Indy Spotlight: Cafe Brew Haha in North Adams, MA
Filed in Uncategorized, September 2, 2009, 1:27 pm
Since its inception, Putumayo World Music has been dedicated to supporting independent business. Our Indy Spotlight series is designed to highlight retailers we have discovered in our travels who are serious Putumayo fans and supporters.
We found this little cafe while driving through North Adams, Massachusetts over the weekend. To learn more about Cafe Brew Haha, you can visit them at www.cafebrewhaha.com. Thanks for the support; we appreciate it!
Picnic Playground Tour Highlight: 1200 People in Pasadena with Rhythm Child!
Filed in Events, Putumayo Kids, Uncategorized, August 18, 2009, 11:27 am
August 12th Pasadena, CA @ The Levitt Pavilion & August 13th Los Angeles, CA @ Pershing Square
Norman Jones (from Rhythm Child) writes about the final two dates on the Picnic Playground Tour, where over 1200 people in Pasadena enjoyed a family picnic outing while listening to the sounds of Rhythm Child. Read more below to hear what Norman had to say!
Picnic Playground Tour 2009: Updates from the Road with Rhythm Child!
Filed in Putumayo Kids, Uncategorized, August 11, 2009, 2:24 pmWe checked in with Rhythm Child’s Norman Jones on the Bay Area leg of the Picnic Playground tour to hear about his experiences on the road. Read more below to hear what he had to say!
August 8th in San Francisco, CA @ The Oakland Zoo & August 9th in Sausalito, CA @ The Bay Area Discovery Museum
Norman (Rhythm Child)
I am the luckiest person alive to be able to play music and interact with such amazingly expressive kids.
This past weekend was the first two of four shows [in California] that Rhythm Child is doing for the promotion of the new Picnic Playground release. After an 8 a.m. flight to San Francisco, my guitar player Duane and I were warmly greeted by the smiling face of Mona Kayhan, Director of Putumayo Kids. She took us straight to the Oakland Zoo to perform at the Wildlife Theater located at the base of the sprawling park. Although it was very hot, the amphitheater was mostly shaded and we had a great turnout of families that specifically came to see the show. Besides Duane’s guitar and my djembe drum, we brought over 150 REMO Soundshapes, which are small flat drums that you play with sticks. We really wanted to keep the interactive drum circle element of our show and allow the kids the opportunity to play along with the band. At one point we had to quiet things down a bit because the driving rhythms were starting to stir up the animals that were close by. The parents also seemed to enjoy having the instruments to jam with if they could find a spare one lying around.
On Sunday we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in a beautiful morning fog. We were on our way to Sausalito to play a concert at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, which is housed at an old fort right below the bridge. The museum had a great vibe and many wonderful families were pouring in to see the show. We opened the performance with a drum circle and then launched into the music, which of course included “Bowl of Cherries,” our song on the Picnic Playground CD. One quick-thinking mom came up and brought me a small offering of nice cold cherries as we started the song and I had to stop for a moment to enjoy the sweet tasting treat. It’s hard to sing with a cherry pit in your mouth!
The people were so nice and appreciative of the music and I even had a long-overdue reunion with my college roommate who lives in the area. We also had a surprise visit from Dan Storper, founder of Putumayo World Music, and it was especially cool of him to offer Duane and me a ride to the airport after the show. So, with gear stowed away and the towering redwoods in the distance, we headed home with great memories and lots of new friends. I can’t wait for the shows back home in LA so that the rest of the family and band can experience the communal joy surrounding Picnic Playground.
See you soon! Norman (Rhythm Child)
UP NEXT: Rhythm Child in PASADENA and LOS ANGELES, CA. See more information regarding specific dates and times below.
Rhythm Child
August 12th Pasadena, CA • Memorial Park • Levitt Pavilion 7 pm • www.levittpavilionpasadena.org • Free
August 13th Los Angeles, CA • Pershing Square 12 pm • 532 So. Olive St.
www.lacity.org • Free
Picnic Playground Tour 2009: Updates from the Road!
Filed in Uncategorized, August 7, 2009, 2:18 pmLast weekend, four cities in the USA were treated to scrumptious free performances from Johnny Bregar and Jay Mankita, two artists featured on the latest Putumayo Kids collection, Picnic Playground. Read Johnny and Jay’s writings from the road below!
August 1st in Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo & August 2nd in Portland, OR @ The Oregon Zoo
Johnny Bregar
Johnny: “What a great weekend of music! Continue reading this entry »
Free Song Download from Brazilian Café!
Filed in Uncategorized, August 6, 2009, 3:17 pm
Brazilian Café is out now! Sensuous samba, bossa nova and jazz from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador and beyond.
Download the free song “Feliz e Triste” by Ceumar from the Putumayo CD Brazilian Café by clicking here!
Tune in to hear NPR’s Here and Now Interview with Dan Storper and Jose Conde
Filed in Uncategorized, July 21, 2009, 5:05 pmTune in today for an interview with Putumayo founder Dan Storper and musician Jose Conde about Putumayo Kids and the exciting new release, Picnic Playground, on NPR’s nationally syndicated radio show Here and Now. Listen online or find a station airing the program near you: www.hereandnow.org/ways-to-listen
Putumayo Kids Presents The Picnic Playground Tour
Filed in Uncategorized, , 12:34 pm
Pack the World in your Picnic Basket and join the Fun on the Putumayo Kids ‘Picnic Playground’ Concert Tour.
Putumayo Kids celebrates the release of their new Picnic Playground CD on July 28th, 2009 (release dates vary with region) with a series of performances. Bring the kids, a blanket and your favorite snacks!
JAY MANKITA
August 1 Amherst, MA • Eric Carle Museum 1 pm • 125 West Bay Rd.
www.carlemuseum.org • Free with museum admission
August 2nd Boston, MA • Boston Children’s Museum @ 1pm • 300 Congress St • www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org • Free with museum admission
August 8th Brooklyn, NY • Carroll Park 4 pm Located in Carroll Garden at President St and Smith St. • www.carrollparkbrooklyn.org • Free
August 9th Manhattan, NY • Central Park • Peter J Sharp Children’s Glade 1pm • 106th St and Central Park West • West of Great Hill Oval www.centralparknyc.org • Free
JOHNNY BREGAR
August 1st Seattle, WA • Woodland Park Zoo 1 pm • 601 No. 59th St.
www.zoo.org • Free with zoo admission
August 2nd Portland, OR • Oregon Zoo 1 pm • 4001 SW Canyon Rd.
www.oregonzoo.org • Free with zoo admission
RHYTHM CHILD
August 8th San Francisco, CA • Oakland Zoo 1 pm • 9777 Golf Links Rd.
www.oaklandzoo.org • Free with zoo admission
August 9th Sausalito, CA • Bay Area Discovery Museum 11 am • Fort Baker
557 McReynolds Rd. • www.badm.org • Free with museum admission
August 12th Pasadena, CA • Levitt Pavilion 7 pm • 30 N Raymond Ave.
www.levittpavilionpasadena.org • Free
August 13th Los Angeles, CA • Pershing Square 12 pm • 532 So. Olive St.
www.lacity.org • Free
Putumayo Supports Mandela Day - July 18, 2009
Filed in Uncategorized, July 15, 2009, 1:47 pm
What is Mandela Day? From MandelaDay.com:
In an effort to celebrate the legacy of South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela, 46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation are urging people all over the world to join them in a bid to create an official Mandela Day, which would be held on Mr. Mandela’s birthday each year, July 18. Mandela Day is an annual celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and change the world around them. “We would be honoured if such a day can serve to bring together people around the world to fight poverty and promote peace and reconciliation,” according to a statement issued on Mr Mandela’s behalf.
This will be an historic night, and the first time that 46664 has been presented in the US. 46664 is the campaign that bears Mr. Mandela’s Robben Island prison number and was originally launched to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Working alongside the other Mandela organizations, it is now expanding its focus to champion Mr. Mandela’s broader humanitarian work. The Mandela 46664 Concert will include performances by: Dave Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Josh Groban, TLC, Cyndi Lauper, Jesse McCartney, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chris Chameleon, Freshly Ground, Emmanuel Jal, Loyiso, Sipho Mabuse, Vusi Mahlasela, Thandiswa Mazawi, Susanna Owiyo and many more.
Visit www.mandeladay.com for more information
Seeds and Fruit In-Depth Interview with Putumayo Founder and CEO, Dan Storper
Filed in Uncategorized, July 9, 2009, 9:43 am
Seeds and Fruit, an art and design blog posted a wonderfully in-depth interview with Putumayo Founder and CEO, Dan Storper.
“When I was about 9 years old, I started reading Dr. Doolittle books and other books about explorers who traveled the world. It was pretty clear to me that that’s what I wanted to do. I was very lucky to have supportive parents and an aunt and uncle who loved to travel and took me with them to Mexico when I was 16. That summer pretty much set my path in motion…“
Read more of the full interview by clicking here!
About Seeds and Fruit, from Founder/Editor Kathryn:
“I like understanding how creative people think and what inspires them, whether those things have a direct impact on their work or just make them happy. I also know that artists can take the smallest gesture or the most random impulse and turn it into an entire series of work. The creative mind and the quest for beauty and personal expression fascinate me.“
July 4th BBQ Essentials from New Orleans Legend Kermit Ruffins
Filed in Uncategorized, July 2, 2009, 9:29 am
We wanted to do something special for our July 4th blog entry, so we decided to have Brian Knighten, based in Putumayo’s New Orleans office, interview the legendary New Orleans trumpet player and barbecue chef Kermit Ruffins (featured on New Orleans and New Orleans Playround). Kermit named his band “The Barbecue Swingers”, partly because of his fondness for the grill and tailgating, which has been a tradition of his for 16 years while he plays shows at Vaughn’s in New Orleans. Read more below to get some interesting BBQ tips for your 4th of July Weekend!
Brian Knighten: Where did the name “Barbecue Swingers” come from?
Kermit Ruffins: From tailgating. I started tailgating at Vaughn’s during break-time so the guys could have something to eat. So one morning I woke up and said “Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Kings,” but by the middle of the evening I had changed it to “Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers.” I was having so much fun barbecuing during the show that it just hit me: “Barbecue Swingers”.
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