KICKIN' CANCER CONCERT

My friend and fellow Kansas City kindie rocker, Jim "Mr. Stinkyfeet" Cosgrove, and I will be performing at the

KICKIN' CANCER CONCERT on Saturday, August 22, in Prairie Village, Kansas. 10:30-11:30am.

$5.00 per person.

Now...let me tell you WHY you must go and WHY we are doing this....

My best friend's husband is currently battling cancer and is anxiously waiting and praying on remission status. Hopefully, that will come soon, but until it does Jim and I want to help defray some of their medical costs (which are UNBELIEVEABLE!).

All proceeds are going to this family and their story is awesome: www.caringbridge.org/visit/seangatchell

If you live in town, PLEASE COME ROCK WITH US and celebrate life through music!
If you don't live in town, pray for us and that the gracious people of this city come out to help celebrate life through music!

www.funkymamamusic.com

KC JIGGLE JAM 2009!

Here are a couple links to pics of the 2009 Kansas City Jiggle Jam on my Facebook page:

DAY ONE--KC JIGGLE JAM

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=258863&id=880650493&saved#/album.php?aid=258537&id=880650493

DAY TWO--KC JIGGLE JAM

http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=880650493#/album.php?aid=258863&id=880650493

Quick Clip of Funky Mama's Saturday set

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv8potc0Hxk

Thanks to all you wonderful folks who came out to support the Jiggle Jam!

New Gig Pics from last night

Wow! What a turnout for last night's FREE Overland Park gig with Funky Mama and Mr. Stinkyfeet Jim Cosgrove!
Holy crowd control on a Sunday night, Batman.
There were over 800 folks there (the city folks said 1,000, but Iiiiii dunno 'bout that...)
It's very cool to play a gig about 4 blocks from where you grew up, with your parents AND 4th-grade teacher, Mrs. Klemm, in the audience.
So much fun and many thanks to the City of OP, kids, parents and the Stinkyfeet and Hiccups crew.
(Jeni, we definitely need more Jiggle Jam biz-talk time than 20 minutes after the gig, swatting mosquitoes, cleaning up our gear and chasing our children in the dark!)

Funky Mama and Mr. Stinkyfeet in Concert!

From time to time, Jim (Mr. Stinkyfeet) Cosgrove and I do kid/family shows together as the "Funky Feet Duo" and we finally have one PUBLIC event coming up!
Click on the above pic to find out all the info and print some to hang up at your church or school. We both are playing with full bands at the RECORD BAR in Kansas City, MO. It's just north of the Country Club Plaza on Southwest Trafficway and Westport Rd.--1020 Westport Rd. (It's in the northwest corner of the shopping strip there.) Check the Funky Mama website for more schedule info! Should be a lot of fun for all. Jim plays first at 4pm and I go on at 4:30pm. $5 for adults, $2 for kids. IT IS A SMOKE FREE SHOW!

KC JIGGLE JAM!!

KC JIGGLE JAM!

(In the above middle pic left to right: Jim Cosgrove, Monty Harper of Kids Music Planet, Dino O'Dell, Ezra Idlet of Trout Fishing In America, Krista "Funky Mama" Eyler)

What a joyful event I have been lucky enough to be a part of this weekend!
The 1st Kansas City Jiggle Jam was a huge success with thousands and thousands of folks from 5 states coming in to enjoy the following acts:
Trout Fishing In America
Justin Roberts and the Not Ready For Naptime Players
Tom Chapin
John McCutcheon
They Might Be Giants
Jim "Mr. Stinkyfeet" Cosgrove and the Hiccups
Funky Mama (Me)
Dino O' Dell
and so many other fine local acts and workshop musicians.

Now...backstage skinny and stage pics....
The morning of DAY ONE---the skies opened up and we thought we were doomed! (The Crown Center Pavilion serves also as an ice rink with NO DRAINAGE system in the middle, so it becomes a swamp. Thanks to all those squeegie-ing the stage and walkways!)

But, Dino O'Dell warmed up the folks coming in and the fun was rolling.

Justin Roberts brought in an expectedly huge crowd and gave a great show...but I had to catch his 2nd set because I played at the same time! (Here's his set list---fun fun!) I have to say, though, Justin's crowd was not nearly as large as that of Jim "Mr. Stinkyfeet" Cosgrove. It was packed! He is a superstar in Kansas City and he felt the love. It was very cool to watch and sing with him on his last song. (Jim is out in front . Hard to get a good shot from this side of the stage.)

Trout Fishing In America---well, I fell in love with their music and stage charisma immediately and am now a life-long fan. They have the smoothest act and are excellent musicians. It's no wonder they've been nominated for a Grammy 4 times and have been playing together 32 years! They are also COOL guys. Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood are class acts. Ezra and I talked about songwriting and how he's going to help me on some new tunes. Keith and I talked about diminished chords and key changes (by the way, Ezra HATES modulations). Great guys and both of them took time to take my Moo Juice CDs and listen to them. They stuck around all weekend to talk with everyone. I so appreciated that.
They have a new CD coming out in September "Big, Round World" so watch for it!

I didn't really get a chance to talk with They Might Be Giants (beyond a "Hey, nice set" in the greenroom as they gnoshed on Chipotle and their guitarist nursed a bad knee due to recent surgery), but did discover their broom prop that became our greenroom mascot. He manned the food table and VIP area.

Now...Funky Mama!

I had great turnouts for both shows and I want to thank all the moms and dads who stayed through rain and CRAZY KCMO heat in May! It was a wonderful experience and I loved seeing all the kids jam out to my tunes.

The above shot is of Trout Fishing with Tom Chapin backstage working out an impromtu set. Tom Chapin and I had a couple nice chats about family and traveling and the like. His guitar is sweet! Made just for him with a headstock inlay of his girls. Chapin and Trout played with Tom McCutcheon (below left/Chapin on right), as well. I don't think all 4 of them have ever played together at the same time. It was amazing! All of those guys being gracious performers, they invited Jim Cosgrove and myself to sing Iko, Iko with them. So much fun, I can't even tell you, to be in the company of such talent. The song rocked, too.
Next year....watch out! Acts are already lined up...BIG...I'm talking BIG!

Kids rockin' to Grandma's House and other announcements!

I love it when folks alert me to videos like this. THIS is why I am Funky Mama....


So cute!
If your kids are rockin' out at my concerts, please, please, POST IT!

The KC JIGGLE JAM kicks off this weekend! Saturday I play at 12:45 in the Jam Tent and Sunday, I play at 11am on the Jam Stage.
Come out and jam with me and so many other musical friends. Lots to do, remember the sunscreen and a change of clothes for the kiddos. NO outside snacks or drinks are allowed, so come with some moolah for munchies. Bring the camera and snap lots of shots so I can post them here.

One more thing...
My friend Jim "Mr. Stinkyfeet" Cosgrove is allowing downloads of his new album "Upside Down" for 2 weeks on his website. You can get it for free or pay what you like! Only for 2 weeks, though.
I sing on two tracks and, overall, I think it's his best work to date. Lots of fun!

Funky Mama updates! KC JIGGLE JAM, CD RELEASE PARTY

An update on the CD release party:
We have 130 reservations already! Woo hoo! Tell your playgroups, mom-friends, and preschool directors to get the Funky Mama word out.

ALSO: The Kansas City Jiggle Jam is ready to rock this summer at Crown Center Square! Jim and Jeni Cosgrove have organized the 1st KC kids and family music festival with some national and local names. Look at the website: www.kcjigglejam.com and plan on coming out! I'll be playing there on both weekend days!! I think I might be opening for Justin Roberts, but that's still TBA. The only way to get KC kids' artists out there is to promote, promote, promote. If you have relatives outside of KC, call them, email them and tell them about Jim Cosgrove, Funky Mama, Dino O'Dell and The Doo-Dads. If you want to see us on Noggin or the Disney Channel, we have to grassroots this thing! Support your local melodymakers!

Here's a video of two of my preschool students. They are rockin' out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVVv4v_JzuY