It's like Christmas, New Year's and my birthday rolled up in one!

...just don't ask me to take a guitar solo

2009-01-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

For our recent concerts at the Community School of Music and Arts,
San Jose Mercury News writer, Yoshi Kato, promoted the shows by writing:

"The Hipwaders have a clean yet hard driving sounds that’s very garage rock — if the garage was clean and organized and had piles of toys stacked in colorful bins. (They) all have a great rapport both with one another and their audiences, and humor is omnipresent."

While I can’t argue with that description - and I actually agree with it - I approached the shows with trepidation. As I roamed the school grounds prior to our first show I noted a recital was taking place in a nearby classroom. Young students where performing classical works on violin and piano with professionalism way beyond their years. While I never “studied” music as I should have, I did take piano lessons as a kid. I learned just enough to read music v e r y s l o w l y. At fifteen I learned guitar out of a book and began writing songs. I no longer needed to read music to enjoy playing and my instrumental skills have progressed at a snails pace as I view musical instruments as merely tools to write songs.

Therefore, my musical inferiority complex reared it’s head and I felt strange about performing in a place where “musicians” studied and guest performers where technically proficient way beyond me.
I though of other times where I felt I was “outed”. There’s a Bay Area promoter who likes to joke(?) with me every time he books a show with us by saying he “knows” that we’re just punk rockers disguised as children’s music performers.

I have to blame Lenny Kaye for all of this as he was the compiler of the original “Nuggets” 2LP set back in 1972 that brought attention to 1960's American garage pop/punk rock. I had the privilege of meeting Lenny when we shared the Kidzapalooza stage at Lollapalooza 2007. Lenny’s the longtime guitarist for punk/poetess icon, Patti Smith. I told him how influential Nuggets was to me and that it had ruined my ability to appreciate commercial music. He said, “Your welcome.”

So, back to our shows at the Community School of Music and Arts. It didn’t help we started our
sets off with our most popular song, “Educated Kid”. Ironically, it’s our simplest song consisting of just 3 chords ( A, D & G, if you must know). I don’t think any more than 3 people in attendance had even heard the song but the crowd quickly caught the groove and clapped along. I relaxed and both shows rocked. The kids and parents were into it and any feelings of inadequacy never materialized.

I sent an email thanking the staff for having us and I was sent an email back that they received from a concert goer. It was a note from a grandmother who had brought two young grandchildren who “loved the show” and she was “amazed two children could sit in their chairs for so long.”

The best part of the note was at the end when she writes that she was planning to have the children start taking music lessons at the school, “but now they love to take rock music”.

Ha! Now I know how Lenny Kaye feels. A small part of me thinks it’s wrong to have corrupted a couple of innocent children. But mostly I feel like: #*%& YEAH!!!

2009 is already mighty fine...

2009-01-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

It's nice to wake up in the morning and find your band in the local newspaper. That's just what happened to us today. Not only did we get our picture in the paper, but last night we got a little t.v. "news action"air time on a couple of local news stations. You can't by publicity like this folks.

Actually, the best part of it all was seeing all the kids enjoying the "Noon" Year's Eve celebration without having to stay up past midnight. I actually "crashed" at 10:30pm. Wimpy, yes I know. I got up early to get ready for the gig we had at the Nut Tree Theme Park which was very special for me as it was a place my family would frequent since I was a baby.

The kids had a blast and hopefully they'll remember the New Year's celebration they had with The Hipwaders. 2009 does indeed look mighty fine...

Look What I Got From Santa

2008-12-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

2008 was a great year for The Hipwaders. Thanks to our fans we did well enough to build up a very nice band account to pay for the recording costs for our forthcoming EP, "The Goodie Bag". We had enough in our account (let's call the account, "Santa") that Santa brought us gifts for Christmas. I got this:

This sweet Danelectro 12-string electric guitar will be used extensively on our "Kindie Christmas" album that we're currently at the rehearsal/arranging stage.

Thanks Santa!

Here's a holiday themed guitar song that rocks:

I Want A Rock and Roll Guitar - Johnny Preston 1959

What did Santa bring you?

Happy Feast of Stephen!

2008-12-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

For over a hundred a fifty years, people have enjoyed the popular Christmas Carol, "Good King Wenceslas". It's a nifty tune that's based on a real -life guy named Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia way back over a thousand years ago. Within a few decades after he died there were four biographies out about him. He was one righteous dude who helped out the poor and down & out.

Hundreds of years after his death he was so popular that the Holy Roman Emperor Otto 1 declared that the the Duke was now a King. Too bad he wasn't around to accept the award.

Anyhoo, around the 1850's Rev. John Neale translated a poem by Czech poet Vaclav Svoboda and put the words to an old 13th cnentury tune, "Tempus Adest Floridum".

Viola! "Good King Wenceslas" is born.

Now, the secret to having a tune last for so long has been revealed. Songwriters gather 'round as Wikipedia has explained why this song is a perennial favorite. Follow these instructions and you too may have a hit.

"The lyrics consist of five quatrains in the meter trochaic heptameter. Each quatrain has the scheme AABB with feminine rhyme. The unstressed syllable of the fourth foot is abated in each line in favor of a caesura, forming the line into two hemistichs, which conveys a sense of urgency. In the accompanying common time musical score, the caesura is attained by rendering the fourth foot as a half note, while the last foot of the line effectively becomes a spondee by being realized as two half notes. "

Sounds easy enough.

Good King Wenceslas - The Glad Singers

Now let's go start handing out alms...let's alm everyone...it's an alms race...sorry, I got carried away.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Enjoy your gifts and loved ones!

Ring Out the Bells for Christmas - Edison Concert Band 1907

On A Christmas Morning - Prince's Orchestra 1911

Santa's Coming, Santa's Coming!

2008-12-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

Just got this update from NORAD:

NORAD Christmas Eve Special Bulletin

I hope everyone is enjoying time with friends and family. Here's some awesome tunes - both sacred and secular.

First, it's Hank "I'm Movin' On" Snow with his hoppin' "Reindeer Boogie" from his aptly-named album "Snow On Christmas"

Reindeer Boogie - Hank Snow

This has got to be in my top five fave melodies of all time. A simply beautiful song that gets an awesome arrangement. An amazing recording considering it's from 1916!.

O Holy Night - The Venetian Trio 1916

Now go double check to make sure your stocking doesn't have a hole in it.

"Jump in bed and cover up your head, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight!"

Air-to-Air Missle Toe Jam Football

2008-12-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Yep. I do like me my kisses. All of ‘em: Butterfly, Eskimo, French - even that blown kiss I nonchalantly catch in my right hand and then toss to the ground just to be cheeky.

Fortunately, Christmas affords us the excuse to kiss whilst under thy mistletoe. Dating back to Greek mythology, mistletoe is thought to be The Golden Bough of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans. Like I care. It’s lip-smacking time, baby. Don’t need no reason.

How a parasitic life-form became something to celebrate (besides children) has something to do with the fact it bears fruit during the Winter Solstice and may have been used by the Druids during Winter Sosltice celebrations as a symbol of immortality.

The custom of having to kiss when under the mistletoe is believed to be of Scandinavian origin. That’s fine with me as I’m 1/4 Danish and don’t need any more excuse than that.

As Jimi may have sang...

“‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy....er, ...wife.”

Christmas Kisses - Ray Anthony 1961

Honk, If You Hanukkah

2008-12-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

As today is the first day of Hanukkah, it's time to celebrate the fact that many Jews are willing to help out with the Christmas experience.

Many of the greatest Christmas “standards” were written by Jewish songwriters. I’m talking about Christmas classics such as “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow", “Santa Baby”, “Silver Bells”, “White Christmas”, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, and trust me, our beloved “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was no gentile.

If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em seems to be the attitude here and we’re all the better for it. It’s tough to compete with Christmas and the best way to cope with the holiday is with humor:

Jewish Jingle Bells - Jimmy Haskell with the Jackie Ward Singers (1967)

“Have A Jewish Christmas...?” was a comedy album by Brenner & Blitzer (sounds like bench-warming Reindeer) that made fun of fellow Jews who secretly celebrated Christmas. Ray Brenner & Barry Blitzer were a successful comedy-writing team for such shows as McHale’s Navy, Andy Griffith, Get Smart, and Gomer Pyle.

My favorite cut from the album is entitled “Christmas Cards” and features the mysteriously named Reginald X. Carlisle as Hall Markowitz. Supposedly, the pseudonym was to protect the identity of popular comedian, Arte Johnson who was under contract to “Laugh-In” at the time.

Christmas Cards - Brenner & Blitzer (1967)

Now go out and enjoy the 25th day of Kislev commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE., because really...why not?

Viva La Posada y Esquivel!

2008-12-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Living here in California, we’re very aware of our Mexican cultural history. First they owned it, then we owned it, now we share it. One very cool part of the Mexican culture is La Posada.

In 6th grade I was asked by my former 4th grade teacher to read about La Posada to the gathered students and parents at our schools’ annual Christmas Show. At a borrowed Jr. High School gymnasium, I spoke at a microphone for the first time in front of an audience. With the reverberation in the room I realized I was suddenly sounding like Linus from “A Peanuts Christmas” and found it pretty cool. I’m assuming the 4th graders were acting out the Posada ritual behind me but I couldn’t see them and was too focused on reading my script. What I did learn is that for 9 days prior to Christmas Eve families gather to re-enact the travels of Mary and Joseph in their quest for lodging for the birth of baby Jesus. For each of those 9 nights a different family (representing the innkeepers) invites their parading neighbors (Los Peregrinos) in for a party. On Christmas Eve, the re-enactors/party revelers have one big final bash and place the baby Jesus in the manger. They then exchange gifts. The gift exchange bit they borrowed from us gringos.

Besides Mexican food, I think La Posada would be a great Mexican tradition to adopt.

Another cool Mexican import is Esquivel!. Juan Garcia Esquivel was a child prodigy who taught song composition and arranging at an early age and led his own orchestra by time he was 17. Beginning in 1958, Esquivel! (I love the exclamation point!) came to Hollywood to make records. A master at stereo recording, Esquivel! once separated his orchestra into two parts and recorded them in separate studios a block apart using closed-circuit television to conduct them.

Esquivel! recorded a bunch of cool Christmas songs but this is my favorite:

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Esquivel!

Herb Alpert-influenced George Garabadian and the Tijuana Brass bring us:

Parade if the Wooden Soldiers

Augie Rios had a hit with:

Donde Esta Santa Claus

and lastly, Mel Blanc and his politically incorrect Speedy Gonzalez declare...

The Hat I Got for Christmas is Too Big

Arboreally Speaking, Cleveland Rocks!

2008-12-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

So we just decorated our recently acquired 7&1/2 foot silver tip Christmas Tree. As a kid we had a silver aluminum Christmas tree for years until my family procured a green plastic tree. In the picture you can see and enjoy the kitschy wonderfulness of our original tree.

Note: parents, do not dress your children like this.

As we kids got older we rebelled and insisted we get a “real” tree. So our parents got us a small tree to decorate but the large plastic tree still held the place of honor in the living room. As an adult our tree has been decorated with my wife’s classic-style ornaments clashing with my pop culture taste (a Yellow Submarine, various rock instruments, Classic Christmas TV Specials, etc...). Now, with children it has taken an increasingly bizarre turn for novelty with no less than 3 different Godzilla ornaments and a Monster Inc. ornament where I replaced Boo’s lost head with a Pikmin character’s head. My wife’s traditional glass Santa Claus ornaments cower in fear. Of course, the boys think it’s the coolest ornament ever.

Let’s give thank to the good pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland, Ohio for starting this Christmas Tree decorating thing back in 1851 and enjoy some of the cooler Christmas Tree Tunes.

This one is truly “the bomb” from 1907, it’s: O Tannebaum by The Nebe Quartette

Christmas Trees had a hard time getting accepted during their history. The church considered them pagan. I think the pagans would’ve loved these two rockabilly numbers about Christmas Trees (that’s how they rolled):

The Rocking Tree by Marguerite Trina

Rock Around the Christmas Tree by Big Bud  

"Trim up the tree with Christmas Stuff like bingle balls and whofoo fluff..." Dr. Suess

Santa's Got A Brand New Goodie Bag

2008-12-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

According to the Dutch, Santa’s Birthday is Dec. 6th. Sinterklaas (that’s St. Nicholas to you and me) comes to the Netherlands from Spain via steamboat two weeks prior to his birthday along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete).

Why this story hasn’t been made into a TV series or Hollywood movie yet is beyond me. This is fascinating stuff. First, the idea of Santa kicking it in Ibiza rather than the frozen north makes for a much more commercially interesting backdrop (worked wonders for Baywatch, didn’t it?). I’m sure Santa would rather dine on tapas and Paella rather than seal and whale blubber - and venison would no longer be on the culinary “no-fly” list.

Other than Aurora Borealis, the North Pole just isn’t as interesting as Spain. Songwriters have had to work hard to make Santa’s digs at the pole interesting. Case in point:

“What a Land, Santa Land!” - Don Elliott Orchestra

Obviously the idea of travel by steamboat would need to be updated to a speedboat, or better yet - hovercraft!

Probably the most fascinating aspect of the entire story is how Santa’s got a “Man Friday” named Black Pete to assist him in the delivery of the presents. This is classic buddy flick material folks, following such multi-ethnic genre predecessors as Poitier & Curtis, Nolte & Murphy, and ...uh, Crockett & Tubbs. Let’s face it, while making his rounds Santa’s holding some serious stash and needs some muscle to watch his back. Elves aren’t that intimidating and a sidekick opens up so many more storyline options.

So all you budding screenwriters get busy as we enjoy Santa’s Birthday...

Santa’s Birthday - The Caroleer Singers & Orchestra

p.s. Speaking of birthdays, The Hipwaders have now finished recording their “Goodie Bag” EP and will start mixing next week!

Black Friday is now Officially Red

2008-11-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Are you getting up before the dawn to make it to the mall to get the deals that will make your Christmas bright? Not me. I’m staying in bed. However, I feel your sense of urgency and in an effort to assist you with your shopping may I provide a soundtrack?

Here's my favorite song about Christmas shopping. It's by the The Ambassador Chorale and Players, a group of session singers who recorded under a bunch of different names for cheap record labels during the 1960's. Now, keep your head low, elbows out and go shop!:

Christmas Rush- The Ambassador Chorale and Players

While this song is not about shopping, it does have the manic energy needed to navigate your way through the aisles and smiles(?) of your fellow shoppers. From the year 1950, it’s the always fun and giddy Andrews Sisters who also made some real swell Christmas records with Bing Crosby. The song fits in with my last post about Jingle Bells as without that song there would be no:

Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling - The Andrews Sisters with the Quincy Jones Orchestra

Now, have fun, shop safe...and buy me a toy (that’s what my boys always say).

"The One Horse Open Sleigh" (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jingle Bells)

2008-11-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Why start this blog? Most likely because of the song originally known as "The One Horse Open Sleigh" published in 1857 and written by James Lord (!) Pierpont for Thanksgiving. What kid doesn't learn to love "Jingle Bells" (as it was re-titled and published in 1859) at a young age? I'm sure I was one of those kids to quickly discover the joys of singing the song and it's parodies - "Jingle Bells, Batman smells", anyone?

It's the one song in our repertoire that is guaranteed to get kids up to the mic to sing a verse and chorus.

As a "kindie" songwriter and performer I feel that Christmas music is closest to the Kindie music genre. First, let me give you my quick definition of Kindie music: Music that appeals to all ages with a primary focus on children too old for nursery rhymes but too young for "relationship" songs. Part of Christmas music's appeal is in it's positive message, celebration of innocence, and wonderment. Those qualities are also reflected in Kindie music with both genres have the ability to draw the young and old together.

My band, The Hipwaders, will soon be attempting to record a Christmas/Holiday album for release winter 2009. We plan to begin recording in January and I worry about being able to keep up the "Christmas spirit" when the idea of even listening to Christmas music after December 25th makes me ill. I thought perhaps if I'm forced to maintain focus on Christmas and as much "winter holiday" music & stuff on a regular basis I may be able to make it.

Therefore, if interested, keep checking this blog for our progress in this endeavor.

Now, back to "Jingle Bells". Here's a few of my favorite versions:

First recorded on an Edison Brown Wax Cylinder in 1898 by the Edison Male
Quartette. This version was performed as part of a comedy bit entitled "Sleigh
Ride":

Sleigh Ride/Jingle Bells - Edison Male Quartette

Here, fleet-fingered Fats Waller performs his version entitled, "Swingin' Them
Jingle Bells" recorded in 1939. Note his uncanny knack for impersonating Jerry Lewis a decade anyone even knew who Jerry Lewis was:

"Swingin' Them Jingle Bells" - Fats Waller

Another favorite version of "Jingle Bells" is Ira Ironstrings' 1959 version that starts off as a Dixieland romp (a genre that generally annoys me after just a few minutes) then suddenly veers off into the swinging exotica realm with malleted percussion giving it a "zing zang" hipness one would would not expect. Even stranger is the fact that Ira Ironstrings was actually an alias for steel guitarist Alvino Rey who was the musical director of the the King Family Singers, a bland outfit that had a TV variety show in the 1960's that managed to be more "vanilla" than Lawrence Welk. The King Family made "Bobby & Sissy" seem more like "Sid & Nancy".
Ira/Alvino made cool-named records like, "Ira Ironstrings Plays for People with $3.98" and...wait for it..."Ira Ironstrings Plays with Matches". Brilliant.
So where did Ira/Alvino's hipness come from? Give this track a listen and you can hear that he learned well from his session work with the great Esquivel!:

Jingle Bells Stomp - Ira Ironstrings

Lastly, also from 1959, comes a version from one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums, The Three Suns "A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas". The Three Suns fall into the "lounge" category but offered much more weirdness. This version adds some zippy "Ren & Stimpy" guitar (that's the best way for me to describe it!) with some cool jazzy organ. Dig this:

Jingle Bells - The Three Suns

Now, step away from the screen and grab yourself a Turkey leg. Stay hip and remember, "It ain't cool being no jive turkey so close to Thanksgiving."