I am very excited to be traveling the globe this month and next where I will end up in Ubud Bali Indonesia at the Bali Spirit Festival! Along with my grown up sets, I have also been asked to host a special children's concert on May 2nd. They will be videoing some of this and it will be very cool to teach out to Indonesian as well as touring families with the songs from Hug Trees. I can't wait. Stay tuned! Peace and Hug Trees, tom

Larry Wines here. I want to include the Parent's Choice win in the Acoustic Americana Music News. This'll go in next week's edition:

x) TOM FREUND WINS "PARENTS CHOICE" AWARD

Southern California based singer-songwriter TOM FREUND has won a "Parents Choice Award" for Fall 2008 for his CD, "HUG TREES," (www.myspace.com/hugtreesmusic) co-produced by Freund and STEVE McCORMICK. The album has been heard on radio's "Tied to The Tracks," and it includes vocal contributions from VICTORIA WILLIAMS, BRETT DENNEN (who wrote one of the songs) and ABRA MOORE, plus instrumental performances by MICHAEL JEROME (Richard Thompson's band), RICHIE HAYWARD (Little Feat), ERIC HEYWOOD (Ray LaMontagne's band), STAN "THE BARON" BEHRENS (Canned Heat). Obviously, from the many recognizable names involved, none are known as "children's" artists, so the award is especially significant. Read the copyrighted review of the CD, by Dirty Linen magazine art director Lahri Bond: www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=25067&StepNum=1&award=aw


Larry Wines, programmer-producer-host, "Tied to the Tracks" acoustic Americana radio and television, syndicated from Los Angeles, with live in-studio performance-interviews, included in "The Best of L.A. 2006" radio lineup by Los Angeles Magazine; editor, "Acoustic Americana Music Calendar & News" at http://acousticamericana.blogspot.com and additional "TttT" news at www.myspace.com/laacoustic; consultant to artists, musicians, songwriters, festivals, and the music biz; feature writer for FolkWorks (www.folkworks.org).

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PS - No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a substantial number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

this is a big honor for Tom and all his friends that made Hug Trees come to life!! Winners will be posted october 2nd on the parents choice website. "Parents' Choice recommends the best in children's media. Content includes Parents' Choice Awards and Noteworthy Product Reviews. Parents' Choice is the ..."
www.parents-choice.org. here is direct link:

http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=25067&StepNum=1&award=aw

Hug Trees

August, 16 2008 at Tree People Concert In The Park
Coldwater Canyon Park, 12601 Mulholland Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210
Cost :

OPENING FAMILY NIGHT SPECIAL: SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 AT 7:30PM - HUG TREES: TOM FREUND & FRIENDS IN CONCERT Toes off all ages will be tapping to the great roots rock sound of Tom Freund (NY Times calls him "an unexpected gem"). Offering "kids music for the whole family" - from the James Brown style of "Freezedance" to the Woody Guthriesque "Bakin' a Cake" and more. Great tunes that encourages kids to get outside and keep it moving! Tom will bring along some special guests this evening which will include a set from his other albums as well. Check it out at www.cdbaby.com/cd/freundfriends and www.tomfreund.com. Bring the kids in pajamas so they can fall asleep on the ride home! Tree People Coldwater Canyon Park Beverly Hills, Ca. 90210 (818) 623-4845 jhardie@treepeople.org

hi y'all Happy Day! Had a great Podcast recording and interview with Living Green.com's Meredith medland. We had a living room concert in Santa Barbara , a potluck and discussed some Hug Trees inspirations and concerns for the planet and jammed! check it out at this link:

http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/224-living-green/episodes/3730-children-s-eco-album-hugtrees-org-guy

Also: Stagecoach Festival 'round the corner

Tom Freund and Friends play "Hug Trees" songs on May 3rd and 4th at the Stagecoach Festival on the Kids Stage. Check out this line up including The Eagles and John Fogerty! go to the site and see for yourself: http://www.stagecoachfestival.com/event/KidsActivities

05/03/2008 2:00 PM - Stagecoach Festival 
Indio, California 92201 
Description:Half Pint Hootenany Craziness at this huge Country Coachella Weekend. Bring your sunscreen, your party dress and your cowboy hat!

05/04/2008 2:00 PM - Stagecoach Festival 
Indio, California 92201 
Description:Half Pint Hootenany Craziness at this huge Country Coachella Weekend. Bring your sunscreen, your party dress and your cowboy hat!

Zooglobble http://www.zooglobble.com/archives/2008/04/
Kids and family music news and reviews - Kids music worth sharing.
« March 2008 | Main
APRIL 18, 2008
Review in Brief: Hug Trees - Tom Freund and Friends

Southern California-based singer-songwriter Tom Freund released Hug Trees in late 2007, and I'm sort of surprised it's gone under everyone's radar (including mine) until just recently. In many ways, the album, inspired by his preschool-aged daughter, is a typical "kids' music" CD -- it's got a "freeze dance" song, there's a rendition of "The Cat Came Back," there's a song about baking a cake.
But there's a relaxed and playful attitude to the whole affair that makes it more compelling than you would think from the description above. Take "Freezedance," for example, which has a very funky '70s sound (Freund mentions James Brown as a particular inspiration for the track) and doesn't just involve Freund occasionally yelling "Freeze!" but also has him encouraging listeners to emulate animals and throwing out musical adlibs. "The Cat Came Back" is an admittedly hard song to screw up, but I quite liked his mellow approach on the song. "Party in the Yard" was actually written by Brett Dennen (who appears on this and one other track), and it's a soulful, funky tune (think Jack Johnson) about playing outside. (If you get a bit of a Ben Harper vibe, too, well, Freund's played with him quite a bit.)
Freund's roots-rock vibe on some tracks ("Hug Trees" or "Bump Bump Bump") will remind listeners of Brady Rymer, while on the closing "Go To Sleep (Fais Do-Do)" or "Seashells" (the former with Abra Moore, the latter with Victoria Williams), Freund sounds a little bit like a West Coast Elizabeth Mitchell. (And on "I Walk the Dog," Freund just sounds like a tired guy who knows how important it is to walk your dog, if you've got one.)
The 33-minute album will appeal mostly to listeners ages 3 through 6. You can hear four tracks at the album's Myspace page, or hear selections from more tracks at its CDBaby page.
The biggest strength of Hug Trees is its overall vibe, which turns what might have been a collection of typical kids songs into a fun little disk, something beyond ordinary. Fans of Brady Rymer or Elizabeth Mitchell I think will respond well to the musicianship and playfulness from Freund and friends here. Recommended.

Tom Freund and Friends play "Hug Trees" songs on May 3rd and 4th at the Stagecoach Festival on the Kids Stage. Check out this line up including The Eagles and John Fogerty! go to the site and see for yourself: http://www.stagecoachfestival.com/event/KidsActivities

05/03/2008 2:00 PM - Stagecoach Festival
Indio, California 92201
Description:Half Pint Hootenany Craziness at this huge Country Coachella Weekend. Bring your sunscreen, your party dress and your cowboy hat!

05/04/2008 2:00 PM - Stagecoach Festival
Indio, California 92201
Description:Half Pint Hootenany Craziness at this huge Country Coachella Weekend. Bring your sunscreen, your party dress and your cowboy hat!

"Hug Trees" - Originated with an idea while I was on a hike in Natchez Forest in North Carolina on an off day while on tour. I pictured kids climbing and hugging trees in the forest. I went to the car and pulled out my mandolin and a cassette recorder and laid down the chorus and breakdown. I remember seeing it like a video with kids yelling, "Hey you, are you hugging a tree?" in a "call and response" way.

"Bakin' A Cake" - I was playing music at my daughter's day school in Venice while my wife was baking for the kids. I got the inspiration for the song at that moment and started with a guitar riff and a Woodie Guthrie-esque sing-talk. The words came very easily: I was going off what the kids were saying and the different ingredients they were stirring in. It kinda turned into a "work song" for kids baking a cake. Brett Dennen really added a signature harmony to the recipe with his South African influences.

"Rock 'N Roll History" – I started with a bluegrass type riff on the ukulele that made my daughter dance a jig every time I played it. Being in her room, my mind went to storybook land and I started singing words as if I were a Prince courting a princess or Sampson and Delilah and then . . . eventually Elvis got evoked! In the studio it took on a vaudeville style recording with bells and whistles and gypsy style guitar riffs. Michael Jerome blew us away with his "kitchen sink" percussion track, I think you can here his whole rig falling at the end of the track, he was going crazy.

"Seashells" - I wrote this song in my childhood summerhouse in Fire Island, NY after a day at the beach and then playing on the piano in the living room. Again the ukulele was used, this time in conjunction with a Fender Rhodes, which I found incredibly yummy. We were wondering about getting some actual children on the recording and magically that very same day my friend, Victoria Williams called and she was in town. She gave a real childlike energy that made us blush. I consider her one of the greatest voices in Americana music.

"Bump Bump Bump" – Actually this was the first song of the batch I recorded. I was walking my kid in the stroller and whenever we'd hit a bump we started making fun of it. A New Orleans feel captured the motion of the car, the bike, the stroller etc. We recorded this one in my garage with Matt at the helm on an M Box with a couple of good mics. I started with the bass groove on my upright and Chris Lovejoy did a fabulous tap dance with sticks on the concrete floor. Something about this track also reminds me of a Grateful Dead song called "Bertha."

"Apple From The Tree" – Another one where the ukulele was integral in the sound and concept of the song. I was playing the uke in my house and my daughter was jumping up and down off the bed and acting out whatever words I sang. I tried to make it a good story with a lion, a horse and a moral. We were looking for the right female voice on this one to smooth it out and along came my dear friend Abra Moore, in from Austin. She really nailed the Jamaican feel and inflection while giving the song a lightness and humor. Steve McCormick played a great Hawaiian Slide guitar part and I added a Melodica, which we dubbed "the Flaco track" after the famous Tejano accordian player, Flaco Jimenez.

"Party In The Yard" – When I started conceptualizing this record, I knew it would be important to call it "Tom Freund and Friends." I had just gotten turned onto Brett Dennen's music and was really blown away. When I asked him if he had any kids songs he wanted to do with me for the album, he played me "Party . . ." and I thought it was a perfect fit. We went up to Topanga to do this one because one of our drum heroes, Ritchie Hayward of Little Feet resided there and Steve and I felt that his style would be exceptional for the song. We cut it live with Brett on guitar, me on upright bass and Ritchie. On the third take it really landed, extra swampy with that New Orleans groove that us kids still go crazy for. The song has a great message for young minds to get out there and feel the nature in your own back yard . . . and turn off the TV.

"I walk the Dog" – We all have dogs in Venice and it's a great hood for them, but there's a lot of people not walking them, keeping them behind fences and gates etc. When I came up with the title, I knew I had to compose this one on the upright bass, the pun obviously being "walking the dog." When we were recording it, we wanted the neighborhood feel with a Latin groove and the "Hecho in Venice" mentality, real local style. The newscaster came out of me wanting to give the people a message but in a fun way. That's my daughter's favorite part.

"FREEZEDANCE" – A very fun game to play with kids. You start with a rhythm on the guitar or any instrument and they start dancing and then everyone has to freeze when the music stops, no matter what position they are in, so you get some very funny statues. During the making of the record James Brown passed on and he is a big musical hero of mine. So I wanted to pay a little homage to the Godfather of Soul. The horns were done by John Juster and we created a loop/DJ effect by recording a needle dropping on a record and playing it backwards and sped up. We threw in a few references like "get on up" and "popcorn" for good measure. Steve's Rhodes part also gave it a real 1970's TV action show feel.

"The Cat Came Back" – I heard this song's chorus when I was very little from my mother and in song circles growing up. I checked out the original words recently and found funny but pretty horrific tales of this cat that gets drowned or burned by the hands of this farmer husband and wife but somehow keeps coming back. When I was playing at my daughter's school, I realized that I could use the refrain of the song and improvise with the kids for the versus: "where did the cat go?" and "what did he have in his mouth?" etc. This song became the most requested one whenever I showed up with my guitar at the school. And each time it took on a different story and new kids would chime in, very fun!

"Go To Sleep" – This one started a cappella with me singing my daughter to sleep at night. I made up words as the nights went on and I kind of got into this 1950's thing with it, "shoop do wah's" and such. I think Paul Simon was an influence because he always found a great way of hinting at the 50's thing while making it his own, like in his Broadway Musical, "Capeman." This is another one where Abra really blew us away with her soothing wails from another time. We wanted to capture what I called a "little drummer boy meets gospel brunch" feel for the song that again reminded us of New Orleans. It was then that Steve mentioned the term "fais do-do," which was the term for "go to sleep" as the mothers would try to get their kids down while the music was going on in the public hall next door.

strange fate of a beetle bug
in my 3 year old's hands
she catches him in a harmonica case
and transfers him to buckets and pails
then runs in with him to show her mom

in a strange twist of fate
upon returning to her sandbox
she trips on a step and scrapes her knee
and the beetle bug goes free
into the dirt - invisible instantly
with its brown shelled wings that stood out so clearly
in her sandbox domain just minutes before

strange fate of a beetle bug
narrowly escaping the closing harmonica case
and slithering out of the plastic

the beetle bug population remains intact
while cars stream down Lincoln Avenue
on the way to the beach to their own giant sandbox . . .