We like to call it “The Show”.
We’re all ready for our Nashville Main Library debut, join us at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 this Tuesday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 10. We have a few surprises up our sleeves!
Kale, quinoa and Coal Train. And a worm.
Whole Foods in Green Hills has Local Kids Day today (Saturday) from 11-3! Come early- Jamina Carder reads her book Herman’s Journey at 12 and 1. The Coal Train leaves the station at 1:30. We hear there are free snacks, too!
Exhibit F gets an A in our book.
Exhibit F in our “Jazz is too sophisticated for kids?” series is by request, and we are more than happy to comply. Head over to Birdland: the Squirrel Nut Zippers visit Sesame Street.
Goodie Goodie Gumdrops! Giveaway & review
Head on over to Goodie Goodie Gumdrops for a great review of Coal Train Railroad and a Coal Train CD giveaway. Lots of other treats there, too: have a look-see!
A snippet:
“Grab your ticket and hop on board the Coal Train Railroad. It’s such an enjoyable ride through the diverse lands of jazz, you nor your children will want to leave. Katy and Friends have really set the bar high for family music with this progressive release. It’s quite catchy and sure to please those who are newcomers to jazz as well as the most discerning jazz fans.”
Exhibit E: Put Down the Duckie
So again: in one sense, we’re doing something new with Coal Train Railroad. And in another, not at all. We are so glad to add a link to a long tradition. Here, Ernie learns this lesson that all of us musicians learn over and over. An all-time favorite. Thanks for reminding us of this gem, Emily!
Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl (with CTRR)
Parents, do we ever have an idea for your Saturday morning.
-Prep your coffee the night before.
-Download The Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl onto the family iTunes.
-Saturday morning, as the children jump on your bed, tell them to press play on the iPod and the On button on the coffeemaker.
-Roll over for 10 more minutes and sleep as long as the giggling in the kitchen lets you.
-Go down and join the kids for some fantastic music for the family. Coal Train Railroad will be on there this Saturday- enjoy!
Exhibit D: Elmo and Diana Krall
Exhibit D in our “Jazz is too sophisticated for kids?” series: Elmo and Diana Krall. Now really. Does Elmo look like he’s having difficulty hanging? We rest our case.
We’d like to give propers and brag a bit, too- this segment was directed by Steve Feldman of Sam Hill Group: among other feats, Steve created our our Coal Train movie. Yes: he knows Elmo.
Dadnabbit.com reviews Coal Train
Thanks to Jeff at Dadnabbit.com for his review of Coal Train Railroad today. Head over for the full review, stay for all of the other smart insights for dads, in particular.
A nugget:
“Running the jazz (and jazz-ish) spectrum from jump blues to torch ballads, Coal Train Railroad puts singer Katy Bowser’s supple vocals in front of a crack combo and some smart, easy-to-digest arrangements. Think of it as sort of a jazzy audio equivalent of Bugsy Malone; when she slows down the tempo, Bowser croons like Linda Ronstadt on her Nelson Riddle records, but instead of looking for someone to watch over her, she’s looking for a nap.”
Jazz is too sophisticated for kids? Exhibit C
Dizzy Gillespie. Frankly, the fact that Dizzy hangs with both Charlie Parker AND the Electric Mayhem makes him awesome, in our book. Enjoy! (Looking for an easy way to identify Dizzy? Maybe his horn got bent while he was dizzy.)
Jazz is too sophisticated for kids? Exhibit B
Exhibit B, Louis Prima. Now, who says this is too far above the children’s heads?
Also worth watching, but not embeddable: The story of how Louis Prima and I Wanna Be Like You in all of its Dixieland glory ended up in the Jungle Book.
Jazz is too sophisticated for kids?
Herein we begin a walk down memory lane. The theme: Jazz is too sophisticated for kids? Appropriate replies to this are “Hogwash!” “Says who?” ”What makes you say THAT?”
Exhibit A: The consummately playful Ella Fitzgerald with A-Tisket A-Tasket.
Jazz in Kentucky- Ages 3 and Up!
Thanks to Amberly and her radio program Ages 3 and Up for playing What’s Mine is Yours on the jazz segment this morning! You can catch Ages 3 and up on 88.1 FM in Lexington, Kentucky or stream it all over the world at WRFL Also, head to the Ages 3 and Up blog for tons of great music for families.
Grand times at Grimeys
Thanks to everyone who came out to Grimey’s New and Pre-loved Music this Saturday for the inaugural Juice:30. There was juice for kids (and grownups), dancing and snuggling and a good time all around. Thanks Grimeys! Next up…Whole Foods in Green Hills on March 6 at 1:30 pm.
Juice:30 this Saturday at Grimeys!
We’re nearly there- the inaugural Juice:30 at Grimey’s New and Pre-Loved Music. 4:30 pm- after nap, before dinner- see you there!
What we’re thinking
Wanna hear what we were/are thinking when we make Coal Train Railroad? Jeff Bogle at OWTK.com asked us some great questions- here’s our interview with him!
Newsflash: Kids turned on to jazz.
Read all about it- and perhaps win a free Coal Train Railroad CD!- at Today’s Lessons. Delightful story and review. A bit of it, detailing this child who had previously eschewed jazz:
“I listened to the album all alone first, making sure that I wouldn’t be more deeply embedding my children’s disdain. And I fell in love. Katy’s fun and easy style, her sweet and playful lines, the endearing way she addresses such important subjects as mouth noises, belly buttons and fruit juice had me really hoping Baby would like what she heard.
So I loaded up the iPod and one day, as I was taking the kiddoes, both young and older, out to lunch, I played Coal Train Railroad. And I held my breath.
And…
She liked it!
Not only did Baby like it, but 19-year-old Bard liked it, and ten-year-old Sweetheart liked it and 14-year-old Monet liked it. They giggled over “My Mouth and Me,” nodded empathetically to “It’s Hard to Listen” and car-danced to “Just the Juice, Jack.” Katy had done it. She’d redeemed the reputation of jazz in our family.”
We could ask for no more.
Thanks, Daddyforever.com!
Thanks very much to Ken at Daddyforever.com for sharing about Coal Train Railroad. Go have a look over thataway- all manner of resources. Dig deep for the Evian babies commercial. So worth it.
So much fun at Fairytales!
Thanks to everyone who came out to Fairytales this morning! What a fantastic crowd, in numbers and in fun. Those are some of the best mouth noises we’ve ever heard on My Mouth and Me. If you’d like to sample the record, by the way, you can download My Mouth and Me AND Bellybutton Stays the Same for FREE, here!
Look through more pictures from the show in the look section. And keep an eye on the live page- more shows coming soon!
Great review at OWTK.com!
Big thanks to Jeff Bogle at OWTK.com – that’s Out With the Kids, by the way- for his thoughtful and glowing review of Coal Train Railroad. Some of our favorite parts are excerpted here, but by all means go to OWTK.com, bookmark it, and visit often. It’s a lovely vantage on all things related to kids and culture. What a tremendous resource for parents and the rest of us who love kid-related things.
“Coal Train Railroad have made the best jazz album for kids that I’ve ever heard. Katy Bowser’s voice is questionably great and the playing of Chris Donohue, et al. is outstanding throughout the 9 tracks, and with all that their Coal Train Railroad CD has everything you want from a jazz record – it’s snappy, cool and classy. It also has some characteristics you may not expect from, or generally associate with, a fine jazz album; songs that are funny and charming, and with lyrical content most children will have a context for (juice, bellybuttons, snuggling, nap time, and a budding independence).
Despite coming from an indie rock background, Coal Train Railroad’s debut disc is, in many ways, the album I’ve been waiting for since starting OWTK 3.5 years ago. It’s a CD I can spin during a dinner party, at nap time, in the car, with or without the kids around, during the girl’s bath time – pretty much at any time of day or night and in anyone’s company.
In other words, it’s versatile and beautiful. I absolutely love this album.”
We’re so glad.
Thanks, Grimey’s!
We’re hanging with the cool kids now. We appreciate the love from Nashville’s beloved indie record store. Eyes open for details on our upcoming in-store at Grimeys on Feb 13. http://grimeys.com/news.html
Coal Train Railroad – Coal Train Railroad CD (Coal Train Railroad)
A children’s jazz record that totally doesn’t suck! The brainchild of singer Katy Bowser and bassist Chris Donohue (Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller), who together co-wrote all of the songs, Coal Train Railroad also features some of Nashville’s heaviest hitters, including saxophonist Jeff Coffin and trumpeter Rod McGaha. Written from a child’s perspective and covering such important topics as bellybuttons, juice, sharing, and snuggling, the songs are inspiring kids all over the world to dance, play, and use their voices to riff along with the musicians.
Free Coal Train CD!
Ready to get down? We are giving a FREE to Coal Train Railroad CD to the next 3 folks who submit YouTube videos of kids enjoying Coal Train Railroad for the LOOK section, like THESE! Tweet us, send us a Facebook message or email us at info @coaltrainrailroad.com with a link to your video.
But, you say, how can my kids dance to the music if we don’t HAVE the music? Answer: Get 2 Free Songs here!
Y’all have fun, as we say down here in Nashville.
CD Release party at Ugly Mugs a smashing success!
We had our very first live Coal Train Railroad gig at our East Nashville neighborhood coffeeshop, Ugly Mugs. I think we can safely call it a success! We could not believe how many people, big and little, showed up to celebrate and sing and dance along with us. Big thanks to Ugly Mugs for taking such good care of everyone, and especially for juice boxes on the house for kids.
Have a look at our Live page for upcoming shows. Next up, Fairytales Books & More on January 23 at 10:30 am. There’ll be some extra fun thrown in!
Welcome!
Well, look here! A real, honest-to-goodness website for Coal Train Railroad. We have big plans for this train, friends, and look forward to taking this ride with you. It’s already such a joy to hear about kids and their parents and friends and grandparents and everyone else having fun and celebrating jazz together. So visit often- we’ll be sharing all kinds of new things as we chug along.
Big thanks to Brannon McAllister, our graphics and web yoda, for his hard work, help and imagination.
