JOSH & THE JAMTONES BRING TOGETHER REGGAE, SKA, FOLK-PUNK, ALT-COUNTRY, POP, CLASSIC COUNTRY, NEW ORLEANS STREET MUSIC, & MORE TO GO ON A ‘BEAR HUNT!’ WITH SPECIAL GUEST, FATHER GOOSE “Josh and the Jamtones 150% BRING IT! This band is not to be missed, y’all.” – Jeff Bogle, Out With The Kids “Best kids’ band I’ve ever seen!” – Carol Charnow, President & CEO, Boston Children’s Museum BOSTON (July 29, 2013) – Coming off the wild, 13-week ride that landed their song “Iko Iko” in the #1 spot of Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live chart, Boston-based kindie rock band Josh & the Jamtones is ready to break new ground with the October 1 release of their second kids’/family CD, Bear Hunt! Kids and their parental units should pack a knapsack full of appreciation for off-the-cuff, improv humor delivered with laid-back, zany style in four “adventure chapters” interwoven among ten musical numbers representing the eclectic taste of this vastly talented ensemble. Josh & the Jamtones have created, with Bear Hunt! a narrative that leaves lots of imagination space and hits just the right note for the 21st century kid brain. Noted for getting families up and dancing, Josh & the Jamtones packed their acclaimed, 2012 debut CD JUMP UP! with massive dance party action. While Bear Hunt! continues to deliver plenty in the get-up-and-dance department, the album expands this energy by the introduction of a cornucopia of musical styles, all delivered with a razor-sharp sense of current musical taste. Josh & the Jamtones slip effortlessly from New Orleans-style street music, roots/reggae, second-wave ska, pure folk, folk-punk, alt-country, and classic country/bluegrass to an epic choral finale of MGM proportions. Explains Josh Shriber, “Bear Hunt! has been an exciting adventure for us, far beyond searching for evil, scary bears to hunt/HUG! Our first kids’ CD, JUMP UP! was born from dance tunes written for our children’s music classes. Bear Hunt! gave us the opportunity to dig a little deeper, with tracks written not just for our classes, but for a broader family spectrum. We hope this record will get the whole family singing, dancing, and laughing together!” Special guest Father Goose (featured on most of the Dan Zanes family albums, including the GRAMMY winning Catch That Train and GRAMMY nominated House Party) brings his authentic, “King of the Dance Party” Caribbean presence to Bear Hunt!, contributing vocals to an up-to-date version of the traditional spiritual “Swing Low” and serving as a modern-sounding “Hype Man” on the Caribbean-influenced “I Love U.” The album’s whirlwind of musical bear hunting adventure is expressed through the “get on your feet” energy of “Everybody Dance,” lots of up-tempo yo-ho-ho-ing, accordion action, and character voicing on “Pirate’s Life,” and a neo-hillbilly treatment of the classic “Five Green and Speckled Frogs,” presented, Jamtones-style, as “Green and Spakkled Frogs.” Other highlights include “Sunflower,” a classic country duet in the Carter/Cash style, a reggae/country version of the English ballad “Water is Wide,” and two “snow” songs: the folk/country “The Snow is Falling Down” and “Snow Day,” a pop celebration of no school! An Americana finale, “Fill It Up,” starts in solid country style, features a fine fiddle break in the middle, and gradually expands to a spectacular choral production reminding everyone, “Don’t forget! Share a little love.” Josh & the Jamtones came to life when a group of highly trained musicians (all graduates of the famed Berklee College of Music) found themselves teaching kids and families at Josh Shriber’s popular Jammin’ With You! Program and Performance Center. Shriber’s original songs form the core curriculum of Jammin With You! parent-child classes, and these songs eventually became the heart and soul of Josh & the Jamtones albums and shows. The six-member Josh & the Jamtones band began performing in 2011 and quickly became so popular that, in record time, they received offers to play such venues as the Life is Good Festival, Fenway Park, Earthfest, The Regent Theatre, Coolidge Corner, Kindiefest, a special Sirius/XM Kids Place Live New Year’s Eve broadcast, and even opening for The Wiggles! Bear Hunt! will be available at www.joshandthejamtones.com, cdbaby.com, Amazon.com, Spotify, Rhapsody, and iTunes. # # # CD Details: Bear Hunt! Release date: October 1, 2013 For ages 4 - 7 Label: Jammin With You! SRP: $9.99 Run time: 45 minutes # # # BEAR HUNT! TRACK LIST: Swing Low (featuring Father Goose) Bear Hunt Everybody Dance! Pirate’s Life I Love U Death Valley Cornfield of Doom Sunflower The Snow is Falling Down Snow Day Lightning Lake of a Thousand Sea Monsters Green and Spakkled Frogs Water is Wide The Evil Scary Bear from Bear Mountain Fill It Up