Some News has Arrived at Rock Father™ HQ, and with the family in bed right now (currently 2:30am), The Musicbot 6000 is sharing the news with the press release below. I suspect that James will be reviewing this album in the months ahead.
Official Press Release: Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages! Celebrated independent children’s recording group Recess Monkey brings high flying thrills and spills straight from the big top to their circus-inspired, eighth studio CD, In Tents (Monkey Mama, $14.99, for ages 3 – 8, run time 47 minutes. Released June 19, 2012. Distributed by Burnside Distribution Corporation).
Right from the start, it’s apparent something big is going to happen on In Tents, as Recess Monkey enters the world of the all-American fantasy: running away to join the circus! Except, this time, through the trickery of the notorious Boregaard Noregaard, the circus joins Recess Monkey. From that point on, it’s a three-ring adventure with Recess Monkey: a fantastical celebration of popcorn, Tilt-a-Whirls, human cannonballs, dancing bears, and more. All in all, there are fifteen songs guaranteed to amaze, astound, and entertain with Recess Monkey’s own blend of zany humor and adventure-loving hijinks.
Notes Recess Monkey’s Jack Forman, “The circus is such a perfect blend of comedy and drama, careful pre-planning and extemporaneous fun, high and low energy, all of which are elements that we work into our songs and shows. How have we not already done a circus album? We’ve talked about this album for years but finally found that we had assembled enough wacky ideas, catchy melodies and a narrative to bring it to fruition. In fact, we actually conceived the album as the soundtrack to a story that we wrote, inspired by Seattle’s magical Teatro ZinZanni. In Tents has emerged both as a circus story-inspired album and as a series of kid-oriented, circus spectacular shows in which we join forces with Teatro ZinZinni in their historic spiegeltent. Pretty amazing!”
With enthusiasm reminiscent of the “fifth Beatle,” Billy Preston, Dean Jones, of the family-friendly band Dog on Fleas, joins Recess Monkey as unofficial fourth band-mate on In Tents, lending his irresistible keyboard rhythms, roving trombone slide, and spirited singing to the music, while also serving as the album’s producer. Other guest artists include kids’ music luminaries Lunch Money, Sugar Free Allstars, and The Pop Ups. Recess Monkey’s longtime visual collaborator, Kevin Fry, takes center-stage with masterful photography in the 32-page story booklet that accompanies each CD. This engaging booklet also showcases artwork by acclaimed children’s author/illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka.
The members of Recess Monkey met while teaching at the same Seattle school and released their debut CD, Welcome to Recess Monkey Town, in 2005, followed by another popular (and zoologically correct) hit, Aminal House, in 2006. The teachers — Jack Forman, Daron Henry, and Drew Holloway — made history with their next release, Wonderstuff, the first double CD children’s album. As with Wonderstuff, which was produced from material generated at a kids’ summer camp workshop, 2008’s Tabby Road, 2009’s Field Trip, 2010’s The Final Funktier, and 2011’s FLYING! each came from real life children’s experiences.
