Eat Every Bean and Pea On Your Plate by Daddy A Go Go

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"I think it's my favorite Daddy a Go-Go CD (and that's saying something)- full of whimsy, clever lyrics, catchy melodies and guitar-work that's so professional it makes parents check to make sure they're still listening to the kids CD." Kenny Curtis, XMKids

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -- Looking for kids’ music with a true rock vibe? The 5th release from Daddy A Go-Go (aka Atlanta Dad John Boydston) is the ticket. With tongue in cheek, Boydston has some puntastic fun with vegetable names on the title track: ‘Okra? I love her show!…/Honeydew, We Canteloupe.’ The clever turns of phrase that will have parents of a certain age cracking up and kids singing a long are sprinkled throughout on tracks such as ‘For Those About to Walk, We Salute You’ and ‘Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee,’ about a famous flamingo who rescues a manatee pal. The Ramones receive homage in the slightly doctored ‘Kids Beat Bop’ (Blitzkrieg Bop),’ which includes drum, guitar and bass playing by Boydston’s sons Jake and Max. A sobering idea is handled with a deft touch in ‘Hang Up and Drive’ about the potential hazards of driving while chatting on a cell phone. And serving as a quirky intermission of sorts is a nifty instrumental version of “To Sir With Love’ originally made famous by Lulu. No worries: There’s plenty to laugh at and tap toes to on this full-bodied family recording.

-- Publisher’s Weekly, June 15th 2006

From THE SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This collection, sure to be a hit, IS A MUST HAVE FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES…The catchy, upbeat songs will appeal to adults as well as children. The title song is a testament to encouraging children to eat healthy foods. ‘Irritation Man’ is an ode to the annoying younger sibling which includes the lyrics, ‘He’ll bother you more than a 25-pound mosquito. He’ll scare you more than a broccoli burrito.’ Parents will appreciate the humor on tracks such as ‘Dads Who Rock’ and ‘For Those About to Walk, We Salute You.”

-– SLJ, June 2006

From Amazon.com -- "A funny thing happens when you hear Daddy a Go Go for the first time, whether it's on this disc or any of the four preceding it: You can't help but wonder with mounting incredulity and a creeping sense of indignity how it is that this dude's not huge. John Boydston, who writes and records all his songs somewhere in the recesses of his crawling-with-kids suburban home is a master of the ridiculous. Between carpool rounds and hockey drills, he dreams up songs about pink flamingos named Floyd (get it? Pink Floyd?) who get tangled up with manatees called Hugh (Hugh-manatee, from the song "Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee"), impossibly exasperating siblings ("He'll bother you more than a 25-pound mosquito/He'll scare you more than a broccoli burrito," from "Irritation Man"), and the losing-est baseball team since Billy Bob Thornton mixed it up with the Bad News Bears ("Cryin' in the Dugout"). Where his true brilliance emerges, though, is in his jangly, loose-limbed, California-sunny rock-pop. The Jammys don't have a kids' music category yet, but that's only because they haven't taken Daddy Boydston for a spin in the station wagon. Beans and peas be damned, Daddy a Go Go whips up his own kind of sustenance. Anybody with kids over age three ought to line up at the buffet table." --Tammy La Gorce,Amazon.com

TIME OUT NY KIDS MAGAZINE --"What separates Daddy A Go Go’s John Boydston from the rest of the alt-kids pack is his unfettered willingness to rock: While many (if not most) others in his field seem to do so tentatively, fearful of offending tender ears, this Atlanta-based father seems to know intuitively that rock is practically encoded into kids’ DNA; as a result, he has always embraced power chords and driving rhythms with glee. This latest LP finds Boydston inhabiting largely familiar territory. The best (and funniest) track is undoubtedly the almost-toddler anthem “For Those About to Walk, We Salute You.” Other highlights include an ode to self, “Dads who Rock” and the amusing “Irritation Man.” A cover of Spinal tap’s &quotListen To the Flower People" is a welcome surprise. Despite a slightly superfluous reworking of the Ramones’ "Blitzkrieg Bop" and a puzzling instrumental version of "To Sir, With Love" Eat Every Bean once again has Boydston redefining "kiddie-rock."

-- Jem Aswad, TIME OUT NY KIDS May/June 2006

LOS ANGELES TIMES MAY 11, 2006

"Atlanta musician John Boydston is anything but mellow. He's a rowdy rocker fueled by old-school punk and alt-rock influences. And a sense of humor: Just say the title out loud. Or, try "Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee." But Boydston, whose sons play instrumentals on a hard-bouncing "Blitzkrieg Bop" track (the Ramones song, with appropriately altered lyrics), is kid-savvy in other ways. His comic lyrics tweak everyday ups and downs ("Cryin' in the Dugout," "Irritation Man") and contain a few pointed messages besides ("Hang Up and Drive")." -- Lynne Heffley, LA Times

FILED UNDER: Things We Love in the June 2006 issue of FamilyFun Magazine

"John Boydston – aka Daddy A Go Go – is one rockin’ pop, and he proves it again on his latest CD, Eat Every Bean and Pea On Your Plate. Boydston sprinkles solid fatherly advice throughout, including the nutritional urgings of the title track, the anti-cell phone ‘Hang Up and Drive,’ and the chin-up sentiments of ‘Cryin’ in the Dugout.’ But it’s his unreconstructed rock ‘n’ roll soul that makes Daddy a Go Go such a blast to listen to. "

-- Moira McCormick, FamilyFun Magazine

NEW YORK POST: "John Boydston is Daddy A Go Go, a rocking musician for kids. "Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate" (get it?) consists of songs he's written, along with covers of popular rock songs. "Cryin' in the Dugout" - a portrait of a kids' baseball team in despair as they lose every day with no hope in sight - and the ridiculously punny "Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee" are great examples of the witty yet kid-friendly songwriting here. But what's really entertaining is a cover of the Ramones' punkfest "Blitzkrieg Bop," now officially known as "Blitzkrieg Bop (Kids' Beat Bop)." It's a great intro to rock, but also just a ton of fun. I'm still listening to this one. --New York Post, June 3rd, 2006

FROM PARENT WORLD MAGAZINE - "Daddy a Go Go is, in fact, John Boydston, and his music is plain old incredible. Not only does Boydston write and sing his own songs, but the guy really knows how to rock! Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate is the fifth CD from this Atlanta-based dad and musician. Dads everywhere won't mind popping this in the CD player when the kids are in-tow. An exceptional round-up of tunes, outstanding is the hilarious toddler tribute, "For Those About to Walk, We Salute You!" -- June 2006

"With songs named “For Those About To Walk, We Salute You”, and “Pink Floyd Saves Hugh Manatee”, and a cover of a Spinal Tap tune (yes, that Spinal Tap), you know something goofy’s goin’ on. “It’s a kids’ world, yeah yeah yeah, and everybody else just gets to dance in it,” goes a line from Daddy A Go Go’s newest CD, Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate. From the CD title’s pun to John Boydston’s running standup act, this is definitely a kids’ CD, and it is guaranteed to cause third graders to both giggle and air guitar. Boydston, an Atlanta resident and Oklahoma native, has released four CDs on his own Boyd’s Tone Records and his fifth is a full-on rock and roll extravaganza, powering along with the same stumbly swagger that fellow Georgians the Black Crowes and the Georgia Satellites learned from the Stones. While grownups play spot the influences (listen for ACDC, the Rolling Stones, the Ramones, Lulu, Pink Floyd, the Replacements, the B52s, Spinal Tap, and the Beatles), kids can laugh out loud at songs about having to play on the crappiest little league team ever, brothers and sisters who bug the snot out of you, and the album-closing saga of a guy who absolutely cannot make a rhyme. With two twangy instrumentals rounding out the set, this is the perfect album for any guitar loving pre-teen. It’s great to find a kids’ musician who rocks out unapologetically, who believes in the universal appeal of the powerchord, and who delivers his message without a smidgen of self-consciousness. Daddy A Go Go…[insert cannon fire here], we salute you. ."

-- Kidsmusicthatrocks.blogspot.com, May 25th 2006

COOKIE MAGAZINE -- MAY 2006

""When a rock-fan dad gets fed up with the usual kindergarten fare, results include kid-friendly covers of Ramones and Spinal Tap songs and the AC/DC spoof 'For Those About to Walk, We Salute You.' ...the fun he's having is infectious."

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From the Chicago Tribune, July 23rd, 2005.

Story by Monica Eng

"When I called Lollapalooza performer John Boydston for an interview recently, I got no answer. Turns out he was mowing the lawn and couldn't hear the phone. Boydston, who fronts the band Daddy A Go Go, is not a young spoiled rock star but rather a self-described "suburban middle-age dad who just happens to spend a lot time in the basement making rock 'n' roll records." And what rock 'n' roll records they are. Three of his four basement kids' rock albums have landed on Amazon's yearly top 10 list of Best Kids CDs, and he was the recipient of a 2004 Parents' Choice award. Plus, he has been asked to play Lollapalooza Saturday and Sunday, albeit in the Kidzapalooza family area. Still, the fortysomething Atlanta father of two, who goofed around in a band during college, never even wrote a song before age 40, and he never really thought he would.

But about 10 years ago, things started to change: Boydston's first child was born, prompting the longtime TV news producer to quit the business and become a full-time dad. In his new job, Boydston watched both of his sons learn to walk. He watched them graduate from diapers to big boy pants. And one day, around the time his first son hit kindergarten, he watched as the tot came face-to-face with a shattering discovery: "that `Barney' music is for babies." So naturally they turned to Dad's collection of "Beatles records and surf music like Los Straitjackets," Boydston recalled. "I noticed it was all very beat specific and danceable and so in my spare time, I started writing simple rock songs for them."

Soon Boydston was performing the homemade ditties for his son's kindergarten class, and to such a warm reception that the teacher suggested Boydston record them. Holing up in his basement and playing nearly all the instruments himself, Boydston emerged after a few weeks with a collection of surfy, poppy, catchy tunes titled "Cool Songs for Cool Kids." Songs bore names such as "Brush Your Teeth," "Daddy's Diaper Blues" and "Adventures in Carpool." I wrote about what I knew. And that's kids and being a parent and family life."

Four CDs after his 1999 breakthrough, Boydston is still cranking out the same kind of smart, funny, ultra-catchy kid rock that landed him on the list to begin with. His latest release is called "Mojo A Go Go" and bears a sound that recalls The Ramones, Los Straitjackets and Springfield, Mo., roots rockers The Skeletons. Most playlists are packed with originals and sprinkled with covers, such as Boydston's own takes on "Go Speed Racer Go," "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron," and "Come On Get Happy," which he says "I took the wimpiness out of." Despite his success, Boydston only does about 10 gigs a year, making his Chicago debut this weekend a rarity. Because he plays most of the parts himself for his records, he doesn't have a band. When he performs, he borrows a couple of sidemen or plays recorded tracks of bass and rhythm guitar. His kids -- now 10 and 13 -- are pretty impressed that he's been asked to play Lollapalooza, but he is coming out by himself (hoping to catch his favorite current band Spoon on the main stage) and then heading back home. And even if this national exposure makes touring offers even more tempting, Boydston says he'll be able to resist. "It would be too ironic for me to suddenly be spending less time with my kids because of something that I started doing for them to begin with." Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

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