Hullabaloo

With a twelve-year track record of glowing critical acclaim, having picked up fifteen national awards along the way, the beloved “free-range, organic” duo Hullabaloo brings a fresh, spontaneous approach to their 12th album for kids and families, I Chew, set for release on February 26.

February 1, 2015 went down in history as the day Steve Denyes vowed to himself and his musical partner, Brendan Kremer, that he would write, record, and post a song a day for 21 days.  On I Chew, kids and families will hear the best tunes harvested from that 21-day period, plus a few more stellar Hullabaloo originals.  The result is a collection of “pocket songs” with a solid country feel, each filled with good spirits and based on one succinct idea.

Explains Steve Denyes, “In many ways this album is about not over-thinking the creative process.  It’s about capturing creative moments and trusting them.”

I Chew’s brief, aphoristic gems, replete with sidesplitting humor and underlying messages that focus on love, life, and community, reflect only the very best in all of us.  With the rapidity of a grand fireworks finale, these songs keep the listener slightly off balance with a surprise around every corner.

Hullabaloo has made a career of creating “a foot-stomping, wing-flapping celebration of song that both honors and entertains kids and families.”  Noteworthy on I Chew is the song “I Wear Pink,” which is all about allowing children the freedom to be themselves.  “I Wear Pink” is based on Steve Denyes’ real-life experience as a boy who mostly learned about life playing with his older sisters and other kids in his neighborhood who happened to be girls.  Predictably, he wound up wearing a lot of pink and playing with dolls, that is, when he wasn’t surfing, skateboarding, and playing soccer and basketball with one of his best friends, Eileen, the neighborhood tomboy.  Guest artists heard on “I Wear Pink” include kindie music luminaries Peter Alsop, Jim Cosgrove, Papa Crow, Laura Doherty, Dean Jones, The Singing Lizard, Red Yarn, Randy Kaplan, Pointed Man Band, and Mista Cookie Jar.

Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer met in kindergarten and have been friends ever since.  Together they started playing music in the 5th grade band, where they vigorously exhibited their burgeoning talents on “Old MacDonald” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”  Little did they suspect that, decades later, these songs would still be among their biggest hits!

Steve grew up to be an elementary school music teacher, folksinger, and songwriter, while Brendan became a rock ‘n’ roll drummer.  The maiden voyage of Hullabaloo took place when Steve and Brendan teamed up to play a few songs at Brendan’s twin daughters’ first birthday party.  Fast forward a dozen years to find that Hullabaloo has performed more than 3,000 shows throughout the country at venues ranging from birthday parties to fancy concert stages like the Austin City Limits Festival, Philadelphia’s World Café Live, and LEGOLAND.  Along the way they’ve released eleven award-winning albums (at last count, with more than 30,000 sold) and developed a loyal following nationwide.

Young children will love this fun Country-Pop music! It is quite refreshing!

I Chew will be available at hullabalooband.com, CDbaby.com, and iTunes.

Self Disclosure: I received a free CD to facilitate this post.