Monday, May 9, 2011

Mister G to release new children's album

Mister G, a noted indie rocker turned music teacher, bursts onto the national “kindie” scene with his adventurous second CD release, Bugs. Featuring 13 original songs (including two bilingual tracks) plus a surprise bonus track, Bugs will be available just in time for summer road trips and parties on May 22nd from Coil Records. Visit http://www.mistergsongs.com for information.

Mister G is Ben Gundersheimer, a former rock band leader who has been writing songs for kids for the past several years. The first student to win a songwriting scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, he has won 10 ASCAP songwriting awards. He fronted the Ben Swift Band before going back to school to earn a Masters degree in early elementary education and delving full time into being a teacher and family performing artist. While continuing his work as a producer/engineer/multi-instrumentalist, Gundersheimer has performed with Dan Zanes and shared stage with kindie stars including Lunch Money, Brady Rymer and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Since his 2009 release Pizza for Breakfast , Mister G has written dozens of new songs, 13 of which ended up on this new CD.

Featuring musical styles that bounce engagingly from bluegrass to bossa nova, ska to folk and rock, the song themes vary from world travels to a shark in the bathtub to annoying siblings and “Pam the Pug” sitting on a rug. Every song invites dancing, interaction and laughter, perfect elements for family sharing.

The song “Gonna Take My Hat” is an adventurous tune that refers to Mister G’s habit of covering his pate with a different chapeau for each traveling occasion: “I’m gonna take my hat wherever I go,” he sings as he travels to “New York, Paris, London, Rome” and various other world locales. “Grilled Cheese” is a ska–beat ode to Mister G’s favorite lunch treat.

The title song “Bugs” is one of Mister G’s most requested songs. “Kids go crazy for it, screaming their heads off at the idea of bugs on them, and laughing at the thought of bugs crawling on me. It’s so highly interactive without me having to do anything but sing,” laughs Gundersheimer. The summery zydeco-inflected song requires everyone to follow the bugs as they crawl around. After all, “every bug you see has a million sisters and brothers,” as the song goes.

“I love the pure energy and dynamic back-and-forth of performing for kids,” says Gundersheimer. “There’s such honesty in the response from the audience, and I love how kids are so uninhibited as they interact with the music and lyrics.”

For this release, Gundersheimer enlisted top notch musicians, including Doug Derryberry (Bruce Hornsby’s guitarist) and Doug Yowell (from Suzanne Vega’s band). “These are all longtime friends and collaborators,” notes Gundersheimer.

Bugs also features two songs performed in English and Spanish (featuring backup vocals from award-winning string band leader Rani Arbo). We laugh at the mysterious smile of “Cocodrilo” (Crocodile) and learn some new Spanish words for “warning” and “danger” in the process. “Vamos a la Playa” is a lovely, slow-release song that invites relaxation by a balmy beach. In fact, the bilingual Mister G has brought his songs to children in Mexico and Guatemela recently and plans a Spanish language focused release in the future.

A bonus track on Bugs is a youthful arrangement of the Elton John hit “Benny and the Jets.” The song was taped in Gundersheimer's Philadelphia living room when he was 9 years old.
The colorful art on the front cover of Bugs was created by Ann Beresford, an artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries in Boston and New York. The liner notes also include a gallery of young fan drawings of Mister G wearing various hats.

Bugs will be available at a suggested retail price of $15 (9.99 digital) at various online retailers including Amazon.com, CDBaby, iTunes and more. Mister G plans several concerts around New England and Maryland this spring and summer to celebrate the release. For more information, visit http://www.mistergsongs.com/.

Details about Bugs
Label: Coil Records
Release: May 24, 2011
SRP: $15
More Info: www.mistergsongs.com

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