The Toy Trains, one Portland’s busy kindie bands, has a new CD out and it’s a fun one!
Opening appropriately enough with “Little Toy Train”, it gets rocking right out of the blocks. This country-tinged rocker grabs you by the throat with a great sound and a fun chorus.
Fun, danceable and catchy, this collection of tunes highlights some great songwriting, covering topics ranging from learning to count to 100, growing a garden, sunny days and rainy weather. While it doesn’t necessarily seek to instruct, it does lend itself to exuberance and fun, with high energy songs and a roots-style instrument mix. Who can resist toe-tapping when listening to a banjo?
Reminiscent of the Pixies at times and REM at others, these folks lay down a groove and don’t let go. Vocal harmonies, layered background vocals, tasty mandolin and fiddle, all grab the styles parents will be happy to hang with, and make the kids dance like crazy.
The Toy Trains are Vince Schreck (acoustic guitar and vocals), Christian McKee ( mandolin, banjo and vocals), Brett Donis (drums), Paul Prato (bass), Tricia Rojas (violin and vocals) and Daren Claymon (electric guitar, harmonica and vocals). Mixed and mastered by Christian McKee, the album has a dense and complex sound, but it’s not quite overbearing. Think lots of kids, jumping around, dancing and having a great time. That kind of mix.
A very Portlandish album, this. Very well produced with a simple cover, simple art and a simple aim: fun, dance, and some more fun. Kids will love this record, and parents will have something to enjoy right along with them.
Enjoy Two Rights:
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Available now at cdbaby.com ($10 download, $12 physical, $1.25 per track download). Or better yet, buy direct from the artists online here.
Dot Rust has enjoyed a career in music spanning a few decades. An accomplished classical and jazz musician, Dot has performed and recorded throughout the US on horn as well as bass. It was her gigs in the recording studios, though, that caught her imagination so she set off for LA to supplement her degrees in music with more training in recording engineering. After a few years in a recording studio and production facility engineering, mastering and doing administrative work, she landed a job with a leading independent media distributor where she ultimately wound up as a product manager for a division that specialized in family music. This gave her instant access to artists and labels all over the US, on major labels and indies, and it was this interaction with the artists that opened her eyes to the burgeoning segment that is so often just an afterthought for most people. Family music is currently the only genre enjoying real growth in the music industry, and Dot hopes to bring even more awareness to Oregon and the northwest.
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[...] Article FROM http://oregonmusicnews.com/2011/09/29/review-the-toy-trains-debut/ SPONSOR- Christian Games for kids-fun and faith based curriculum GET YOUR FREE PASS [...]
[...] is our debut CD, if you’d like some samples. Here is a review of our CD from Dot Rust of Oregon Music News. Thanks! Hope to see you at the [...]