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Some reviews...
[+ Show ]
'Wow! What a show! Our daughter was dancing for days after, it was all we could do to keep her from ...'Wow! What a show! Our daughter was dancing for days after, it was all we could do to keep her from running away from home and starting her own band. And she's three! Seriously, you guys rocked, the Community Collaboration Extravaganza was a very positive show, can't wait to see you again soon! You guys rock the house. Way cool."
~Matt, Nicole & Tess
"What a fantastic experience my children and for that matter, the whole family had. I love the fact that the children were involved in every aspect of this production and truly felt like it was their show. The production was so much fun!"
~Tanya, Tim, Isaiah & Sadie
"We loved the way that music, movement and musical instruments were introduced to the children... remarkable, energetic!"
~Paula, Steve, Reece & Connor
"My daughter Aja loved The Kerplunks sound..Daddy play it again!"
~Jeremy and Aja
"The Kerplunks are engaging, energetic, funny and witty.
They'll take your kids dancing on a magic carpet ride they will not soon forget. They have big fans in Ashcroft. Hope to see them again soon."
~Martin Comtois, Ashcroft Opera House
"Hi, just wanted to let you know that my 8 month old son and I really enjoyed your show last Saturday at Deverill park. We love your CD and play it almost every day. Can't wait for the next one! Oliver's favorite song is "I'm a nut". He gets super exited when it's on. Thanks again for making great original music!"
~Lilac and Oliver, Nanaimo BC
Dear Tina and Dinah of the Kerplunks,
We really enjoyed your show. The kids had a great time, and the music was
super. Your energy and enthusiasm were contagious and everyone got
involved. All the best for this year!
Cheers,
Rob Larson:Principal at Blackburn Elementary School, Prince George BC, Canada
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Our Peers
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"The Kerplunks are a bright light in the Canadian children’s music
scene. They combine a genuin..."The Kerplunks are a bright light in the Canadian children’s music
scene. They combine a genuine playfulness and love of fun with
intelligence and highly skilled musicianship."Ken Whiteley- producer/grandfather of Canadian kid's music!(Raffi, Al Simmons)-----------------------
"We got your new CD and we love love love it! Congratulations, The album is fun & lively & jam-packed with musical treats" Bobs & Lolo---------------------------
"Best new friends - Meeting Tina and Dinah from The Kerplunks... a children's group from the west coast at the Western Canadian Music Awards." Tim Tamashiro gives his best of 2008- and includes The Kerplunks as his best new friends!
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The Kerplunks Making Big Noise
[+ Show ]
Kerplunks making big noise
Mike Devlin , Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
...Kerplunks making big noise
Mike Devlin , Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Kerplunks know full well the benefit of living in a close-knit Gulf Island community.
Tina Jones and Dinah D, who lead the Gabriola Island group, barely had in their clutches their first major award -- a Western Canadian Music Award for outstanding children's recording -- when they got a phone call from a friend back home last month.
A groundswell has started, they were told, and the island community of 5,000 was raising money in their honour to send the women to their next destination: the Canadian Folk Music Awards in St. John's, N.L., on Sunday.
That it started so immediately after their win at the WCMAs was a total shock, Jones said. "We had just started driving home [from Edmonton] and people already wanted to send us to Newfoundland. They wanted to book flights and hotels. We got back, and this whole motion had been initiated."
Jones, a powerful singer who graduated from the music program at Esquimalt High, couldn't be happier with the news. Though she has been around the local music scene for well over a decade, both with her own Tina Jones Band and as part of an extremely popular collective (Wunderbread), Jones never caught the big break.
The Kerplunks could be her ticket to ride. Jones ran a musical preschool when she lived in Nanaimo, and carried on teaching kids music when she moved to Gabriola. The community's recreation society asked her to run a similar program, which she and Dinah D named Melody Makers. The idea for a family-oriented project came out of that.
"The parents kept coming up to us saying, 'You've got to do something with these songs. I want to hear them at home.' So we decided to go for it and started the Kerplunks."
The group, which regularly performs at elementary schools around the Vancouver Island area, has been a smash hit with kids. "We're not dumbing anything down," Jones said of the group, which also includes Phil Wipper and Aaron Cadwaladr.
"We're playing, and it's challenging musically. We give them licence to have fun, especially in schools, where they are often taught to not say anything. We get them excited about music."
Gabriola Island, in turn, feels the same way about the Kerplunks. After the nomination at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, donation jars were quickly placed around the community. Two friends donated their Air Miles reward points, which covered flight costs, while another gave them a very specific dinner request.
"A very good friend said, 'This $100 is for nothing more than for both of you to go out and enjoy a lobster dinner in St. John's.' "
To outsiders, the hubbub might seem like an overwhelmingly compassionate gesture. That's just Gabriola, Jones said.
"I probably get approached to play benefits at least a few times a month.
"I love contributing to that, because it is something that I can give. But it's really nice to find that coming back to us."
mdevlin@tc.canwest.com
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"The Kerplunks Summertime Fun!"
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Our Kerplunks “kick bum,” serious bum, all over
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Monday, July 7 20...Our Kerplunks “kick bum,” serious bum, all over
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Monday, July 7 2008
Kerplunk - suddenly they’re on the map, all over, and we mean off-Island.
The summer just got started and already “Canada’s hippest children’s entertainers” have been to enough places to write a gazillion essays on how they spent it.
They are planning musical adventures east of the Rockies and their debut CD is being played in Australia, Germany and Japan. And on the CBC and the Internet, of course, over and over, which means the Kerplunks are ubiquitous, which means everywhere.
Back home after a madcap BC tour of schools, festivals, bookstores and the Ashcroft Opera House, they are gearing up for their “all-time favourite festival,” Vancouver Island MusicFest, in Courtenay, July 11th to 13th and The Haven Society’s 30th Anniversary Kids’ Party, in Nanaimo, on the 19th.
“The MusicFest is the best; we’re performing on the main-stage as well as the kid’s stage and we’re staying in the regular campground, not the musician’s area, because we want to hang out with our friends,” they both say, at once, adding, somewhat unnecessarily: “It’s party time, big time.”
I asked them to drop by and talk Kerplunk and prepared for anything, as always, they brought their own beverages. I didn’t ask what they were drinking, but did notice that Dinah D’s mug had a standup bass on the outside and her initials on the inside.
Tina Jones was wearing a colourful stage outfit, even though she’s on her way to town. Dinah began by looking for a place to change into hers. I had suggested they leave their musical instruments at home. “That would be too much,” I said.
“The Kerplunks are a foursome and it’s all about good music,” said Jones, who plays all the wind instruments in the band, from clarinet to trombone.
“Between Dinah, Aaron, Adam and me, we play over 10 instruments!” she continued running out of fingers.
“Dinah plays the big upright bass plus mandolin and banjo. When joined by Aaron Cadwaladr on guitar and Adam Cormier on drums, this band plays music for little people that big people totally enjoy as well,” Jones added. “That’s important, really important.”
Enter D in costume, mug in hand and when invited to sit down, they look skyward and say in unison (honest): “Hey Turkey Buzzards, we’re not dead yet!”
“We’re so pumped to be travelling all around BC this summer!” reported Dinah D. “If we could just tour around playing kids music all day, we’d be totally happy.”
As professional musicians, individually and collectively, Dinah and Tina have had years of experience touring the Pacific Northwest, from the Midwestern States to the Northern Territories.
Jones moved from Victoria to Nanaimo to study music at Malaspina U-C and got so many offers to play, she dropped out to play with legendary kid’s entertainers Dill and the Big Cheese Band, fronting the Disco-Funk band Wunderbread for a decade and leading her own ongoing, Tina Jones Band.
“I played here and wanted to be part of the Gabriola community,” she recalled her decision to live on the island, 13 years ago.
We had to ask, D is “short for a ridiculously long last name of 11 letters that is really hard to spell; I hardly remember how to spell it anymore.” She was living in a truck and camper, gigging. It broke down in Nanaimo. “The engine blew up and I needed to find a place to rent,” she reported. “I looked on Protection Island, but after walking around the entire place and meeting everyone who lived there in about a half an hour, I decided it was a bit small.
“Next stop: Gabriola, where I spotted highland cattle and peacocks,” she continued. “The first place I rented was from Bob and Dee Lauder of Fogo Art fame.
“All the chairs were wearing Birkenstock sandals and the table legs had high heels,” she recalled, “It was a basement suite, but I was really excited about the fireplace, until friends pointed out it was just painted on the wall.”
Among other things she has done kid’s shows, mostly in Alberta with Three Muskrats and a Stinky Shoe. Here on the Island she purchased a stand-up bass from a more than slightly reluctant Sounder publisher Bill deCarteret. The rest is her story and very much in progress.
You may have caught her with her six-piece Contraband Swing Club in the Village on Canada Day, with her Martini Foursome, or bluegrass group, Skagway. Her debut EP is entitled, “Outer Bass.”
You get the drift - they play it all, pre-Kerplunks, and continue to do so as kid’s entertainers, which, along with passion and high-energy, totally interactive fun, is part of the appeal.
Long story, short, they eventually became neighbours in the Whalebone Beach area and when the call went out from the Rec Society for children’s programming they created the Melody Makers Musical Preschool on Gabriola Island.
As the popularity grew and provided a testing ground for new material, including parents, who they say are “filters, parents have to approve and be able to take it. And so The Kerplunks were born, live and kicking.
Their self-titled 14-song CD, released in November last year, was nominated for the Independent Music Awards in the Best Children’s Song Category. They pressed 1,000 copies and are about to order more.
Ken Whitely, the Grandfather of Canadian kids’ music explained: “The Kerplunks are a bright light in the Canadian children’s music scene. They combine a genuine playfulness and love of fun with intelligence and highly skilled musicianship.”
They blew away the ArtsStart judges who select performers for BC schools, so they are going to be busy, including going into the studio for a follow-up CD. The band will be part of the Elements Festival on the Island in August, and there is talk of hiring them for the community fireworks show on Halloween.
Biggest hit so far? “Ooligans.” Followed by “Gumboots,” popular in all “moist” areas, they say.
Obviously, you have to hear (and see) them for yourself and become part of the growing “Kerplunkers,” phenomena. Apparently even dads sing along. Consider hiring them for an event. They may even be on the Island: E-mail info@thekerplunks.com, call (250) 247-9488; the website is www.thekerplunks.com.
Experience them while we still have them and discover why kids of all ages are saying: “The Kerplunks kick bum!” Seriously.
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The Kerplunks awarded Parent's Choice Approved Award!
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The Kerplunks' first CD features 14 original tunes about critters ("Ants Dance," "Dog Toy" and "Big... The Kerplunks' first CD features 14 original tunes about critters ("Ants Dance," "Dog Toy" and "Big Bear") and other kids' perennial favorite subjects such as bicycles, breakfast, and bedtime. The band writes catchy tunes and sing-a-longs, with Dinah D on upright bass, banjo and kazoo, and Tina Jones on trumpet, trombone, and clarinet. Both women sing lead vocals. The overall feel is kind of jazzy and the songs are light and silly, easy to learn and sure to play well with younger children.
Lahri Bond ©2008 Parents' Choice
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The Kerplunks CD REview in Pack-O-Fun Magazine
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September 2008
The Kerplunks Music CD
It's not often we review music, but we couldn't pass up the...September 2008
The Kerplunks Music CD
It's not often we review music, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to share Kerplunks Music!
Join Dinah D and Tina Jones, along with their friends, in their spirited songs that are bursting with fun beats and catchy tunes! Your kids will be bopping along to this high energy and positive experience!
~Annie Niemic, Pack-O-Fun Magazine
link http://www.pack-o-fun.com/
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Living on Purpose!
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Episode #142 ~ The Kerplunks!
Living On Purpose CHLY Radio
By Lynn Thompson
| November 21, 2008
...Episode #142 ~ The Kerplunks!
Living On Purpose CHLY Radio
By Lynn Thompson
| November 21, 2008
Dinah D and Tina Jones have been sharing their love of music and creative fun with children on Gabriola Island, BC for some time, initially beginning with their Melody Makers Musical Preschool. Their amazing manifestation of musical collaboration, TheKerplunks.com is taking the award world by storm! They've been called Canada's hippest new Children's Entertainers. The Kerplunks, with Dinah D and Tina Jones, is a four-piece band by adding Phil Wipper (drums, vocals) and Aaron Cadwaladr (acoustic guitar and also sings along!). They play catchy tunes guaranteed to get kids engaged singing along and joining in on the actions. Dinah plays the upright bass, banjo, and really belts it out! She also plays the kazoo like a mad-woman! Tina plays the trumpet, trombone, clarinet, baritone and also sings. All summed up: a groovin' good time! This 12 minute glimpse into their world via Dinah D happened on the 'live' show of Living on Purpose on CHLY in mid November 2008.
audio link http://www.rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/living-purpose/episode-142-kerplunks
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Kerplunks, Machado, Beaton bringing home folk-music honours
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Kerplunks, Machado, Beaton bringing home folk-music honours
Canwest News Service
Published: Monday...Kerplunks, Machado, Beaton bringing home folk-music honours
Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, November 24, 2008
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- The fourth annual Canadian Folk Music Awards were held on the East Coast for the first time last night, but it was Central and Western Canada that walked off with all the honours.
The late Oliver Schroer, the Toronto-based fiddler who died of leukemia in July, was the only double winner at the fourth annual awards.
Honoured during a special tribute, Schroer won the Instrumental Artist and Pushing the Boundaries awards for his album Hymns and Hers. His sister, Martina Schroer, accepted his awards.
Toronto's Luke Doucet and the White Falcon took the contemporary album award for Blood's Too Rich, while one-time rodeo rider and Taber, Alta., native Corb Lund captured the English songwriter prize for Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!
B.C. winners included Gabriola Island's The Kerplunks for best children's album, Gibsons' Celso Machado (Jogo da Vida) for world solo artist and Qualicum Beach's Emma Beaton, who won the young performer award for her Pretty Fair Maid.
The Vancouver Province
link http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/movie-guide/story.html?id=ca5c88d9-8bc0-42f8-837a-530a41e26206
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Juno Nomination!!
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Kerplunks' tunes splashy
Musicians Dinah D and Tina Jones are getting plenty of attention
By D...Kerplunks' tunes splashy
Musicians Dinah D and Tina Jones are getting plenty of attention
By Derek Spalding, The Daily News February 12, 2009
Gabriola Islanders Tina Jones and Dinah D want to put children's music at the forefront of Canadian music.
The Kerplunks front-women quickly moved into stardom after the release of their award-winning self-titled debut album last year. The attention and support swelled, but last week came the big push when the band earned a Juno Award nomination.
They are up against big names like the Barenaked Ladies and win or lose, these two bubbly musicians want the best in children's music to walk across the same stage as every other award winner.
The children's award usually gets presented to the winner at a gala dinner the evening before the big show. The grassroots independent artists want to elevate children's music by showcasing the award presentation on the national broadcast, right along side all the other elite Canadian artists.
These two Gabriola residents could find themselves in that spotlight, if their campaign catches the attention of the Juno organizers. Their accolades so far indicate they could very well win the top honour, especially after beating out children's music icon Fred Penner at the Western Canadian Music Awards last year, followed by a Canadian Folk Music Award.
Jones and Dinah D barely have time to complete their second album because of the demands that accompany all the attention. To remove some of the pressure, they began negotiations with possible managers, distributors and booking agencies. Most importantly, though, they want to showcase children's music.
"The best way to catch the attention of children is to put their favourite music on television," Dinah D explained this week.
The Kerplunks success came fast. Jones and Dinah D originally wrote songs together for the musical pre-school program they teach every week. Encouraged by parents, they produced a CD. After the independent release in November, 2007, copies of the album sold fast, all over the country. The band toured festivals throughout the summer, playing silly songs that draw from genres like jazz, folk, reggae, blues and rap. Then came the awards. Then the Juno nomination. The women have another 1,000 CDs in production, but that might not be enough.
During all the hype, they continue to work on their second album, which will include all new bug songs, music about rappin' dinosaurs and others that talk about crossing the street and vowels. So far, Jones and Dinah D have overseen every step of their development, but they realize they may need help when it comes to the business portion of their popular project.
"It's kind of getting out of hand," Jones explained.
"We've been really protective of it all, but now we're willing to hand it over and let someone else worry about the bookings and distribution. Then we can just be our kooky selves."
Both she and her band partner recognize the Junos as the top honour in the country and are prepared to continue their success. They're even ready to create the "next classic children's music in Canada," as Jones puts it.
The Kerplunks plan to launch their second CD this spring and there have been whispers of a Nanaimo release party, but nothing has been confirmed.
For more information check out their bright and colourful website: www.thekerplunks.com.
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Gabriola shows big support for its Kerplunks
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Gabriola shows big support for its Kerplunks
Mike Devlin, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday...Gabriola shows big support for its Kerplunks
Mike Devlin, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Kerplunks know full well the benefit of living in a close-knit Gulf Island community.
Tina Jones and Dinah D, who lead the Gabriola Island group, barely had in their clutches their first major award -- a Western Canadian Music Award for outstanding children's recording -- when they got a phone call from a friend back home last month.
A groundswell has started, they were told, and the island community of 5,000 was fundraising in their honour to send the women to their next destination: the Canadian Folk Music Awards in St. John's, Nfld., on Sunday.
That it started so immediately after their win at the WCMAs was a total shock, Jones said. "We had just started driving home [from Edmonton] and people already wanted to send us to Newfoundland. They wanted to book flights and hotels."
Jones, a powerful singer who graduated from the music program at Esquimalt high, outside Victoria, couldn't be happier with the news. Though she has been around the local music scene for well over a decade, both with her own Tina Jones Band and as part of an extremely popular collective (Wunderbread), Jones never caught the big break.
The Kerplunks could be her ticket to ride. Jones ran a musical preschool when she lived in Nanaimo, and carried on teaching kids music when she moved to Gabriola. The community's recreation society asked her to run a similar program, which she and Dinah D named Melody Makers. The idea for a family-oriented project came out of that.
"The parents kept coming up to us saying, 'You've got to do something with these songs. I want to hear them at home.' So we decided to go for it and started the Kerplunks."
The group, which regularly performs at elementary schools around the Vancouver Island area, has been a smash hit with kids. "We're not dumbing anything down," Jones said of the group, which also includes Phil Wipper and Aaron Cadwaladr.
"We're playing, and it's challenging musically. We give them licence to have fun, especially in schools, where they are often taught to not say anything. We get them excited about music."
Gabriola Island, in turn, feels the same way about the Kerplunks. After the nomination at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, donation jars were quickly placed around the community. Two friends donated their Air Miles reward points, which covered flight costs, while another gave them a very specific dinner request.
"A very good friend said, 'This $100 is for nothing more than for both of you to go out and enjoy a lobster dinner in St. John's.'"
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
link http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=6ebfce4b-196c-4269-8cab-1bf38d3558f3
supersonic
