Alison Faith Levy

Alison Faith Levy, best known as ?Sippy Alison? of legendary kindie trailblazers The Sippy Cups and the songwriter behind such Sippy hits as Magic Toast, The Jellyfish, Move Your Pants and One Day Soon, returns to making music for kids with a stunning and joyous solo album, World of Wonder. After spending five years criss-crossing the country with the psychedelic rock n' roll circus for kids that was The Sippy Cups, performing in such venues such as Symphony Space in NYC, Lollapalooza, House of Blues...

After spending five years criss-crossing the country with the psychedelic rock n' roll circus for kids that was The Sippy Cups, performing in such venues such as Symphony Space in NYC, Lollapalooza, House of Blues, Central Park Summerstage and Austin City Limits, Alison Faith Levy took a break from performing for children and found success with her "grown-up" Americana band, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, with songwriting partner Victor Krummenacher (of Camper Van Beethoven). They performed with the likes of Rosanne Cash, Cracker, and Built to Spill, and released an acclaimed album Time for Leaving.

Alison missed performing for children, however, and started up a music time at a local bookstore. She began writing new songs for the kids, and word spread quickly. Within a few months the place was packed to the rafters every week and she started booking performances at libraries, museums, music venues and outdoor festivals. She was tapped by a local club to start producing a monthly music series for families, and her Starry Day Matinee Series has grown to be a runaway success, with full houses of jumping, dancing kids and happy moms and dads. (see reverse for a San Francisco Chronicle piece on the series).

She enlisted the help of her friend, songwriter and bandleader of lush indie popsters The Orange Peels - producer Allen Clapp. Together they took the new batch of songs and crafted their perfect pop album, playing practically every instrument on the album themselves and mining their collective encyclopedic knowledge of pop music for production touchstones. Carole King, Elton John, Phil Spector, Godspell, The Zombies, The Byrds, Dusty Springfield, Pentangle, The Flaming Lips and XTC are just some of the influences that can be heard wafting through the album. Alison's ten-year-old son, Henry, a musician in his own right, plays drums and sings on a couple of songs on the album as well.

World of Wonder is a true labor of love, evolving from the simple act of writing and playing songs for young children, to the ambitious pursuit of crafting the perfect pop masterpiece. Somehow, it all comes together, with the cherry on top being the magnificent artwork by artist Michael Wertz.