Review: Rocksteady - Josh and the Jamtones

Josh and the Jamtones Rocksteady album cover

Kids music is generally not a field for the low-energy musician. Maybe it's the coffee right before the 10 AM gig, maybe it's the bright morning sunlight, maybe it's the incredible bundles of energy that are your favorite 4- or 7-year-old, but whatever the reason, artists with calm approaches like Elizabeth Mitchell or Raffi stand out for their comparative rarity.

Still, in a field of high energy performers, Boston's Josh and the Jamtones stand out. Live, they bring it on like few kids' musicians do, mixed with a lot of stage banter and interplay between leader Josh Shriber, drummer Patrick Hanlin, and the rest of the band. On record, their music had captured some of the energy and some of the humor, but hadn't fully translated their live concert experience to the home listener.

Until now.

The band's new album Rocksteady takes that energy and humor, wraps it in a ska-pop package, and sends it out into the world, ready to sweep up everyone in its path and deposit them gently on the living room rug, worn out from forty minutes of dancing (with occasional comedic skit breaks). This is an album, after all, whose first full song, "Race U," almost literally ends with the singers pantomiming that they're out of breath. There are a dozen or so songs here, mostly revved up ska tracks, with very little purpose other than to move the feet and bodies of whoever can hear the music. Sure, there's some call-and-response on the title track and some shouts-out to classic tracks like "Sloop John B" and Toots and the Maytals' "Monkeyman" (both of them featuring Jesse Wagner from the Aggrolites). But really this is just a straight-ahead piece of entertainment, no learning necessary. (Other songs of note: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo joining in on the AutoTune-d "I Love You" and the totally rocking "Tailfeather.")

The album will be most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You watch videos for a number of their songs at the band's YouTube channel.

Have I made it clear enough that Rocksteady is a party, through and through? Because it is, enough so that your kids probably won't even need that lullaby album to fall asleep to after dancing like crazy. Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review.

Josh Shriber and Patrick Hanlin of Josh and the Jamtones

Interview: Josh Shriber and Patrick Hanlin (Josh and the Jamtones)

If your family has never seen Josh and the Jamtones live, then it's possible you have a realistic view of a "high energy" concert. If you have seen the Boston-area ska/punk/rock kids' band, however, your definition of "high energy" is entirely unrealistic. The band BRINGS IT, and in addition to being very danceable, they've got a great sense of humor.

The band released ROCKSTEADY, their latest album, last week. The new album captures that live energy (and some humor) for those fans who can't catch the band live. I talked with bandleader Josh Shriber and drummer/producer Patrick Hanlin about the origins of the band, the interaction between the live shows and recording music, and being the only guy in Music Together.

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Josh Shriber: I remember taking road trips -- listening to the Beatles and Billy Joel when I was 12, driving from Mississippi to Indiana

Patrick Hanlin: Playing piano in kindergarten. Oh, and listening to Simon and Garfunkel in the backseat of the car on road trips. "Feelin' Groovy."

Josh: We totally agree on "Feelin' Groovy."

What was your musical background?

Josh: Early on, my grandma had a baby grand piano, and I'd play on that at her house -- then she convinced my mom to move it to my house. I took years of piano lessons. I always loved practicing and playing -- the classical music I put up a little bit of fight against -- but I played everything.

I'd go to summer camp and Jewish summer camp, and at temple I was always watching the song leader. That was my first way of performing, picking up a guitar in front of a group, going up front.

As a cantor?

Josh: No, I never wanted to be a clergy member as a cantor. But in the [Jewish] reform movement, the song leader teaches the songs, leads the group in singing. Making a living [doing that] wasn't on my mind until I realized that there was money in doing that, and I could do that in the morning, leaving the evenings free for other music.

When did that change -- when did you start to move full-time into kids music?

So I'd do the temple thing on Sunday, plus another couple hours during the week, and I'd think, "How can I find forty hours a week of this?" So I went to a local preschool, and I started to do Music Together. That was great, though the Music Together leaders would sometimes say, "play a little less guitar."

Yeah, we did several sessions of Music Together with our kids, and it's definitely not a performer's showcase.

Josh: Right, but the moms were happy to hear someone. There weren't many guys doing that -- I'd be the only guy except for the janitor. I think some parents thought it was cool to have [their] sons see a guy singing.

So my preschool and private lessons grew, to the point where I was hiring other teachers, and after a couple years of Music Together, I branched out on my own. I was incorporating other original music of my own, and rented space to incorporate all things I was doing. Pat had come in by then as a teacher.

Pat: The program grew really fast -- now it's JamBaby, JamKids, drama classes. Every semester -- and semesters are four times a year -- we'd do a CD featuring new songs. So after 3 years we had 100 songs.

Then we started getting asked to do gigs. The Jammin' With You band became the Jamtones. The Jamtones are now different -- not educational, just entertainment.

I had never engineered a band before in my life -- now I've done about 30 albums.

Is there a change from focusing on the daily classes and doing stuff with the band?

Josh: They all feed each other. People who attend a Jamtones show may sign up for class; the biggest promotion for Jamtones shows are in our center. The classes are me with a guitar, while the Jamtones shows are some 2-piece gigs, but generally guitar-drum-bass, sometimes steel drums. It's always good to practice songs -- get the extra rep, get better and try new songs.

How did the new album come about -- were these new songs?

Pat: Last year, we put out Fall, Winter 1, Winter 2, and Spring [semester] albums, physical CDs for the class. But for the Jamtones, once [the] Bear Hunt [album] came out, we thought our demographic wasn't 2-4 years old. So we went crazy with the cheese whiz -- we had new songs we wanted to put on a slammin' ska record.

Josh: About a quarter of these we'd work on in class.

Any favorite memories from recording?

Pat: I remember tracking the best bass player in the city. I wrote horn parts, which is something I hadn't done before.

Josh: We collaborated with Jesse [Wagner] from the Aggrolites. We collaborated with [Secret Agent 23] Skidoo -- he's awesome.

Pat: We'd work hard during the day, let loose at night, have a couple beers. The beatboxing was fun.

Recording with other artists, we've started to think about developing JamHouse Records [with other artists].

What do you enjoy more -- recording songs or playing live?

Josh: Both are exciting -- writing and recording songs that new, you're working on your own, and you hope it's going to explode. The audience is where we get energy -- we've played in front of 600 kids or more. [It's fun] to see parents whip out their phones to take pictures because the kids are going nuts.

Pat: One wouldn't be as fun without the other... One year I played on the Warped Tour, and playing 45 minutes a day, 7 days a week, that got boring. When you've got that balance between recording and playing live, that's really great.

What's next for the band?

Pat: World domination! [Laughs] Lots of videos -- after we did the Kickstarter [for Bear Hunt]. we got names of 40-50 animators. We love our video content, now we want to put out a show with them. We want to develop other acts.

This [new] record came out 18 months after Bear Hunt -- we don't want to wait that long for the next album.

Josh: This is our first summer working with [booker] Rebecca Allison, and she's great -- we've got lots of shows.

Pat: We want more places for classes. Lots of stuff going on, we're busy, that's how we like it.

Photo credits: Eric Barry

Video: "Sloop John B" - Josh and the Jamtones

As the release of the brand new Josh and the Jamtones album ROCKSTEADY grows ever closer, they're continuing to release videos for maximum entertainment.

Their latest video is for "Sloop John B," and I know this may surprise you, but it's energetic. (And with Jesse Wagner from the Aggrolites sitting in, why wouldn't it be?)

Now, it's not energetic as in LOOK AT ALL THE COLORS (waves hello at "Tailfeather" video), rather it's more energetic as in BATTLEBOT MONSTERS (waves hello at "Snow Day" video).

Pirates! Monsters! Flying escapes! (And not a single Apple text message tone.)

Josh and the Jamtones - "Sloop John B" [YouTube]

Video: "Tailfeather" - Josh and the Jamtones

Anyone who's seen Josh and the Jamtones' live show knows they are ten-ton bundle of energy. The Boston-based ska-punk-pop band's latest album, Rocksteady, is formally released August 21, but I can say that the album very much captures that live energy in the studio setting.

One of the most revved up songs from that album gets the honor of lead single and a brand-new video to go with it. It's for "Tailfeather," and I feel like there should be a seizure warning before it because MAN, is there a lot going on.

But the song's a bunch of fun, and the video, which basically animates a bunch of clips of the band performing in concert, pretty much nails their live energy. I think it's great.

Josh and the Jamtones - "Tailfeather" [YouTube]

The Kindie Rock Showdown: A Brief Recap

Kindie Rock Showdown logo

Well after nearly a full month of kids music video competition to the death... OK, there was no death or even injury whatsoever, the Kindie Rock Showdown over at batteryPOP has come to a conclusion. When I last let you know what was going on, we were in the middle of Round 1, as Danny Weinkauf's "Ice Cream" knocked off Caspar Babypants' "The Stump Hotel" and Alphabet Rockers' "Dynamite" triumphed over The Bazillions' "No Homework" while we awaited the results of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band's "Blue Bear" vs. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's "Gotta Be You" and Josh and the Jamtones' "John Jacob" against The Not-Its' "Haircut."

Long story short, in the semi-finals the following week, Danny Weinkauf defeated Alphabet Rockers and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo beat The Not-Its, which set up an epic final between the bassist for They Might Be Giants and the hip-hop musician who knew a thing or two about winning a video showdown. More than 10,000 votes were cast in the final round, and while it was close all week, with the lead changing hands several times, in the end Danny Weinkauf's video "Ice Cream" took home the prize.

As I noted in my last blog for the tournament, thanks to the artists for participating, batteryPOP for taking this idea and running with it, Laurie Berkner for doing a bunch of video intros, and everyone for watching and POPping their favorite videos. Hopefully this isn't the last time!

Let's watch "Ice Cream" one last time to celebrate Weinkauf's victory. I think I know how he might celebrate his victory...

Danny Weinkauf and the Red Pants Band - "Ice Cream" [YouTube]

The Kindie Rock Showdown: Week One in the Books, Week Two Underway!

Kindie Rock Showdown logo

Well Week One of the batteryPOP/Zooglobble Kindie Rock Showdown is in the books and...

Wait, you don't know what the batteryPop/Zooglobble Kindie Rock Showdown is? OK, read this and come back. It's OK, I'll wait.

So, yeah, last week a bunch of you voted and Danny Weinkauf's "Ice Cream" knocked off Caspar Babypants' "The Stump Hotel" while in a squeaker, Alphabet Rockers' "Dynamite" triumphed over The Bazillions' "No Homework." Those two winners move on to the semifinals next week.

But this week we've got four new videos going head-to-head: Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band's "Blue Bear" vs. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's "Gotta Be You" and Josh and the Jamtones' "John Jacob" (that's a lot of "J"s there) facing off against The Not-Its' "Haircut." Some solid video action there, too.

You can read more about the videos and the matchups here. And, just as she did last week, Laurie Berkner's providing some color commentary of her own on the videos.

So head on over, watch the videos, "POP" your favorites daily, and see who moves on to the semifinal round next week!