Recess Monkey and National Fire Prevention Week

One of the great things about writing this blog is that I've learned so much about recorded music available for kids. The last artist whose music I reviewed connected me with his publicist, and his publicist has filled me in on all sorts of neat events and album debuts. Here is my disclosure: I do receive free music downloads to review, but opinions are my own.

 Have you heard of Recess Monkey?

image by Kevin Fry

This group of three teachers from Seattle writes family music in an energetic way that incorporates a variety of instrumental and electric sounds. Check out their Youtube channel to get an idea. The subject matter of the often silly lyrics combined with more complex music makes it a good fit for early elementary schoolers.

As a collection, Recess Monkey's music offers a lot to children with the fun of funk, rock, rap, male vocal models who use their entire ranges (falsetto included), occasional changing meters, rhythmic surprises, tempo changes, electric guitar, and all sorts of drum and synth sounds.

Recess Monkey's live shows have a reputation for being hilarious. Check out their calendar. Most shows are near Seattle, but if you're near D.C., you can see them at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA on October 5th. It's only a couple weeks away!

image by Patrick Kolz

Another fun thing is that Recess Monkey and SteveSongs from PBS Kids have teamed up with the National Fire Protection Association to create music promoting fire safety. National Fire Prevention week is October 5-11, so check out their music videos at NFPA's website to see if they'd be a good way to teach your kids about fire safety. If you've ever wondered what it's like to ride a flying smoke alarm, here is your chance to see it.