13 under 13 - 30Jan2009

Kenny hosted this week.

We are SO excited to see that Lunch Money made the countdown this week!! We love their new CD Dizzy.

1. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (9 weeks)
2. SteveSongs - Giant (13 weeks)
3. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly (7 weeks)
4. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family (11 weeks)
5. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You? (5 weeks)
6. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It (12 weeks)
7. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing (4 weeks)
8. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song (6 weeks)
9. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE (16 weeks)
10. Brady Rymer - Road Trip (3 weeks)
11. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5 (15 weeks)
12. Medeski, Martin and Wood - On An Airplane (2 weeks)
13. Lunch Money - It Only Takes One Night To Make a Balloon Your Friend (debut)

Past Freshness Date:
12. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat (11 weeks)

Interview - Jade-Lianna Peters

This afternoon Mindy interviewed Jade-Lianna Peters, the voice of Kai Lan, on the show Ni Hao Kai Lan is having a special called "The Ladybug Festival." Ni Hao Kai Lan is about a little girl and her friends and how they solve problems together. She mostly speaks English in the show, but she does speak a little bit of Mandarin Chinese as well.

The Ladybug Festival is a special episode. Jade-Lianna is twelve and a half, but Kai-Lan is five.

Jade-Lianna celebrates Lunar New Year the same way as Kai Lan does. Lunar New Year lasts fifteen days; its tenents are Happiness, Wealth and Longevity

Artist Sneak Attack - Lunch Money

Following a tradition of calling the musicians with no warning, Mindy called Molly Ledford from Lunch Money today. Like Mindy, we love their new CD Dizzy. mindy's been playing It only Takes One Night To Make A Balloon Your Friend quite a lot this week, and we are so happy.

Molly said that her kids (she was picking up toys when Mindy called) are the inspiration for some of the songs, like "Dizzy" and "Silly Reflections". Molly's mom is also quite proud of what Molly's been up to as well :)

As for how the band was named, Molly wanted the band to be the "property" of the children. "This is mine!" like Lunch Money!!

Interview - Sabrina Bryan

Sabrina Bryan, a Cheetah Girl and a star of Dancing with the Stars, has a new DVD out, called Byou2.

The DVD is a dance workout video that is ala "Bollywood meets Hollywood." They talked to the fans and adjusted this one to be good for all levels and you can go at your own pace.

It is a way to help girls stay fit without being embarrassed of dancing in front of others. Shoes with good ankle support are good for the workout.

Snowflake's Big Adventures

Mindy's Snowman

A fan, Ryan from Memphis, sent Mindy a snowman in the mail, just as she had requested!! And here is a photo of the snowman!

What should Mindy name the snowman? And what do snowmen eat?

Update: Ryan called in. The snowman's name is snowflake and he likes to eat pizza and watch Hannah Montana.

KPL Fans Love Live Music Too!

Pictured here are a regular KPL listener Tie Dye Nate and Molly from Lunch Money. Nate and Molly first met at the XMKids Roadshow a couple of years ago, and now got the chance to meet again this weekend. How fun is that!

Lunch Money has a new CD out, called Dizzy, from which Mindy played a few selections today. But there is much more on that CD, and we here at the GBK house think you should go check it out!! Visit the Lunch Money website for more info.

13under13 Poll for 26Jan2009

Visit the KiDS Place LiVE Fans blog and vote in the poll!

What's your favorite song this week?
1. SteveSongs - Giant
2. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon
3. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family
4. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly
5. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It
6. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song
7. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You?
8. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE
9. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing
10. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5
11. Brady Rymer - Road Trip
12. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat
13. Medeski, Martin and Wood - On An Airplane

Last week's results:
2% 1. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family
27% 2. SteveSongs - Giant
13% 3. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It
2% 4. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon
0% 5. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly
38% 6. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE
0% 7. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song
0% 8. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5
5% 9. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You?
0% 10. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat
5% 11. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing
0% 12. Trout Fishing in America - Pearl
2% 13. Brady Rymer - Road Trip

13 under 13 - 23Jan2009

Robbie hosted this week; he started off with some "snow day" songs.

Sad to see "Ladybug Beat" move down. Chloe really LOVES that song. Interesting that Giant returned to the top spot!

Not quite sure why the MMW song came onto the list. I can think of other recent CDs with other songs that should be get more play.

1. SteveSongs - Giant (12 weeks)
2. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (8 weeks)
3. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family (10 weeks)
4. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly (6 weeks)
5. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It (11 weeks)
6. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song (5 weeks)
7. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You? (4 weeks)
8. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE (15 weeks)
9. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing (3 weeks)
10. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5 (14 weeks)
11. Brady Rymer - Road Trip (2 weeks)
12. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat (10 weeks)
13. Medeski, Martin and Wood - On An Airplane (debut)

Past Freshness Date:
Trout Fishing in America - Pearl (16 weeks)

Artist Interview - Justin Roberts and Liam Davis

Justin Roberts is in DC this weekend for a show and was kind enough to get together with Mindy to chat for a bit. Happily enough, our plane landed on time and we were able to get home in time to hear the interview!

Justin and his BFF Liam came in from Chicago today -- easy flight. Justin Roberts has a new CD Pop Fly and Justin's favorite song is "Fruit Jar". Justin got a fruit jar from his grandma, and it sits in a window, probably not a great place to keep it. Liam managed to break his microphone? I bet it was Mindy that broke it.

Mindy said that Justin is usually sick when he comes? Justin played Henrietta's Hair. He told the hairbrushing inspiration story again.

Kid caller Logan wanted to know what state is Justin's favorite state to perform in. Justin said that he's performed all over. Mindy and Justin played make believe about what Justin's car and house would be like. Another kid caller, Sam, called in and said he loves Pop Fly. Justin talked about his Little League career. The one time he hit the ball, it went down the line and then fouled.

Justin just called Mindy spacey. Really. Claire called in from Ala. Justin's favorite "fast" song is Cartwheels and Somersaults. His favorite slow one is "Moving." Justin's wife moved a lot since her father was in the Air Force.


Justin wrote down an idea for a new song "Claire and Sam." He and Liam sang part of it right there on the radio. (Justin giggles a lot.) Mindy didn't like the peanut butter and "Pam" part. (Peanut butter has a salmonella problem these days.)

Liam is playing a pot, and he has a roll of tissue paper too. They played "Pop Fly" together. I think this is the first time we've heard a live version of it? (Justin you have to come to Atlanta.) Justin said his headphones were falling off the whole time.

Justin says that he was always very nervous going to school and that he would break into tears when he realized his mother was leaving. Mindy just told Liam that he smells funny? Did I hear that right? Justin has a beat up bear when he was little, "Mr. Beasley". Liam had a Stretch Armstrong doll...

Justin had his cell phone on; Mindy told him to turn it off.

Kid caller William called in to talk to Justin. Mindy told Justin that his hair was really flat. William asked Justin if he would play one of the songs that he knows, Track 5. Justin knew that it was Superkid. William like to pretend that he is a superhero. "Curly Man" could make straight hair curly.

Gabriel called in. What is Justin's second favorite song? He said "Meltdown." His bigger brother caused him to have meltdowns. Gabriel asked for Justin to play Meltdown. Justin does not know all the words to his songs. Matthew called in to talked to Liam. He wanted to know if Justin knew any songs about baseball catchers.

Justin is still taking notes in his journal. Liam chose for them to play "Backyard Superkid." Excellent.

I think Justin said Chlk was like an Elvis Costello song. Justin said that practice is a good way to learn. Justin didn't practice as much as he should have, so that's why Liam plays lead guitar. Justin learned piano first, but then he quit, but then he played again, and then he quit, and then he took clarinet. In junior high, he started to sing. In chorus, he did a lot of solos. Justin's mom is still so proud of him!

They played "Meltdown" live on the radio, which was very cool. The song "Giant Sized Butterfly" comes across as a truncated version.

Justin has a younger sister that is nine years younger than him, so that was the inspiration for "Airplane of Food." Emma from Illinois asked Justin how he decided to be a singer. He said that he loved music since he was young. Her sister Nina asked for a song ... "Crazy Frog"!!! Yikes!

Liam and Justin would love to play in Austin, TX. They've played in Dallas, Houston, El Paso etc, but have not played in Austin yet.

They then played "Henrietta's Hair" live. How I wish we were still in DC and going to Jammin' Java tomorrow!!!!!!

Justin's website www.justinrobertsmusic.com is full of great things like CDs, videos, coloring pages, newsletters, and tour dates.

From here it sounds like Justin, Liam and Mindy all had a great time. Thanks so much all of you for getting together and letting us share in it!!

Interview - Emily Gray

Olivia is coming to life on NickJr. on Monday the 26th. Emily read the Olivia books when she was younger. Emily is twelve now. She thinks it is a lot of fun and really cool to be a voice on a tv show. All of the episodes are really cool; they all start out with Olivia doing something funny.

Mindy thinks the episode is gong to be "Olivia Measures Up."

Little girls thinking of doing new things and making it seem that nothing is impossible. Emily wants to make everything better than it is.

I think Emily is pretty cool! Thanks for agreeing to talk to Mindy!!

Interview - Brendan Fraser

Today, Mindy interviewed Brendan Fraser, a star in the new movie Inkheart. Brendan started out talking about the story of Inkheart and about the author Cornelia Funke, who had dedicated the book to him.

Brendan discussed how much he enjoyed working with Cornelia Funke. He said that he did not have to use a British accent to play the dad in the movie.

Doctor Noize Ripped His Pants

Oh well. I'm sure he's not the only one to whom that has happened. But Mindy found out about it and decided to give him a call. He didn't answer, so she left him a rambling (is there any other kind of Mindy message?) and sang him "Happy Birthday" (no it isn't his birthday.

A little later in the show, Mindy got a call from none other than Doctor Noize! He then sang Happy Birthday to her (it isn't her birthday either). He chatted about how he ripped his pants. He told us that he has backup plans for everything, but no backup pants!!

He likes to play lots of instruments and sing at the same time, but he hasn't mastered doing both while playing the saxophone. He thinks maybe he could play it with his nose.

While he isn't a real doctor, he is looking forward to playing at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis in five weeks. He is also trying to get his muscles big enough so he can jump to the moon.

Dr. Noize has a CD and a book called The Ballad of Phneas McBoof.

MiNDY at the Inauguration

We were there too, but over a mile from where Mindy was! Here's Camille and my sister:

13under13 Poll for 19Jan2009

Visit the KiDS Place LiVE Fans blog and vote in the poll!

What's your favorite song this week?
1. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family
2. SteveSongs - Giant
3. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It
4. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon
5. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly
6. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE
7. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song
8. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5
9. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You?
10. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat
11. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing
12. Trout Fishing in America - Pearl
13. Brady Rymer - Road Trip

Last week's results:
11% 1. SteveSongs - Giant
5% 2. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It
0% 3. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family
33% 4. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE
5% 5. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon
5% 6. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly
5% 7. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5
5% 8. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song
0% 9. Trout Fishing in America - Pearl
0% 10. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat
0% 11. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You?
22% 12. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing
0% 13. Laurie Berkner - Fast and Slow

13 under 13 - 16Jan2009

Mindy hosted this week. She played that silly presidents song, that has helped us all remember the presidents ....

So, so excited to see Brady Rymer on the 31uner13 this week. We've loved Brady since we first heard him and think he deserves all the great press he's been getting. Yeah Brady!!!!!

1. The Roots - Lovely, Love My Family (9 weeks)
2. SteveSongs - Giant (11 weeks)
3. Madagascar Escape 2 Africa - I Like To Move It (10 weeks)
4. Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (7 weeks)
5. Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly (5 weeks)
6. ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE (14 weeks)
7. Robbie Schaefer - The Resolutions Song (4 weeks)
8. Kat Vellos - 5 on 5 (13 weeks)
9. Billy Jonas - What Kind of Dog Are You? (3 weeks)
10. The Sippy Cups - Ladybug Beat (8 weeks)
11. Randy Kaplan - No Nothing (2 weeks)
12. Trout Fishing in America - Pearl (16 weeks)
13. Brady Rymer - Road Trip (debut)

Past Freshness Date:
Laurie Berkner - Fast and Slow (14 weeks)

XM is in DC and so are we.

It was bound to happen eventually.

Author Interview - Susan Goodman

If you can remember back a few months ago, we had some exciting times in Coliflordia, with a really close gooberantorial race (though maybe not as close as the senatorial race in Minnesota).

Early on in the campaigning, Judy Gumsmacker announced that she was reading See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House by Susan Goodman and Elwood Smith; see this post to refresh your memory. During the race, the author, Susan Goodman, came on the air to talk about the race.

Today, Susan Goodman returned to the Absolutely Mindy show to talk about the inauguration and inaugurations of the past. Pretty fascinating (though I admit I missed some due to other breaking news). Susan was just full of historical information that she presented in a manner that the kids just love. Is she a history teacher? Can she be my kids' history teacher???

Susan will be watching the election from tv.

Author Interview - Jennifer and Matthew Holm

Mindy interviewed the brother-sister author-illustrator team of Babymouse, a series of books for elementary kids. While the covers may have pink in them, they aren't just for girls!

Jennifer called from San Francisco and Matthew called from Portland. There are ten books in the series. (Mindy keeps saying Baby Mouth...confused me!) The latest book is Babymouse: The Musical. Babymouse is a typical elementary student, except that she is a mouse and her frieds are cats, dogs, etc. Babymouse loves to read books, likes cupcakes and can skate a figure four.

The origin of Babymouse's name is top secret, so I guess I won't report it here, since I promised not to tell the secret. They had five kids in the family, but Jenni was the only girl.

How do they write books together? Jenni starts the process with an idea and they brainstorm ideas, then Jenni writes out the script using a storyboard with notes. Matt makes thumbnail sketches, then Jenni uses these sketches to make a rough copy. Matt draws it out with sharpie markers, then Matt makes the final on the computer after the editor gives their comments.

Matt's favorite of the series right now is Babymouse: Puppy Love. Jennifer's favorite is Babymouse: The Musical.

While on the air, they all acted out a bit of the book, very silly were they!

Ed. note: I fixed the spelling of Jenni's name and added the following link on 1/16.

Matt's Blog entry about the appearance

Interview - Eliza Hope Bennett

The new movie Inkheart is scheduled to come out next Friday. Here at the GBK house, we started reading books by Cornelia Funke many years ago, and we all just loved Inkheart!! I have no doubt that we will eventually see this new movie.

Today, Mindy chatted with Eliza Hope Bennett, one of the stars of the movie. She plays Meggie in the movie. Eliza discusses the plot of the movie, which I won't repeat her!

Eliza hadn't read the books until she decided to audition for the part, then she read Inkheart and Inkspell quickly. Being an actress is kind of like Inkheart in that you have to move between worlds. She talked about one scene in which a tornado is read out of The Wizard of OZ.

Cornelia had written that Brendan Fraser had inspired her character of Meggie's dad, Mo, so it was no surprise that Brendan was chosen to play Mo. The father-daughter relationship is a bit different from "normal".

They filmed six weeks in Italy and 2.5 weeks elsewhere (Chloe talked through that part). She is 16, the movie was shot 2 years ago, she plays a 12 year old.

She loves acting since no job is the same; it is fun to play different characters and explore different times, place, and worlds. She likes to play a variety of different people.