We have a fun new musical spotlight and Q&A this week! It’s Vanessa Trien & The Jumping Monkeys. Sporting four Parents’ Choice® Awards in her hip pocket and adored by a legion of families nationwide, independent children’s musician Vanessa Trien and her band The Jumping Monkeys showcase their special brand of acoustic folk-pop with a world flavor on Wonderful YOU, a new album for kids and families set for release on October 14.
Musically vibrant and diverse, with guest spots by kindie music luminaries Alastair Moock, Rani Arbo, Barbara Brousal, and Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer), Wonderful YOU has an underlying theme of “community.” The album gives a musical hug to the listener – YOU – as it celebrates neighborhoods, family, and friends coming together to play, work, live, and of course, sing and dance. We hope you enjoy this Q&A with the amazing Vanessa Trien!
How long has the band been together?
I started playing with musicians since I began performing family-style music, and the Jumping Monkeys name came about perhaps around 2008. But the group I now have and really consider the core band at this point has been together for about 5-6 years (at least Adam Rothberg and Paul Kochanski). We play in different configurations with the whole band consisting of four of us (guitar, lead guitar/mandolin, bass, percussion), but the Jumping Monkeys sometimes perform as a duo or trio, with Adam Rothberg (lead guitar/mandolin) being my right-hand man mostly when performing as a duo.
What is the origin of the band name?
I’ve been performing my own version of Five Little Monkeys since the early days of my performances, where we sing a version of the original song which medleys into my own original song riffing on the monkeys not listening to mama or the doctor and continuing to jump on the bed. So when mulling over band names, it came to me pretty quickly. I’ve thought about changing it but we’re now very much known by that name, especially in the Greater Boston area. Now we’ll be like the classic rock bands stuck with playing their big hits (think Aerosmith “Dream On”) where 5 Little Monkeys will be ours…
How do you describe your music to other people?
I sometimes have trouble describing my music to other people but this is what I tend to say in general: My music is acoustic folk-pop with world music influences. While it is based in American folk roots, it is infused with the get-up-and-dance qualities of pop/rock.
What makes you stand apart from other artists?
There are so many artists out there now that I’m not sure what to say! But I guess what I’d say is that I’m genuine in my love of performing for kids and families. I’m not writing songs simply to be clever, funny, cool or whatever. I try to write songs that I hope kids of varying ages will connect with, find funny or meaningful, or want to sing or move to. Being a preschool music specialist and having taught parent-child classes for years, it’s the deep musical connections I make with kids that matters to me. Seeing them respond in their own unique ways, whether it’s soaking in a class or show quietly and then belting out songs at home and pretending to perform or be a music teacher, or diving head-long into a show and doing all the guided movements, dancing wildly and singing. When I perform, I’m most comfortable when there’s less physical separation between the band and audience, when I can be right there with kids, making eye contact, dancing together, and weaving through the audience. I want kids and families to see me as a grown-up who hasn’t lost a child-like imagination and who loves music deeply and isn’t shy to sing out and dance. I try to be a model for audiences to connect with and not just watch. After shows I always make a point of inviting families to give us high fives, learn about us and our instruments, and let us get to know them.
For this album in particular, the main theme is the celebration of YOU, the listener, in all your uniqueness, creativity, kindness, interests and attributes. The YOU in relation to others: You as a sister, brother, friend, parent, neighbor, student, grandchild… In my title track song, “Wonderful YOU,” I sing to the listener – in my case, my 7 year old daughter and 11 year old son – “you can climb, you can rhyme, you can twirl on a dime, you can whine and sometimes get to school on time” (my daughter and I are regularly late for school!), singing about both the accomplishments and the slightly less positive attributes like whining and being late that are all part of us. I also have a song on the album called “Shine,” which is about going to a dinner party with family and friends, joining in at the dinner table, playing games, running out to see the stars, and “shining” amidst people you love and who love you. Now, the album is also balanced with songs that are a bit more on the silly side but still about the magic and imagination inside us like my song, “Magic Wand,” or my song, “Monkey Jump” about trying to figure out with your family what to do together when you’re low on ideas and then finally, “Aha! We’ve got it!”
“If you like Katy Perry, then listen to Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys. The band’s known for their energetic live performances and infectious effervescence.” – Parenting magazine
“Trien celebrates a world we’d all like to give our children: bright with dancing feet, smiles, and happy dreams.” – Lynne Heffley, Parents’ Choice® Awards
Photo Credits: Liz Linder
