In the penultimate edition of our Summer Podcast Series we share our studio, drumsticks, favorite coffee mug, and dartboard with Tony James, co-host of Playhouse Disney’s beloved “Out Of The Box” program. There’s also music by Nat King Cole and the Coal Train Railroad Quartet (who still await Shorty Peppertone’s return), and a story of a not-so-jolly giant who’s refreshed by a visit to The Turnip Truck Natural Market, our sponsor!

Thanks to Lauri, mama of Madi, wife of Stephen, our engineer and mixmaster, and blogger at Retro Mod Momma for her enthusiastic endorsement of our summer podcast series- read it here!

And to subscribe to the podcast series on iTunes, click here!

*Due to size restrictions the iPod version is posted here. You’ll find the full-def version at our YouTube channel.

Many thanks to our sponsor – the little red-haired fairy at Fairytales Bookstore (www.fairytalesbookstore.com).  Click on the player below to listen or download!

You can find out more about Myra’s life and career in this 2008 article from Pitch.com.

Curious about the Charleston?  Click here for a demonstration by Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball.

Thanks to Zooglobble for their kind words about our summer podcast series!  They get all kinds of good stuff together over there- have a look-see.

Go make yourself a Coal Train Railroad station on Pandora! Their description: kid-friendly vibe, subtle use of vocal harmony, demanding instrumental part writing. Awesome.  We’re honored to be on this favorite for finding music that people love.

Sponsored by Eastside Cycles, this edition features interviews with young cyclists, elementary school poets reading their bicycle-themed works, and the original The Jellydots version of “Bicycle” along with Coal Train’s cover version!

Press the Play button below and enjoy a listen!

Thanks for the plug for this morning’s library gig, Nashvilleforfree.com!  And they have a sense of humor:

“This is Nashville, and I know that all Nashvillian mommas and daddies want their kids to be musical at a young age. I mean, how else are those kids gonna get work before they’re two?”

Read the whole thing here.

Attention all young cyclists! Tell us your favorite bicycling story in the form
of a short poem or paragraph – if we select it to be read on our first
podcast (sponsored by Eastside Cycles) we’ll send you a free CD! Submit
your entries via our Facebook page or our contact form. below by Monday, April 26. Tricycles count,
too, of course.

Looking forward to covering a tune by kindierockers extraordinaire, The Jellydots on our upcoming podcast recordings.  Let’s see how Jellydots taste with a dollop of jazz!

If you are a big Coal Train champ:
Want to pay less, yet help us buy stamps?
This does the job: instead of paying Steve Jobs
Download Coal Train Railroad at Bandcamp!

http://coaltrainrailroad.bandcamp.com/

The beauty of downloading Coal Train Railroad from Bandcamp.com is that EVERY PENNY goes to the musicians, and we can set the price lower because we’re not giving a large portion to the Big Guy.  (I’m typing this on my MacBook right now- I think they’ll be ok.)

And that, friends, helps us chug down the road toward making more music for you!  We can’t wait.  We’re having a blast.

Coal Train Railroad, via the magical means of music, has arrived in Australia!  The marvelous mother’s world Connect to Aussie Mums is featuring Coal Train Railroad and giving away a copy of the CD. So, mums, down there, hop aboard!  And even if you’re not from/in Australia, have a peek- there’s  ton of marvelous information for mothers everywhere.  (They’ve even been known to allow jazz musicians in.)

Here’s what C2M’s Peace says:

This enchanting cd is a collection of catchy tunes with a definite jazz flavour. It’s quite unlike any other children’s cd and I just loved its classy old world charm.

My boys aged 5, 7 & 9 all really enjoyed listening to this cd, particularly my eldest, and they loved trying to guess which instruments they could hear in each track.

My youngest loved ‘My belly button stays the same’ and wanted to know all about belly buttons after hearing it and my middle son, Max, loved the line from ‘I need a nap’ about being as cranky as a crocodile!

This is a fantastic cd and would make a great gift for a whole family to enjoy because grown-ups will love the smooth sounds of Coal Train Railroad as much as kids do!

That’s right: Bellybutton Stays the Same is the free mp3 Download of the Week at new children’s music network WiggleNation.com Go get it, tell your friends! Bellybuttons on the house.  Visit our Wigglepage, then come back and buy Coal Train Railroad or download it from iTunes!)

Thanks to kid’s culture afficionado Matthew Siden at Nugget Island for his well-considered and glowing review of Coal Train Railroad!  We think an awful lot of his work, as well.  Head over to Nugget Island for the full review and much more. Though it’s hard to choose, one nugget for you:

“The album also swings, toots, jams and riffs through subjects like the joy of juice, sharing and listening. This project is truly a delight and unique in its execution. These are real musicians, playing real instruments and not a jazz-lite effort pandering to kids. An effort like Coal Train Railroad is sure to inspire future jazz lovers and make them aware of other genres at an early, impressionable age. In the meantime, I hope this album continues to build the audience it so deserves.”

Us too- working on it!

Stick around for the instrumental break:  apparently Spanish Fox and JJ the Lamb have been perfecting their tango.  We love this little video for the audience response:  the giggling and little bits of toddler Spanish that pop in to the mix make our day.

Would you like a free download of What’s Mine is Yours with the Spanish Fox?  Email us at info@coaltrainrailroad.com with Spanish Fox in the subject line- we’ll send it over.

March 13, 10 am Davis Kidd Booksellers

March 24  10:30 am Nashville Public Library- Goodlettsville Branch

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.”

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!

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.

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.”

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.

Exhibit A:  The consummately playful Ella Fitzgerald with A-Tisket A-Tasket.

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 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.

Look through more pictures from the show in the look section.  And keep an eye on the live page- more shows coming soon!

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.

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.

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.

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!