Tastes Like Chicken by FunkeyMonkeys

SONGS:

1) YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE - the American classic done up in a funky calypso dancehall bounce, as it was meant to be. The Bananas Kids chorus of delight backs up Monkey Carey on lead vocals, and the trumpet section comes courtesy of Eric Biondo who has played with the Monkees. That’s right, Eric has played with the Monkees 60’s super group, and now the FunkeyMonkeys. He also looks like an actual monkey.

2) CATS & KITTIES - bouncing in an 80’s Miami kind of hip-hop (think Sir Mix A Lots “Big Butts”) Cats and Kitties features vocals by Stuart Bogie, Eric Biondo, and Josh Sitron. Live wood flute, and aluminum saucepans round out the groove.

3) WHEN WE GROW UP - The ‘Free To Be...You and Me’ classic. Originally sung by Diana Ross and Harry Belafonte, the FunkeyMonkeys version features actual kids, Lily Shoretz, Rosie Yadid, and Josh Bierman of the Bananas Kids Chorus. The arrangement is pure 70’s mellow gold.

4) RIBBIT, RIBBIT - Already a classic. This one gets even older kids jumpin around the room. Inspired by Froggy Went-A-Courtin, this version features a funky down-home groove and old bullfrog vocals by Stuart Bogie. A folksy chorus brings it all back home. Featured instruments are bass harmonica, and Jew’s harp.

5) BUBBLES - There is only one word in the lyrics of this song, and that is ‘bubbles’. Nothing more be said about, ‘bubbles’. Bubbles. Bubbles.............Bubbles.

6) HELLO HAPPY - Ah feelings. No such thing as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ feeling. We welcome them all in with a deep breath, and they all feel pleasurable. Monkey Carey sings “Hello Happy, it’s nice to see you, hello happy, I’m gonna dance with you...Hello Sadness, it’s nice to see you, hello Sadness, I’m gonna dance with you, too. Co-produced and arranged by Stuart Bogie, each feeling has a different musical style section.

7) GOODBYE BLANKIE - An epic tale about a little boy who gives up his blankie. And appropriate for anyone moving through changes in life. We’ve got to give up something to make room for something else. It can be frightening at times, but if we focus on what we’re moving towards, we can find the courage to let go of the old, and let in the new. Monkey Brian Carter is on claps and drums (as usual). Recorded at Geoff Mann’s drummer man records in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Monkey Josh plays the piano, bass, and banjo. Background vocals by Monkey Carey and Monkey Brian. Stylistically, it’s a John Lennon ballad as arranged and performed by Billy Joel a la ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’.

8) MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB - You’ve heard of this one. But have you heard it done up in a funky, gospelly, New Orleans style rumpus. Featuring the Bananas kids chorus and the one and only Stuart Bogie on Tenor Sax. Baaaaaaah!!! [Lamb noise] Wonderfully recorded by Rami Yadid at Yadidit Studios in Manhattan.

9) DOLLY - A sweet ballad featuring the vocals of 6-year old Jackie Perlmutter from Boston. She’s Monkey Josh’s cousin, and is quite talented. Co-written by Abby Miller writer/producer extraordinaire of Nickelodeon and Noggin TV fame.

10) JIMMY JET - Shel Silverstein’s poem from ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends’ set to music. Monkey Josh sings lead. Monkey Mike and Patrick Krouchian are the voice of Jimmy Jet after he turns into a TV set. Julia Child and Barney are among those parodied on TV. A Wurlitzer keyboard with a wah wah pedal along with a shimmering triangle give this track its character.

11) PUT IT OVER THERE - Monkey Mike Gold wrote and perform this wild piece about a stressed and harried individual trying to put something away.

12) THE SCHLEPPER - Monkey Carey’s Theme Song. Her name is Carey because she carries stuff all the time. She can always be seen on the streets of NY schlepping 5 bags, a backpack and her violin, which she features on this song. ‘The Schlepper’ is performed in the live show as part of a piece called ‘How the FunkeyMonkeys Got Started’. Monkey Brian swings on drums recorded by Geoff Mann. This piece was inspired by ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’, which the FunkeyMonkeys perform as part of their Hannukah*Christmas Spectacular.

13) WOOFERS AND WOOFIES - Written and sung by 8-year old Miranda Hoyt-Disick (with backup vocals by sister Gabrielle Hoyt-Disick and Alina Sodano). This song is about some dogs that bark loudly and constantly annoy neighbors, who show up knocking on the door, creating more woofing, etc. Stuart Bogie’s sax, and Monkey Carey’s violin fill out the arrangement. Inspired by a non-specific Irish waltz in the vein of Van Morrison, the Pogues, or Tom Waits.

14) BAD DOG - first created in a completely improvised comedy show at Gotham City Improv as part of a show called ‘Behind the Musical’ featuring the improv troupe, Glue. Monkey Josh was on piano, and belted out the piano chords over which began the vocals ‘Bad Dog...No Biscuits for you!” Dan Casto, Leigh Angel, Beth Friedman, and Cole Kazdin were the onstage co-writers. Monkey Mike sings lead vocals and sounds like he could be in Queen or Def Leppard.

15) MY NAME IS GEORGE - Completely improvised by 12-year old Josh Bierman (a founding member of the Bananas) in Yadidiit Studios. Josh is an extremely talented singer, actor and comedian, who has sung lead vocals on many a FunkeyMonkey track. On Jewish FunkeyMonkeys, he leads ‘Sabbath Prayer’ and ‘Od Yishama’ among others. Here, he improvises a monologue as a crazy old man. Hysterical.

16) FRIENDS ARE FREE - An older track that Monkey Josh had lying around. It was originally written for the Disneychannel’s ‘PB&J Otter’, and was also the inspiration for what became ‘The Friend Song’ off of the FunkeyMonkeys ‘Sing, Dance and Underpants’. Lead vocals by Monkey Josh and his friend, Lisa Creagh. A Chieftains inspired Irish lilt drives this track, complete with upright bass, flute, Bodhran drum and harp.

17) TASTES LIKE CHICKEN - The title track. Co-written by Monkey Josh and Abby Miller of Nickelodeon fame. Originally inspired by a trip to a restaurant outside of Boulder, CO which served live game (buffalo, armadillo, deer, etc.) They mostly tasted like chicken. Except for buffalo, which tastes like beef. And Abby pointed out, Tofu tastes like chicken, ‘if you put enough sauce on it’. Vocals by Monkey Josh and his cousin Jackie Perlmutter. Chicken clucking by Monkey Mike, and sax by Stuart Bogie.

18) BABY IN MY BELLY - Co-written by Monkey Carey, Monkey Josh, and talented lyricist Adam Steinberg who became the proud father of Elliot Steinberg, not 6 months ago, and wrote the first few versed of this song when his wife was pregnant. As it is Monkey Carey’s dream to have a baby of her own (and she will soon enough), she jumped on this song and made it her own. Monkey Mike plays the voice of the older brother: ‘I love gum!”, and Monkey Josh sings the worried daddy’s verse. Oh, Baby! Soon to be a major motion picture.

COLLABORATORS:

STUART BOGIE - Sax, Clarinet, Vocals, Producer. The newest FunkeyMonkey is the musical wizard Stuart Bogie. Stuart Bogie was born in Evanston, IL. into a loving family of four. His earliest memories include music and he was afforded every desired opportunity to study it. He graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy then received a BMA from the University of Michigan. Since then he has performed rigorously in over 16 countries, for NPR and PBS, and recorded extensively. He has performed with Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, TV on the Radio, Sinead O'Conner, Burning Spear, Butch Morris, Jeremiah Lockwood, Medeski Martin and Wood, Tony Allen and of course the Funky Monkeys. He lives and works in NYC where he divides his time between performing, writing, and producing music. For more info check out stuartbogie.com Stuart co-wrote and produced ‘Ribbit Ribbit’ and ‘Cats and Kitties’’, as well as playing saxophone on Tastes Like Chicken, Woofers and Woofies, Mary Had A Little Lamb and Hello Happy.

ERIC BIONDO (aka Beyondo) is the only human being to have played with the Monkees AND the FunkeyMonkeys. (That’s right, the Monkees of Davey Jones and co.) Eric Biondo is a Trumpet Player, Singer, and Composer, having written over 30 songs, and he has independently released four solo CDs. Eric also plays the Drums, Synthesizer and Beat Box. He has toured the U.S and Europe with The Monkees; and also performed with Hootie and The Blowfish, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Sinead O'Connor, Burning Spear, The Drifters, Barry Williams (Greg-from the Brady Bunch), Teo Macero, The Either Orchestra, William Parker, Billy Bang and many others. Regina Spektor used Your Daughter, Eric’s song from his record Beyondo-The Real Boy Band on her 2005 album Soviet Kitsch (Warner Brother Records). He is currently performing with the band Antibalas on a concert/club tour of the U.S., Europe and Canada through 2005. For the past two years Eric has been featured as part of the Dave Douglas/Jon Nelson/Roy Campbell Festival Of New Trumpet Music in New York City. Eric has a degree in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He has also won the Downbeat Magazine Award for Outstanding Jazz Group in 1998. On Tastes Like Chicken, Biondo plays trumpet on You are My Sunshine, and sings the chorus on Cats and Kitties. For more information please visit www.ericbiondo.com

ABBY MILLER - writer and producer of kids entertainment extraordinaire, Abby Miller is the creative force behind much of Nickelodeon and Noggin TV as we know it. She let loose on ‘Tastes Like Chicken”; helping pen the title track and the new classic ‘Dolly”.

THE BANANAS (kids chorus)- Ranging in age from 6-13 the fabulous BANANAS are: Andrew Bonetti-Salazar, Josh Bierman, Emma Handlin, Gabrielle & Miranda Hoyt-Disick, Zachary & Jacob Rochlin, Alina Sodano, Lily Shoretz, Rosie & Yossi Yadid.

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REVIEWS

Entertaining for All! Kids (and I) love it!

Reviewer: Irene Pellegrino

My little nieces love Ribbit Ribbit and Mary Had a Little Lamb and Bubbles and Dolly, and all of it! Put It Over There is hysterical! The Monkeys so know how to relate! Encore!

we love it!!!!

Reviewer: astern

This is the cutest kids music!!! My entire family loves it, especially "Ribbit,Ribbit" and "Cats and Kitties".

I think the funky monkeys are great

Reviewer: bianca asare

the funky monkeys are great and i want to join the bannas!

it is a hit

Reviewer: Kris and Evan

Evan listened to it and his first word might be RIBBIT!

Fantastic!!!

Reviewer: Amanda

My two year old daughter Isabella loves the funkey monkeys...she walks around the house singing Hello Happy and You are my sunshine, Ribbit Ribbit... she loves to imitate everything the monkeys do at their shows, we love the songs, the dances, the bananas!!!!!

Reviewer: Beth

We love this CD. Great to listen to--I even listen to it when I don't have my baby with me!!!

We love it!

Reviewer: Jonathan & Sarah

We love the song it Tastes Like Chicken! We think its really funny and we love to dance to it!!!

Average Customer Review: