Big Rock Rooster by Daddy A Go Go

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Los Angeles Daily News, July 20th, 2002 --

"This near-perfect family CD celebrates the important stuff for kids set to 60's-era music that parents can appreciate."

Jim Musser, Iowa City Free Press, June 13th 2002 --

"This may be the best darned rock'n'roll record ever made FOR kids. The original lyrics are funny (and never condescending), the covers are spunky, and the band rocks with unabashed joy. So good I stole it from my kids."

Martin Keller, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"You gotta love the brains and instruments behind Daddy a Go Go -- John Boydston, a former CNN producer and current stay-at-home dad who came of age in rock's golden era and is now trying to re-create it for kids. He does it with his original songs, groaner pop culture puns, smart covers and ripping guitar lines. Playing everything but drums, Boydston shows he's as much in touch with his and your kids as he is with patented '60s guitar hooks...this CD is a righteous followup to his first two discs. Daddy a Go Go proves again that he's one of kids-music's rockin'-est rulers."

Amazon.com -- "Dad may spend too much time surfing the Web, swipe the remote, and snore, but when he straps on the Stratocaster, jump back -- if he's Daddy a Go Go's John Boydston, that is. Together with Walt Brewer, a dad who drums, Boydston tears it up a third time on Big Rock Rooster, an album of '60s-esque jangly pop-rock that recalls everybody from Brian Wilson to John Fogerty to the Revolver-era Beatles. The paternal pair has matured a bit this go round -- Rooster aims to rouse the 5- to 10-year-old crowd with tunes like "I Caught My Daddy Watching Cartoons" and the camp classic "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah." Consider it a graduation gift for kids who wore out their copies of Monkey in the Middle. Tucked into the originals, with their loopy, lifted-from-the-living-room lyrics, are parent-pleasers like the Partridge Family theme and the '50s bopper "Rag Mop." The straight-up sound is the thing, though. With surf licks, rockabilly riffs, and New Orleans grooves mixed into their musical stew, the Daddys continue to cook up some of the most energetic, accessible kids' music around."

School Library Journal, December 2002 --

"This sparkling album speaks directly to kids and adults alike, without a trace of treacle. 'I Want To Be an Action Figure' mentions the pop group The Backstreet Boys in one verse and Steve McQueen in the next -- a perfect example of how Daddy A Go Go bridges the gap between parents and kids. Daddy A Go Go scores another hit with this rock n' roll album."

Parenting Magazine, August 2002 --

"This rockin' CD contains enough irreverence and humor to please any little wiseguy."

Tulsa World, April 23rd, 2002 --

"These are kids songs the way they used to be written -- for kids with brains."

Billboard Magazine, April 13th, 2002 --

"...designed for kids aged 5-10 -- which sets the band apart from the vast majority of preschool-targeted children's music."

Publishers Weekly, March 11th, 2002 --

"...a top-drawer performance that rivals much of the popular music heard on the radio airwaves. John Boydston and Walt Brewer, the dad duo that comprises Daddy A Go Go, has a jangly good time here on their most rocking album yet. True to the band's motto, original songs penned by Boydston harness themes with appeal for both kids and parents and are part of a world where references to action figures and superheroes are right at home with a mention of the Grateful Dead..."

Tower Records' Pulse Magazine, March 2002 --

**** (4 stars) -- Big Rock Rooster rips! Daddy A Go Go a.k.a. John Boydston, isn't afraid to rock out (and I mean really rock out in a grungy, garage band sort of way) and he does so with such spirit and good graces that he offends the sedate sensitibilies of neither parent nor child. (Think nuances of the Beatles and the Who toned down to meet the needs of today's busy nuclear family.) Daddy A Go Go's brand of rock 'n' roll is simple and nostalgic with smart retakes (unlike the original, Daddy A Go Go's version of the Partridge Family's "Come On, Get Happy" manages to avoid sounding sappy) mingled with originals. The title track is a down and ditzy rocker that shakes off elements of the B-52's (during their "Rock Lobster" phase) and Southern Culture on the Skids (circa "Dirt Track Date.") But my fave and the CD's final track is "Out in the Garage." Replete with a scratchy vinyl record sound effect, this get-on-the-Hi-Fi-and-shake-your-booty rock and roller sums upt he childish exuberance you feel after discovering a cool new band: kinda the way I feel about discovering Daddy A Go Go."

School Library Journal, December 2002 --

"This sparkling album speaks directly to kids and adults alike, without a trace of treacle. 'I Want To Be an Action Figure' mentions the pop group The Backstreet Boys in one verse and Steve McQueen in the next -- a perfect example of how Daddy A Go Go bridges the gap between parents and kids. Daddy A Go Go scores another hit with this rock n' roll album."

"...the sweet sounds are bright, upbeat and cheerful...each element is carefully crafted for maximum cross-generation appeal." --Creative Loafing, April 24th 2002

"...nothing has grabbed me like 'Big Rock Rooster.' Aimed for the 5-10 set, you'll join in the enjoyment as well."

--Metro Kids Pennsylvania, April 2002

Whew! When we get a few minutes we'll publish the really good reviews...

Some brief Daddy a Go Go history -- Daddy A Go Go is the brainchild of John Boydston, a former CNN news producer turned stay-at-home dad. The concept was born the day his kids told him they were sick of the Barney CD and could we 'hear that Beatles CD again?' That CD was 'A Hard Day's Night' and it dawned on John that his kids were graduating from purple dinosaurs and stick figures and wanting some real music; He then realized that no one was making guitar and beat music that was specifically kid and family-oriented (this was in 1998). So he dusted off his guitar and got busy writing, and recording his own songs, plus a few covers like "Scooby Doo" and "Go Speed Racer," recruited veteran Atlanta drummer Walt Brewer (The Jody Grind), and they recorded the debut Daddy a Go Go CD "Cool Songs for Cool Kids," released on the Fall of 1998.

It would take a year but in 1999 Amazon.com named "Cool Songs for Cool Kids" one of the Top Ten Best Kids CD of The Year, a huge honor for an effort recorded in the basement, on a Fostex 8 track digital recorder. Daddy a Go Go's immediate follow-up CD "Monkey In The Middle" was also named to Amazon.com's Top Ten Best Kids CD's of the Year list in 2000. It was also a Parents Choice Award Winner in 2000. Daddy A Go Go released their 3rd CD "Big Rock Rooster" in 2002 which brings you up to date, until our 4th release early 2004.

Daddy A Go Go is:

John Boydston -- guitars, vocals, bass, percussion, writer, engineer, producer, and other fun stuff.

Walt Brewer -- plays the drums and sings too, but lately he never calls, he never writes...

Big Rock Rooster was mixed by Jeff Bakos, at Bakos' Amp Works in Atlanta, Ga.

All Daddy A Go Go CD's were recorded and produced by John Boydston in his basement in Atlanta. We expect our forthcoming #4 release (2004) to be recorded there too. People are good to us there. We are comfortable there. We know our way around there, in the dark if necessary. We can make loud noises and even spill stuff, and it could be days before anyone notices, sometimes even weeks.

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