Jeanie B! and the Jelly Beans
Sugar Buzz
Jeanie B’s newest album Sugar Buzz easily pops to the top of the heap. Each of the tracks on Sugar Buzz do more than delight with catchy hooks and fun instrumentation – Neufutur Magazine Sept. 2011
This is the 4th Jeanie B! and The Jelly Beans CD and I'm so excited I can't stand it! These songs have been tested on stage for the past 3 years already and have stood the test of time. So much to dance, sing and laugh along to. I always load my tracks with instruments and harmonies to give the listener plenty of ear candy and I think we got it just right! Here are some highlights:
The title track is a rockin', buzzing party that gets you jumpin' ! It has a feedback fade out that is my homage to Neil Young ( my hero)! I started to write it as an anti-sugar type song but got carried away and it's mostly just a fun romp!
Dance Party Every Night just makes me smile! I love to perform this one. If you aren't up and dancing along to this one, you must have fallen asleep. This will get your groove on!
I was asked to write a song about curbing the nose picking habits of youngsters by some preschool teachers at Cherry Preschool in Evanston IL, and that's how Please Don't Pick your Nose came to be. I love that it sounds like a serious bosa nova but is just fun and irreverant. It has actually worked though, many kids have reduced (can't say stopped) their nose picking habits from this song!!
I have never recorded a cover song before and I Am A Horse is my maiden voyage. I found this song on a CDRom that was inside a cereal box probably 10 years ago. It was on a JumpStart product and I just loved it! I could never find the writer but finally found the copyright holder so I could record it. I have changed it a lot from its original style to make it my own. I love horses and was thrilled to add this fun horse song to the repetroire.
There are songs that are just for fun and ones that have a message too. Kids are so open to being shaped by music and I love all the subjects they inspire in my songwriting. One of my favorites, (a Grateful Dead sounding track) is Jammies all Day Long. A little girl I have known for a few years, Clementine, just loves her footy pajamas. She wore them every day for a few years. Then, alas, she outgrew them. Not to be discouraged, she started wearing regular clothes but still putting her arms through the sleeves of her jammies and letting the legs hang down her back! Now, her arms are too big so she just ties the arms around her neck. I loved her attachment to these jammies so wrote the song to say we should all wear our jammies all day long, just like Clementine! You know you want to!!
I think reading is really important for kids to love so I wrote When you Open a Book to get them excited about picking up a book. It also has a very catchy sing-a-long part that just makes you feel good and tap your toes! It's not preachy, just fun which I hope conveys that reading is fun.
I love all the songs on this CD but one of my favorites is Tired Town. I love to write lullabies for bedtime and this may be my best. It's a metaphor about a train taking us to tired town. A wonderful musician and producer in his own right, Rich Rankin of Mosaic Music created the sound effects of a train using old peices of hardware and metal that he found in his basement. It sounds like the train going over the ties on the rails. He also made sound effects for Tea Time using actual tea cups. He tuned them by filling them with just the right amount of water so they were in pitch with the song!! Brilliant!
This CD is co-produced by me, Andon T. Davis (who has produced all my CD's including my adult music) and I was honored to have the 2010 Grammy Award winning Producer Michael Freeman at the healm as Mixer and co-producer this time around. I've never seen anyone finnesse a mix like Michael and he is the nicest man you'd ever want to meet. Andon is a monster talent in the studio, there is no stringed instrument he can't play and play better than anyone else. He is fun and encouraging and can hear how all the instruments should fit together in his head before I even start strumming. A real winning team.
I have to of course give love to my long time Jelly Beans Band; Jamie Martinez on Bass & Tuba, Paulie Bivans on Drums and Airan Wright on Sax and all other instruments you blow into! They are all solid pros and never miss a beat. I love working with these guys, it's just a party on stage and it makes the audience have more fun too. We're in Chicago, and would love to visit the rest of the world playing music!
I hope you'll have a listen, like what you hear, send me a note full of good cheer! Here's all the peeps that made it happen! I'm very blessed to have had the honor of working with these folks.
SUGAR BUZZ LINER NOTES
Produced by: Jeanie Bonansinga, Andon T. Davis & Michael Freeman
Krazy Kid Singers
Jenna Lubs, Mieke Moll, Sydney Hollingsworth, Lily Hollingsworth, Aurora Shewmake,
Nicholas Ingraffia, Joey Bonansinga, Bill Bonansinga, Elliot Wexler, Kaylen Peterson,
Elinor Neal Koski, Evelyn Neal Koski, Viviana Aceves, William Correa, Mario Correa,
Matthew Correa, Sophia Wright, Evelyn Wright
The Jelly Beans:
Jeanie B!: Guitar, Vocals
Andon T. Davis: Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Baritone Guitar, Harmonies, Magic
Jamie Martinez: Bass, Tuba, Harmonies
Airan Wright: Alto & Soprano Sax, Clarinet
Paul Bivans: Drums
Honorary Jelly Beans:
The Maestro, Bob Hasty: Violin
Rockin’ Randy Farr: Conga, Tambourine
Rich Rankin/Mosaic Music: Spoons, teacups and other hardware!
Isaac Lyons: Accordion
Alton Smith: Keyboards galore
Al Ehrich: Cello
Paul Janicki, Laura Doherty: Harmonious Harmonies
John Jones: Upright Slappin’ Dog House Bass man!
Original Cover Art & Graphics: Laura McDougal
Recorded at: BooCoo Studios, Evanston IL www.Boocoo.org
Recording Engineers: Jason VanHoose, Jeremiah Bell
Mixed by: Michael Freeman www.coachousemusic.com
Mastered by: Trevor Sadler; Mastermind Productions
Jeanie B! and The Jelly Beans “Sugar Buzz”
© 2011 Rockmam Records; All rights reserved
Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
All words and music written by Jeanie B!
Except “I am a Horse” with permission; Knowledge Adventure
© (p) 2011 RMam Publishing/ASCAP
Thanks to all the beautiful kids that I have the privilege of knowing and playing music for, and the wonderful parents who keep bringing them back for more. You inspire me every day to keep writing songs. Thanks to The Jelly Beans for always having my back, and thanks especially to my own two kids, the amazing Joey and Bill. You are my world.
Here's a great review the CD got from NeuFutur Magazine
Jeanie B – Sugar Buzz (CD) / 2011 Self / http://www.jeaniebmusic.com
Most the time that we have reviewed a children’s-focused album, the resulting music was at a level below that of similar releases. Where there has been the rare children’s title that has been able to hang with other similar-genre releases, Jeanie B’s newest album Sugar Buzz easily pops to the top of the heap. Each of the tracks on Sugar Buzz do more than delight with catchy hooks and fun instrumentation – they will provide young-set listeners with the proper behaviors and ways of action in a variety of different situations.
Our favorite tracks on Sugar Buzz would have to include both Please Don’t Pick Your Nose and Jammies All Day Long. I believe that the allure that Jeanie B has really comes in the broad applicability of her songs to all audiences that would be listening in. The production and way that the band crafts the tracks on Sugar Buzz will be what brings fans in by the boatload. “When You Open A Book” is a perfect example of this, with a decidedly dense set of arrangements that belies the track’s straight-forward nature.
While there is no confusing that the music on Sugar Buzz is intended for children, I feel that the way in which Jeanie B and the rest of her band throw themselves into each of the album’s cuts will ultimately make it easy for adults to enjoy what’s present. Make sure to pick up a copy of Sugar Buzz in October from iTunes or from Jeanie B directly; it will do admirably in a holiday package or as a birthday gift. Jeanie B will be hitting live stops through September and October; check out her website above and see where she’ll stop.
Top Tracks: When You Open A Book, Dance Party Every Night
Rating: 8.5/10
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-James McQuiston
Editor, NeuFutur (print magazine)
Editor, http://www.neufutur.com (e-magazine)
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Kids/Family: General Children's Music