Hullabaloo to Release 11th Album 'Shy Kid Blues' This May

With a ten-year track record of glowing critical acclaim, having picked up fourteen national awards along the way, the beloved "free-range, organic" duo Hullabaloo raises the bar even higher with their 11th studio CD, Shy Kid Blues, set for release in May.

Hullabaloo is Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer, buddies since kindergarten. Shy Kid Blues mixes music and spoken word to tell the (mostly) true story of their friendship, with Hullabaloo's down-home, good-times musical ebullience and infectious humor at the forefront. In telling their story, Steve and Brendan want to let kids (and parents) know that shyness doesn't need to be a limitation. Shy kids are capable of doing anything they set their minds to!

Explains Steve Denyes, "In an era when kids seem to have an overabundance of 'screen time,' we really wanted this to be a project where the audio would inspire them to create a picture in their minds rather than have one pop up on a screen. In recording the monologues, we were inspired by classic radio shows like Prairie Home Companion and more modern versions like This American Life and Radio Lab, where stories are told in conjunction with sound effects that spark the imagination."

Hullabaloo has made a career of creating "a foot-stomping, wing-flapping celebration of song that both honors and entertains kids and families." Storytelling alternates with songs throughout Shy Kid Blues. The opening monologue, "A Very Quiet Baby," sets the stage, with audio drops of a '70s-style version of Hullabaloo's "Run Bunny Run," a rotary telephone, and a vintage manual cash register. The album's first song, "Talking Shy Kid Blues," spins the fine yarn of Steve, a very shy kid, in traditional talking blues style à la Woody Guthrie. In the monologue "Just the Opposite" we meet Brendan, an outrageously gregarious kid. Musical highlights include the hand-clapping, gospel original "365 Days on Earth," "Best Friends Forever" (in which Steve Denyes' strong voice and clarity of diction remind one of Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson), Brendan Rocks the Box," where Brendan Kremer lays down the beat with his cajon (a wooden box drum), and "You Can Do This," a tremendously affirmative message delivered with a tip of the hat to Kentucky bluegrass.

Among the major awards garnered by Hullabaloo are Parents' Choice®, NAPPA, and Children's Music Web. Parents' Choice® enthused, "They raise their own foot-stomping ruckus with humor, infectious energy, and appealing blend of country, folk, funk, and rock rhythms." Scholastic Parent & Child praised Hullabaloo's "banjo, mandolin, and fiddle-powered fun." People.com wrote, "The two-man band has hit another home run with their cool collection of instant classics featuring all the folk, funk, and rock inspirations parents (and kids) are sure to appreciate."

Shy Kid Blues will be available at hullabalooband.com, cdbaby.com, iTunes, and virtually all online music services and retailers.

HULLABALOO IN PERFORMANCE

Highlights - Spring 2014

May 29 San Diego Botanic Gardens, Encinitas, CA - 6:00 p.m.

May 31 North Coast Repertory Theatre, Solana Beach, CA Album Release Concert! - 10:30 a.m.

June 1 Fiesta Del Sol, Solana Beach, CA - 9:30 a.m.

June 1 Shir Energy Festival, Cardiff, CA - 11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.

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Check out Hullabaloo's website at www.hullabalooband.com.

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