Dino O’Dell, the musical alter ego of Kansas City native Kevin Dolan, has been entertaining children all around the metro with his lively original kids’ tunes for a while now. You may have been able to catch a Dino O’Dell show over the summer - it seemed like he was EVERYWHERE! And for good reason. Dino can really entertain a discerning crowd of munchkins.

Dino plays solo shows but also occasionally takes the stage with his band, the Veloci-Rappers. It was with the band that Dino released his first CD, Dino O’Dell and the Veloci-Rappers. More recently, he released a solo CD called Itty Bitty Monsters. Both CDs are great fun. How can songs like “Swimmin’ with Piranha” and “Smoochin’ with a Giant Squid” be anything but silly and entertaining? And I dare any parent out there to NOT tap their toes to the very sweet, acoustic “I’ve Got A Friend.” Wrap things up with covers of the traditional “The More We Get Together” and “The Wheels on the Bus” and you’ve got a totally solid kids’ CD.

You can check Dino out LIVE around town too - his website always has an up-to-date schedule. (more…)

If you’ve spent any time on the Kansas City kids’ festival, fair or storytime circuit over the past few years, you’ve surely had the fantastic opportunity to experience a Funky Mama performance. Krista Eyler, a.k.a. Funky Mama, is a local mom (and former television reporter) who knows how to get your kids moving, singing and laughing!

Funky Mama plays a cherry red electric guitar and her music really has a bluesy rock and roll feel - but it’s all geared to the kids. Her third and most recent release is the full length CD “Moo Juice.” It came out in late summer and I was lucky enough to get a copy to test drive. Things have been so busy here on KC Kids Fun and with school, sports, dance, church - you know the drill - that I haven’t gotten around to talking about it yet!

The CD is good - it’s really good! (Not that it’s a big surprise that it’s good!) Songs like the title track “Moo Juice” -about milk - and “Pop ‘n Hop” - about making popcorn - took my kids by surprise though. I don’t think they thought it was “their kind of music” until they really started listening to the lyrics. And then the smiles broke out.

My favorite songs on the CD are “Sippy” which has a great shout-out, sing-along chorus, perfect for annoying my children in the car and “Ooo, Aah, Ow!” (about hair-brushing) which just causes my daughter to roll her eyes while I laugh. It’s not just funny lyrics though - the music is really solid. And Krista has such a full, soulful voice - so easy to listen to.

The kids swiped the CD from the car and it has now disappeared into the abyss of their bedrooms. I can report though that I regularly hear them singing some of the songs around the house, especially “Down, Down Baby” (a fabulous a cappella song) and “Freeze Dance.”

So, we’re big Funky Mama fans at our house. We highly recommend “Moo Juice” and we highly, highly recommend catching Krista live around Kansas City. She’s playing this weekend (September 27, 2008) at the Plant Hope for Hearts fundraiser at English Landing Park in Parkville. And at the Johnson County Museum on October 1, at a shopping benefit for Abby’s Run in Overland Park on October 4 and at Wonderscope on October 8! Check the KC Kids Fun Events Calendar for more details.

If you love Kansas City’s kids’ music scene, check out these KC Kids Music articles:

• Jim Cosgrove (a.k.a. Mr. Stinky Feet)

• The Terrible Twos

• Rock Daddy Rock

• The La La’s

(You can buy CD’s from lots of Kansas City’s kids’ musicians at the KC KIDS STORE too!)

Around here, new kids’ music CDs usually get tried out in the car. I mean, really, it’s basically where we live anyway, right? So, I received a copy of Rock Daddy Rock - Silly Short Songs for Silly Short People a few weeks ago from the man behind the music - Kansas City-based children’s musician and producer Chris Bihuniak. It went straight into the Suburban’s CD rotation. Within moments of hitting “play”, my 5 and 6 year old were in giggle fits in the backseat.

I’ll cut to the chase. Silly Short Songs, just released within the last month, is a winner. There are 18 tracks - all pretty brief and all very entertaining. The song topics alternate between downright silly and gross (songs like Boogers, Don’t Pass the Gas and Diaper) and life lessons taught with humor (songs like Turn It Off, The Lecture and Because I Care). Each tune is very catchy and lots of fun. My kids especially liked hearing the voices of Bihuniak’s own children chiming in on many of the tracks.

My husband and I don’t often see eye to eye on kids’ music. He usually switches the radio immediately upon getting into my car. No Radio Disney for him. He can’t bear to listen. Since I am most often with the kids, my attitude is more “if they like it and it keeps them quiet, I like it.” But Rock Daddy Rock? This is a CD that even parents will like. Our first listen was on the way to church one Sunday morning and I have to admit that it had me laughing out loud and grinning by the time we turned into the church parking lot. And my husband also appreciated the music (all recorded by Bihuniak himself - a true one man band). Rock Daddy really rocks! I caught myself smiling at a few ’80’s inspired guitar solos and some retro beats in a few songs!

So, here’s my advice (not that you asked) - buy Rock Daddy Rock - Silly Short Songs for Silly Short People! And catch or book a performance too. Rock Daddy Rock will be at the Midwest Baby & Kids Fest this weekend at the Overland Park International Trade Center at 115th and Metcalf. He is also available to perform for parties and events. Not only does Chris perform his Rock Daddy Rock music live, he also is available as a kids’ music DJ! How fun!!

Check out Chris’ website - www.4boysinc.com - for more info about this awesome LOCAL children’s musician (as well as his other award-winning kids’ music - The Blankies and Teacher and the Rockbots).

Okay, this isn’t really a KC Kids-specific happening, but who can resist new Laurie Berkner music?! You and your kids know Laurie from NOGGIN and Jack’s Big Music Show.

Her newest CD came out TODAY! Check out Rocketship Run immediately!

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled Kansas City kids’ activities programming tomorrow - if it’s not raining, don’t miss the $2 special at the Zoo (Wednesday, August 6th). If it is raining, go have some fun at the Kansas City Children’s Museum or at Wonderscope or any of the great Indoor Activities in our Directory on the right side of the page!  Don’t miss the great listings in our Events Calendar either!