Kenny Powell - "Preschool Jam!": News/Blog

My "Guestbook" has been feeling neglected lately! Thank you, Martha, for your very kind comment today. But I need more! Please don't hesitate to leave your e-mail address and a comment (preferably a nice one!) You can also e-mail me at my "Contact" page and tell me what you think of my website and my music. Your input is greatly appreciated.

For all of your much-appreciated support and patience, I now most proudly present (drum roll, please) - "FREEBIE FRIDAYS!!!" On selected Fridays, starting with this upcoming Friday, 8/8/08, a full-length version of a song from my upcoming CD, "Preschool Jam! 2 - Jam-Packed!", with be available for free download! The first song available will be "Walk My Dog," a funny song about grudgingly taking my boisterous dog for a walk, then realizing that it was a lot better than sittng around the house, and I even got a song out of it! Just go to my "Music" page and right-click "MP3 download whole song." When the box appears, click "Save Target As..." When the big Windows box appears, choose where you want to save the song, then click "Save." I tested it myself with on Windows XP, and it worked perfectly. For Mac users, I believe your file-saving procedure would work as well. But remember - the free download is only available for one day, so mark "Freebie Friday" on your calendar, in your Blackberry, etc., and don't forget!

Again, thank you soooo much for sticking with me all these months. I sincerely apologize for not updating my site regularly, but I've been spending every spare moment preparing new songs in anticipation of an October or November release of "Preschool Jam! 2 - Jam-Packed!" Updating a studio with new gear is a seriously time-coming task! The biggest thing is buying and trying. Most of the equipment that interested me couldn't be found in music stores; I had to find it online, mostly at eBay. I went through a whole lot of side-by-side comparisons (also known as "A/B-ing"). It was a painstaking process, but worth every second! I have several new pieces, and they have really enhanced my sound. I'll just give you a couple of examples: On "Walk My Dog," I ran the bass sound through an early '70s piece called a Korg Synthepedal. It came to me looking almost new and very well cared for. I ran the guitar sound through a guitar pedal called a Univox Effectmatic, an old beat-up '70s unit that I had serviced by Lingenberg Sound (Richard Lingenberg is a great guy who does fantastic work, by the way), and now it sounds amazing. The dog barking comes from a sound effects CD; I loaded the sound into a sampling unit so I could put it into the song. I also used a sampler for certain sounds and phrases (like "T-REX!") on "Like A Dinosaur." I don't want to get too technical, though; I just want to explain what I've been up to for the last few months. I've uploaded sound clips from 4 new songs to my "Music" page - go have a listen!

Hello everybody, and a very belated "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to you all!!! I'm sorry I haven't updated you sooner, but I've been VERY busy with (and VERY excited about) some new "toys" I recently acquired. Without getting too technical, I decided to try a couple of guitar effects pedals on my music keyboard synthesizer, and the result is a whole new sound! Now I'm able to play many of the rock and funk sounds that are normally only associated with electric guitar. This is a very exciting discovery for me, and it's part of my plan to make "Preschool Jam! 2" go beyond the original "Preschool Jam!" CD. My goal is to give you music for young children that's truly unique in the market, not just another dressed-up version of what's already out there. "Let's Be Silly!" and "Healthy Living Alphabet" are just a taste of what's coming. I promise you - it will be well worth the wait!!!

This will be my last blog entry for 2007, so I'd like to, first and foremost, thank all of you for supporting me through yet another wonderful year. Once again, your kind e-mails, your guestbook entries, your overall interest in my "Preschool Jam!" concept, and your CD and download purchases have made 2007 as joyous and encouraging as 2006. I'm working with some new recording equipment, and I'm very excited about "Preschool Jam! 2". I will take my time and apply all that I've learned over the past 2 years to make the new CD the best it can be. I expect to release "Preschool Jam! 2" sometime during the first half of 2008, so I thank you for your patience. As always, I will keep uploading new songs to this site so you can preview them while waiting for the finished CD. Thank you all so much for everything! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!!!

Happy Holidays, everyone!!! I hope everyone had a very safe and happy Thanksgiving. I'm very excited about a new Christmas song I wrote and recorded for all of you grown folks out there; I call it "New Treasures." I was inspired to write this song because year after year I hear great new Christmas songs, and new versions of old favorites. I consider them to be "new treasures", so I wrote a song about it. I arranged and recorded it in the old, classic style reminiscent of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. I hope maybe someday my song will be considered a "new treasure", too!

Technically, it's not a song, but a rap! It's called "Healthy Living Alphabet", and it's all about living "the healthy way." Each letter represents something that's good for you; for instance, "A" is for "apples", "D" is for "dancing", "N" is for "naptime", "V" is for "veggies", etc. In other news, I want to thank all of those who helped make my inventory clearance such a great success! Not to worry; I kept plenty of original "Preschool Jam!" copies, and they're still available at the sites on my "BUY!" page, along with sites where you can still download "Preschool Jam!"

For those of you who have visited "Preschool Jam!" before, you may have noticed that my site looks just a little different. Well, there's no need to adjust your computer! In anticipation of my new "Preschool Jam! 2" CD, I decided it was about time to give the site a brand-new look. E-mail me at my "Contact" page with any feedback you'd like to give about the new layout!

Mixposure, one of the independent music sites of which I am a member, is back online!!! After a few false starts, it seems to be here to stay. I've uploaded my new recordings there, and I've gotten some really nice reviews. Please read them at my "Buzz!" page!

Go to my "Music" page and listen to my digital remake of "Preschool Jam!" and the instrumental version. Also, I've added a dance instrumental that I originally recorded back in the mid-'80s called "Genie Dance." It's guaranteed to get the kids - and YOU - up and movin'! All three of these tunes with be included as bonus tracks on my upcoming "Preschool Jam! 2" CD. Stay tuned for more!

I have already donated 20 CDs each to Remington Elementary School in Ilion, New York, and to The Friends of the Library of El Dorado Hills, California, for fundraising purposes. I have plenty of "Preschool Jam!" CDs left to donate, so if any non-profit schools, libraries or other organizations are interested in receiving a donation of my CDs, just click on the e-mail address at my "Contact" page and send me a request. It's that easy!

I just landed another big order! Last year, I contacted a children's fitness company called Stretch-n-Grow (click on their link at my "Links" page) about "Preschool Jam!", and Jill Manly, the president of the company, ordered 25 copies of my CD. Well, just last week Caryn Burnier, the franchise sales director for Stretch-n-Grow, ordered 25 copies of "Preschool Jam!" It's great to get repeat business, especially when it's a big order!

Well, that didn't take long! I submitted my new song, "Let's Be Silly!", to the Sunday Ticket (entertainment) section of the Sacramento Bee newspaper. They have a "Sunday Single" feature where anyone can submit a song, and if your song is chosen, it is featured online and in the printed paper. You can also hear the song at the Bee website. "Let's Be Silly!" was chosen to be tomorrow's (Sunday, July 1, 2007) "Sunday Single." It's already online today. I have a link to the online feature on my "Buzz!" page. Go check it out! And if you live in the Sacramento area, pick up a copy of the Bee tomorrow!

I know I've been promising this for a while now, but my new song, "Let's Be Silly!", which will be featured on "Preschool Jam! 2", is HERE!!! Not only that, but it's available on my music page, for a short time, as a FREE download! You can listen to the entire song on QuickTime, or you can save the song by right-clicking "MP3 download whole song, hi-fi", then clicking "Save target as..." and save the file to the location you choose. This song is the first one I've produced with my new digital recorder. Sorry about the wait, but I wanted to get it right, so I couldn't rush it. Thank you for your patience. I'm very happy with the results, and I hope you will be, too. Don't be afraid to get "crazy, wacky, goofy, happy" when listening to "Let's Be Silly!" - after all, that's what the song is all about!

In an effort to make room for the eventual release of "Preschool Jam II", I am beginning to clear out my remaining inventory of the original "Preschool Jam!" CDs. To individuals or for-profit companies, I will sell 5 or more copies of "Preschool Jam!" for $5.00 or less per CD. For non-profit organizations (fundraising groups, libraries, school districts, etc.), I will give up to 20 copies of the CD FREE!!! Even the shipping is free for up to 20 CDs! Just click on the e-mail address on my "CONTACT" page and send me a message, and I will take care of your order personally. I thank all of you who bought "Preschool Jam!" and made my first-ever business venture a very successful one! I would also like to thank all of you who have purchased digital downloads; I didn't think kids' music would inspire so many downloads. For those who still want to buy 1-4 copies of my CD, "Preschool Jam!" will continue to be sold through the online stores found on my "BUY!" page, and it will still be available for digital download, where you can buy as many songs as you want, or purchase the whole album.

I'm fortunate enough to be a member of two awesome independent music sites - SoundClick and Mixposure. Unfortunately, Mixposure is no longer online. I read a post on SoundClick's message board detailing Mixposure's difficulties; it sounds like the founder of the site is trying hard to get back online. I really hope it all works out; Mixposure is a wonderful site for independent musicians like me.

The credit card that I have on file at the site where my domain name is registered changed numbers, and I didn't update the info right away, so the domain name expired. As a result, this site was down for a few days. I've since updated the info, and "Preschool Jam!" is back online! My sincerest apologies to anyone who tried to visit my site while it was down; please tell everyone you know that it's back, and to give me a visit!

I've gotten to know my new digital multi-track recorder pretty well. I'm working on a new song called "Let's Be Silly!" I laid down the practice tracks, and the results are excellent! I should have the final recording done in the next several weeks or sooner. Remember, you'll be the first to hear it, right here on this site! Once I'm completely comfortable with the new equipment, I'll start producing a lot more music. I'm excited!

My niece Shani made the first-ever "Preschool Jam!" sale to one of her co-workers back in late May of 2006. Just a little while ago, Shani informed me that her co-worker told her that her kids still play the CD a lot, and she wanted to know when "Preschool Jam II" was coming out. I'd say that's a good sign! Actually, I have a new digital multi-track recorder that I'm just getting used to, and when I really get to know it, I'll start recording new stuff. You'll hear it here first. Stay tuned!