I love music of all kinds. We recently had the pleasure of reviewing a CD by Astrograss. Astrograss is a bluegrass band. We had a boot-stompin' good time listening to this CD. Astrograss has been called "NYC's premier bluegrass band for all ages".
Astrograss's new release "The Colored Pencil Factory" was recorded without the use of amplifliers, drums, pedals or special effects. It was recorded just as they would have played it if you see them live and in person. Astrograss's Jordan Shapiro says, "I believe that bluegrass music, and all American folk music, is essential listening for kids, and I also believe that the purity of the music is important."
I would have to agree with him.
First of all, I love the sound of bluegrass. But, I also think that remembering
First of all, I love the sound of bluegrass. But, I also think that remembering
our past is important. "The Colored Pencil Factory" includes old favorites like "Shortenin' Bread", "Cluck Old Hen" and "Sail Away Ladies". I had not heard "Shortenin' Bread" in so long, I was actually surprised when I heard it. I told my kids, "oh my gosh, I had forgotten about this song!" I'm glad that there is a band out there recording it so that we don't forget about it!
Astrograss has been around since 2003 when they formed as an adult band. But, in two years time, they decided to expand their audience to include kids. All five members of Astrograss are music educators. The members were inspired by experiences in Brooklyn public schools. School outreach is important to Astrograss. Their school programs not only integrate bluegrass history and instrument identification, but also feature "Astrograss Songwriting Challenges." In the challenges, kids are invited to write poems, which Astrograss then sets to music. A highlight of The Colored Pencil Factory is "Music Makes Me Feel," a musical adaptation of a poem by nine year old Marcella Fellus Borgenicht.
The songs on Colored Pencil Factory are:
Make It Up
Sawing on the Strings
The Colored Pencil Factory
Shortenin' Bread
Freak Out
Cluck Old Hen
Honeybells
Happy, Sad and More Song
Hey Blue Dog
Playground
Brand New Nose
Sail Away Ladies
Minutes in Flowers
Continental Geography
Grave Diagnosis
Music Makes Me Feel
Logan and Jaycee's favorite song was Continental Geography because Logan has been learning about the continents in school. All songs are high-energy and make me want to stop the van, get out, and start dancing. There used to be clogging groups in my hometown when I was younger and I always wanted to be in the group. I never was, but I did learn how to do some clogging. And this music makes me want to break out my boots and clog! It also reminds me that I still need to learn how to play the violin or fiddle. This CD makes me want to set up my lessons soon!
The Colored Pencil Factory will be available online at
www.cdbaby.com, iTunes, and amazon.com
You can go to www.astrograssforkids.com to see photos, videos, concert dates and more information. Here's a fun fact~~you can have them play at your party!! Check out their website!
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of The Colored Pencil Factory to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% ours.
Thanks for sharing this! I love the artwork on the CD and it was great to hear about the songs. You are so right that we are lucky to have bands which preserve music like that and present it in a way that we can be sure young people hear it!
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