chris ballew

Caspar Babypants Hot Dog! Review and GIVEAWAY!!!!

April 18, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 43 Comments

Just in time for getting ready for summer fun, Caspar Babypants (also known as Darah’s VERY FAVORITE musical artist) has released yet another rockin’ album! This one is called Hot Dog! and it is chalk full of fun, toe-tappin’ tunes that you are going to love! And your kids will love them, too (promise!).

This is the 5th album from Caspar Babypants. Just when I think the music can’t get any better, the new albums take me by surprise and raise the bar even higher for what great children’s music should sound like. I’m actually listening to the album as I type this, and Darah’s not even home (she’s at school). Once you hear how great this music is, you won’t judge me for listening to it on my own! 🙂

You can pick up Hot Dog from babypantsmusic.com, as well as on itunes and Amazon. The album retails for $12.99.

Edit: this giveaway is now closed.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Hot Dog!

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Darah’s Favorite Musician Writes Children’s Books! Caspar Babypants Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

October 13, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 55 Comments

I’ve told you before that even though Darah might have one of the greatest collections of children’s music of any kid I know, she still has a favorite artist (how did she choose?! So many great choices!). Her favorite is Caspar Babypants, otherwise known as Chris Ballew from a band we grownups may recall, The Presidents of the United States. She knows MANY of his songs by heart and loves to giggle, sing and dance when we play his music.

And now she loves to read his books! Chris and his wife, Kate Endle (an EXTREMELY talented artist) have created two beautifully written and illustrated books for kids. The first one is a board book, called Bunny Rabbit in the Sunlight. Darah loves the cover artwork of the bunny, because he looks just like her beloved bunny. The book has a great tempo to it, and you can imagine it being sung like a song. It’s all about different creatures enjoying all the different types of light (morning light, candle light, twilight, etc.). The pictures are truly gorgeous and we read this frequently.

But the book we read every single day is My Woodland Wish. This is a larger picture book, and the art inside is very cool paper collage. It’s all about a kid who is aware of all the wonderful wildlife that exists right outside her back door, and how she longs to get to play with all those creatures. The book even comes with a free MP3 of the book being performed as a song by Casper Babypants. It is absolutely beautiful, and Darah quickly picked up on the fact that there’s a clever ladybug waiting to be found on every page of the book. That is a mission she takes VERY seriously when reading.

There’s no doubt that Chris Ballew can write beautiful music. And now I see without a doubt that Kate Endle can draw captivating images. What a magical thing occurs when the two put their talents together for children’s literature. I highly recommend both books to be added to your child’s library! We’re so glad they are part of ours!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your choice of book from Kate and Chris! Woo hoo!

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Caspar Babypants Sing Along CD Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

August 3, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 74 Comments

I think it’s safe to say that Darah has an exceptional collection of children’s music. We have an itunes playlist that just won’t quit, and it plays track after track of absolutely delightful music.

That makes it hard to pick a favorite artist. Very hard. Just short of impossible, I’d say. But somehow, even in the face of so much awesome music, Darah has a top pick.

It’s Caspar Babypants. I reviewed This is Fun! last year (click here to check out the review if you missed it). Caspar Babypants is led by Chris Ballew, who you may better know as the lead singer for The Presidents of the United States of America.

On August 16th, Chris and company will be releasing their fourth children’s album called Sing Along! We’ve been singing and dancing along with this album for a few weeks now, and it is just fantastic! The songs are unique but memorable and the topics are so much fun. I love the great take on the classics Ring Around the Rosie and Ba Ba Black Sheep, as well as the original songs like Helicopter and Bad Blue Jay.

Part of Darah’s love for Caspar Babypants stems from their wonderful collection of music videos on Youtube. I asked Chris if videos were in the works for some of the new material, and he said yes! Now that’s music to this mama’s ears!

Included with my review copy of Sing Along! was a letter from Chris explaining some of the inspiration behind this new album. I thought I’d share a bit of what he had to say with you:

“I began the process of making this fourth album by listening to a bunch of call and response tunes based on old African folk melodies and work songs from early American history. I love how the next line in the song was like an invitation to the listener to sing along and get right into the fabric of the song. I found it to be a super satisfying form to write in and it will most certainly appear on future albums as well.”

“I make this music to help families sing together and relax and opn up and endure stressful times with humor and grace. I feel like I succeeded in that purpose with this record and I look forward to achieving that feeling again and again.”

I can tell you with certainty that he really did succeed in those areas. This is Darah’s favorite album from her favorite band. Way to go, Caspar Babypants, on rising to the top amongst a slew of other really and truly great artists and albums.

Buy it!: Sing Along! will be available on Amazon , iTunes and babypantsmusic.com on August 16th. Be sure to check it out! You can even pre-order (I think!).

Edit: this giveaway is now closed.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win your own copy of Sing Along! The contest will run until August 13th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forefeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Check out the Caspar Babypants Youtube channel and tell me which video you like best. You’ll be so glad to have so much fun new stuff to show your kids! 🙂

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love: Follow Caspar Babypants on Twitter

2. Blogger love: Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the site.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Caspar Babypants: Fun Music From an Artist You May Know!

October 5, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

I think it is really fun when a rock artist ventures over into a different genre, specifically, children’s music. Today I’ve got a terrific album called This is Fun! from Caspar Babypants. This is second children’s album from this artist, who may be known to you as Chris Ballew, the lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America.

Caspar Babypants’ tunes have been described as “great stories dressed up as song.” I love that imagery! I love the sound that Chris has in all the songs, and find myself singing along with him, as opposed to running out of the room when the music comes on (some kids music makes me do that, just sayin’). Also, please note that he tells you the stories behind his songs, and I hope he’ll post the stories that go along with the songs on This Is Fun! as well.

My only complaint is that Caspar Babypants’ shows all seem to be in the Pacific Northwest. Do a national tour, puh-leeze! It would be SO MUCH fun to take Darah to your show!!!

In honor of Darah’s new favorite sing-a-long, here’s a great Caspar Babypants video of the Itsy Bitsy Spider! I ALWAYS love with children’s artists do YouTube videos. Thank you!!!

Buy it!: During the month of October, you can buy advanced SIGNED copies of the album for just $12.00! Rock! The album will be released on November 2nd. If you need some new tunes for your kids, I definitely recommend this album! This makes an excellent stocking stuffer or holiday gift!

Edit: this giveaway is now closed.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need Reader is going to snag your very own copy of This is Fun! The contest will run until October 15th when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to their notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Name an “adult” artist or band you would LOVE to see do a children’s album (my answer would be Ben Folds!).

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Caspar Babypants on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways on the sidebar of my home page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links