So begins Ablum by Duplex!, the debut CD release from Vancouver, BC's first latest pre-teen sensation, not surprisingly called Duplex! We should come clean right off the bat; they're not all pre-teens, but some of them are really really pre. Like as in a three year old, an eleven year old, a twelve year old and a hodge podge of their parents. We should also mention right off the bat that this is a kids' record, first and foremost, but like all great children's music this record offers lots of good times for the adults too.
Anyway, here's how it happened: Canadian cultural icon and Duplex member Veda Hille sent a copy of the record to Mint, and it quickly ended up in the CD player of our youngest A&R Rep, three year old Sam Baker. Suffice to say that somewhere between chants about salad tasting like dirt, ska-flavoured ditties about chromosomes and the eminently singable "Pooing & Peeing" this record quickly found a permanent place in the CD playerÖ and the car CD playerÖ you get the idea. We've always believed that you gotta go with your gut here at Mint, and to see a three year old take instantly to this like a duckling to a puddle was all we needed. Frantic phone calls were made and here we are.
Meet the gang:
Abe Caruso (plays xylophone, harmonica, and rattles. Age: 3. Member of the Abe Caruso Project).
Annie Wilkinson (plays bass, Barry's Melodica. Age: 37. Member of Great Aunt
Ida, the Beekeepers).
Justin Kellam (plays drums, percussion, and a dog. Age: 32. Member of Mint recording artists p:ano).
Matt Caruso (plays guitar, mandolin, and fake marimba. Age: 35. Member of the Beekeepers).
Saoirse Soley (plays electric guitar, organ, nose trumpet, and kielbasa. Age: 11. Member of M. Michelle's Grade 6/7 class & the Leaky Heaven Circus).
Shaun Brodie (plays trumpet, euphonium, and tambourine. Age: 25. Member of the Neins, AC Newman).
Sierra Terhoch (plays piano, fake strings, and maracas. Age: 11. Member of M. Michelle's Grade 6/7).
Veda Hille (plays piano, organ, casio, fake choir, and tenor guitar. Age: 35. Member of herself).
Everybody sings!
Fans of kids' entertainers like Dan Zanes (or for that matter any parent who is sick of suffering at the hands of Elmo or Barney) owe it to themselves and their kids to give Duplex a spin. Word to your motherÖ and your kids.
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