Style: humor, folk-rock, children's music
Label: Coil Records
Year: 2010
Home: Massachusetts
Members: Ben Gundersheimer "Mister G" ~ vocals/guitar
n/a ~ other instruments
Bluesy beats, thick bass, wah-wah guitar, organ & pizza in the morning everyday with a little ice cream ... I mean, you don't have to be a kid to enjoy that combination! Though, if you are that's better as that's who MG is reaching out to. When I was younger I always had this feeling that children's music had to be as rockin' as Peter, Paul & Mary, i.e. not rockin', or music you normally would never listen to, or even really want to share with kids. Maybe it was Garcia & Grisman's successful bluegrass album focused on kids, but today it's a fact that kids like the same music that big people do. You don't start dancing to a beat when you become a teenager, you always grooved. MG fuses common musical styles of a mellow mood with fun lyrics either talking about things kids like, such as breakfast choices & animals, or teaching lessons about taking care of yourself. The musical styles are incredibly diverse, from the bluesy title track, to the recycling song "Don't Waste Stuff" that is accordion flavored country, while Fleetwood Mac-esque pop a la Christine McVie glides through "Run" about meeting wild animals, calypso in "Sneaky Chihuahua", bluegrass via "Dogs Don't Fly" & some imitatively perfect Mellencamp in "Pony With A Problem". The secret to great children's music is wanting to listen even when children aren't around or if you're not a kid yourself. It's like listening to the Christmas themed albums of Trans-Siberian Orchestra during the summer ... you want to do it & you do do it & who cares what anyone thinks. Check out "Pony With A Problem" & I'm willing to bet you'll listen twice if not more, while you'll have visions of bluegrass mandolin king Bill Monroe following "Dogs Don't Fly." Go ahead, I dare the kid in you. MG's songs might be cute, but they're not overly saccharine or looking down on kids like they're not smart, but just the opposite. Even when churning out a blues solo over "Bath" about the horrors of taking a bath, only to be turned to interest by the bubbles, its all top notch playing, as bluesy as Eric Clapton even, & MG doesn't cut corners or aim for making cheesy music. Pizza For Breakfast is MG's debut & follows spending a few decades in the music world as an indie songwriter, getting the first songwriting scholarship in the history of Berklee. Ben "Mister G" Gundersheimer went back to school for a secondary degree in elementary education following a part-time day gig bringing roots music styles into schools balancing out his evening gig that at one point found him sharing the stage with Phish. The songs on this album were inspired by his former students. MG's other albums include English & Spanish bilingual albums.
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