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IT'S BEEN UNLEASHED! With two CDs (Songs For The Coolest Kids and Fast & Feisty) under their corset/racing belt, Princess Katie & Racer Steve come out of the gate running with 2010's, Tiny Cool!
Already chosen as a Grand Finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for "Clelia's Party," Princess Katie & Racer Steve sought out to create incredibly fun and lively music to reflect the energy of their outrageously entertaining live concerts.
"Calling it a kids album would be selling it short. Tiny Cool, the newest disc by Princess Katie & Racer Steve, is a most charming and musically diverse effort filled with positive, quirky lyrics, great guitar work from Steve Borne, clear vocals from Katie O'Sullivan, and a hip, mod vibe that never feels pretentious." Dallas Morning News
"Princess Katie and Racer Steve once again prove that kids’ music can really rock. On their third CD for children, Katie O’Sullivan and Steve Borne take themes such as honesty, acceptance, shyness, fun, and self-esteem and wrap them in rock, pop, surfer, Motown, and even Bossa Nova packages. Katie’s voice, which has rightfully been compared to Natalie Merchant’s, is backed on each of the ten songs by drums, electric guitars, and a horn section that features members of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Masterfully produced, the lyrics are clear and will have listeners singing along. Kids and their families will listen to this again and again. A must-have for all collections." School Library Journal 2011
"Princess Katie & Racer Steve could've named their new CD, Super-Gigantic-Amazingly Cool...Tiny Cool gives us more to love from this ready-for-their-own-cartoon, husband-and-wife pair Steve Borne and Katie O'Sullian. Part dance party, part radio show, Tiny Cool moves seamlessly from skit to song with a self-depreciating sense of humor that even holds my so-mature nine year-old's interest." Cool Mom Picks
"With comedic skits both onstage and on albums, cleverly-crafted cartoon avatars on their website and DVD, a killer wardrobe and three albums of original songs, Princess Katie and Racer Steve are class A children’s entertainers."
Nugget Island
"...their records tend to be wildly entertaining. This one is a legitimate step forward for them: The catchy songs remain, and they’ve got a terrific horn section with them now, along with some other fun guests. The tracks do a better job than some past ones at getting the energy of their live shows, which can’t be beat." - Spare The Rock, Spoil The Child
"Don’t let the title fool you, “Tiny Cool” is enormously cool. The players behind the jumpy horns on “Tiny Cool” are some of the fellas from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. They add to the overall authenticity of Princess Katie & Racer Steve’s sound, which is, it turns out, pretty darn authentic." Out With The Kids
"...but it took just one listen to their second CD, 2008’s Fast & Feisty, to put them on my radar as a kids’ band to be reckoned with, proving that the roles of princess and race-car driver—which can be traced back to the band’s origins in hospital charity work—in no way limit their sound. The musicianship of Katie O’Sullivan’s smooth vocals and Steve Borne’s shredding guitar solos stand out even in the much improved world of today’s kid music." Myles McDonnell - You Know, For Kids writer & former children's-entertainment editor at Cookie magazine
Straight from “The Kingdom” -- where a feisty princess who’s inclined to rock out joins a local racecar driver who creates blazing guitar solos when he’s not blazing around the track -- Princess Katie & Racer Steve bring their one-of-a-kind combination of drop-dead great singing, sterling musicianship, and sparkling, kid-oriented comedy to their third studio CD, Tiny Cool (RocketNYC, $15.00, for ages 2 - 8, run time 38 minutes).
A follow up to Princess Katie & Racer Steve’s critically praised albums, Songs for the Coolest Kids (2007) and Fast & Feisty (2008), Tiny Cool captures the vibrant energy, daring innovations, and positive spirit of the NYC-based group’s tremendously popular live performances. Tiny Cool uses hip lyrics and cool music, punctuated with plenty of laughter, to bring home messages about honesty, individuality, acceptance, kindness, helpfulness, the power of love, and the amazing capabilities kids will exhibit, if they’re only given a chance.
Princess Katie & Racer Steve’s horn section (featuring members of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) and strings add layers of depth and musical color to Tiny Cool. Stylistically, Tiny Cool runs the gamut from surfer rock to Motown, from Latin to electro-pop and even some rock bossa nova.
Princess Katie is a strong, self-possessed, modern princess, who wears her gown and tiara as a work outfit, but kicks back in her jeans when work is done. Katie O’Sullivan’s former life as an improv and sketch comic stands her in good stead when she takes on this role for the skits in Tiny Cool. Steve Borne’s real life hobby is racecars, and he’s performed in bands for many years, so the guitar-playing “Racer Steve” is a natural for him. Cookie magazine, praising Borne’s “masterful guitar shredding,” noted that it “might make you wonder if his last name is Van Halen.
Tiny Cool begins with “Clelia’s Party,” a high powered Latin-style story song about the time Princess Katie was invited to sing at a fiesta and the hilarity that ensued when she realized that the only Spanish she knew was from a menu. The album then slides into “Tube Sox,” a fun pop number that gets its “pop” from pizzicato strings and its title from one of Princess Katie’s favorite things. “Kids Rock!” is a real rocker tune that humorously depicts parents and nannies being shocked to see how their kids rock out. (The band, on the other hand, is not shocked... they see it at every show!) “Sand in My Sandwich” is a funny, Dick Dale-esque surfer song, while “Shy” declares that “being shy is perfectly fine, and we love you just the way you are.” The album’s title track lays down some James Brown style funk while telling the story of a brother and sister dance team -- Tiny Cool & Little Lady – who are turned away from a performance because they’re just kids. Princess Katie encourages them to continue dancing, and soon the crowd realizes how great they are. Don't judge a little book by its little cover! The Motown-esque “Honest Kid” and the super cool “The Rock Bossa” extol the virtues of honesty and helpfulness. “Stick Around (Can We Get an Anthem?)” is a rock anthem just for kids, which proclaims, “Acceptance, kindness, and being positive come naturally to us.” Tiny Cool concludes with “Japanese Robot,” a super synth ballad about a robot powered purely by love.
The husband-and-wife team of Katie O’Sullivan and Steve Borne began working with children by volunteering at hospitals dressed as popular TV and movie characters. Finding these visits to be deeply rewarding, they soon decided to “step it up a bit,” making use of Steve’s wide-ranging background in music and Katie’s years of experience working in sketch and improv comedy. The characters of Princess Katie & Racer Steve were born, and Katie and Steve were soon performing original music, not only for hospitalized children, but also at events for abused, neglected, and at-risk children. This outreach began shortly after the couple were married and remains a very significant part of their lives.
Messages about honesty abound in Honest Kid.
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