Spring has totally sprung! Taxes are done! and we almost missed the April newsletter 🙂
A couple of news items. First, we had an official CD review by Dan Cohen. Many thanks to Dan for taking the time to listen to Soundzania Elementary School and giving a fair opinion on the CD. Here is a link to the review.
Second, we are going to the Ashland Farmers Market again this year! We’re very excited about that because it is simply a fun time. They have a regular farmer’s market every week, but this one on June 30th is special. Its a kid’s market and kids come out and set up tables to sell their wares. Its great to see them proudly displaying their crafts/produce/creations, etc. We have a fun time playing some music on what I hope to be a gorgeous day in Ashland. Check out the Ashland Farmer’s Market on Facebook.
And now for a shameless plug – we still have lots of Soundzania CDs hanging around. Enough to make a small village, or set the record for CD dominos. So, please if you know someone who has some young kids, might enjoy the music, or just likes good toe-tapping fun songs… please send them our way! On the website, they can check out some sample songs from each of the albums.
For those of you subscribing to the newsletter, give them the following code: ()
If they use that code during checkout, they will get 30% off their entire purchase. Anyone can use that code. It is valid through May 31st.
Thanks – and until next time – sounds good and good sounds
It’s getting chilly in Soundzania (that’s a joke for my friends in northwest Canada).
This newsletter has some big news – please read on…
Do you like iTunes?
You all know the Soundzania Elementary School CD is now available for ordering, right? But, you didn’t know it is now available on itunes! If you’d rather skip the shipping and the beautiful packaging and just get it loaded on your ipod/ipad/computer… go to itunes.com/scottflory and order yourself a digital copy. We are also available in just about any digital purchasing outlet (amazon, spotify, napster, rhapsody, verizon….). If there is one you use and we’re not in it – let us know!
Time is upon us. Gifts for teachers, cousins, nephews and nieces, grandchildren and yourself 🙂 need to be secured. Soundzania is guaranteed to be enjoyed by kids. Order a copy today
Order now to get it there before Christmas! When you place an order, I will ship it via USPS First Class Parcel by the next pickup (around here they pickup at Noon and 5pm). We are in Virginia, so you can figure it will be there in a day or two along most of the east coast and probably a few days for the west coast.
The pre-order time is over (awww). But, there are still discounts when buying multiple copies (say, for all the teachers, or for all your friends’ kids).
All CDs are $10. If you buy 2 or more, they are $9 each, buy 5 or more and they are $8 each, buy 10 or more and they are $7 each.. .and… in case you are running a day care facility or something like that – buy 25 or more and they are only $5 each!
If you’re reading this, it is likely that you already have a copy of a Soundzania CD. This newest CD is awesome (check out the two tracks here on the website). But, we need help letting people know about it. So, we are asking everyone to talk about us to help get the word out, share a link on Facebook, Tweet about it, tell your friends! There are millions of kids who would be bouncing up and down right now if only they were listening to a Soundzania CD!
With Thanksgiving around the corner, there are many things we should all be thankful for. It is good to reflect on that. Lately, I’ve been hunkering down in the studio and not had much time with family and friends, so I’d like to thank my friends and family for their support while we put the final touches on Soundzania Elementary School – it is almost here!
We are now accepting orders for the CD here. We will start shipping on December 13th and there is a coupon code we sent out in the last newsletter to give you $2 off if you purchase before December 12th.
I’ve heard a few people ask if they could do anything to help with the CD. The answer is yes, I need help doing some research. I need names and addresses of children’s music reviewers, bloggers, radio stations, internet stations, etc. I want to send a copy to everyone who writes about, talks about or plays children’s music. Do you know of any? Do you want to do some research to find some? If so, use this form here to submit what you have and I will send them a complimentary CD along with a cover letter. We hope they will review it and share what they like about it with others.
So – thanks to everyone!
Oh, and one more thing, I’ve added another song on the website – it should be on the right-hand side – enjoy!
About half the country has had snow in the last week or so – amazing !! Everyone dug out and got their power back on? I hope so.
Here in Soundzania, we’re going to start some more recording sessions in February. The long awaited third album (thereby completing the master trilogy of children’s anthem bop) is making headway.
Once we have any new mixes or rough cuts of the songs, we’ll be sure to share them here on the blog to let you comment and criticize.
Stay warm everyone and if you need to get one of our CDs or a shirt, we’ll share the love a little for February and give you a nice 28% discount (28 days you know). To get the coupon code, you need to subscribe to the newsletter here.
Springtime
We’re most of the way through spring here in Soundzania and everything is blooming and green and windy and fun. Anyone gardening out there? Here’s what we have growing in Soundzania:
Here's the garden after a month and a half
We also finished up a lot of visits to pre-schools! Here are some photos of those visits:
and these are called the bellows...
woo hoo - we love Soundzania!
Fire Sale
And last – we’re getting some warm weather around here, so I am inspired to make a fire sale on CDs and see if anyone still needs to pick up a few. If you need another copy, or know a friend who needs one – now is the time…. use the coupon code [[sign up for the newsletter to get the code]] to get 50% off anything in the Soundzania store !!! I’m not kidding.
Take care and remember to use your sunscreen 🙂
Scott – writing for Ben Joe who is off somewhere doing a documentary on an elementary school
That could be a new tune… March in Soundzania… maybe we’ll put a march song in our next cd. We’ve started putting our ideas down for the next album “Soundzania Elementary School”. We’ll try to share some samples through this blog as we have them. It should be a fun process. If you have some ideas for the album – go ahead and post some comments here – we’ll incorporate what we can.
February and March have been very busy months for us in Soundzania. We’ve donated a bunch of CDs to the Charis House in Indiana for their silent auction (being held today on the 20th). We love helping charities involved in directly helping children. If you’re involved in one and think some Soundzania CDs could brighten the day and help out in anyway – give us a holler.
We’ve also been visiting some local preschools and providing performances. You can see some video clips of these performances here and here. We’d love to visit your preschool as well. Let us know if you’re interested – scott@soundzania.com.
Well – that covers it – spring is here – time to get out of the house and run around in the warm sun! Oh, and since its spring weather and t-shirts are being worn more… you get a free t-shirt with any CD purchase for the rest of March – just purchase the CD and we’ll contact you for your size! What a deal!
I’m sitting here listening to the first Soundzania album while my youngest falls asleep.  I’m excited to think of the recording and songwriting that will happen this year as we work to create the third Soundzania album.
Also, I’m gearing up for a few local pre-school visits in the next couple of months.  I will be visiting Good Shepherd Preschool as well as Knollwood Preschool.  If you are in Northern Virginia and would like Soundzania to come visit your pre-school, let me know – I thoroughly enjoy sharing my music!  If you want to see some of what we do, check out some of the video from last year’s performance.
Welcome to “Tanner Sax” into the Soundzania world.  He will be on the new CD no doubt and will likely make an  appearance at the pre-school visits.  I’ve been practicing on the sax now for a bit and its a blast!
Don’t forget – if you have ever bought a Soundzania CD, you are eligible to give one away!
If you subscribe to this newsletter via email, you got a monthly discount coupon in the email – this month it is 20% off anything in Soundzania.  Signup for the email newsletter here.
Ah, back to school time.  We’ve kicked off the year just fine out our house and hope you all have as well.  I’m kind of psyched because we have some new activities for the kids this year.  I’m looking forward to bringing Soundzania to some local preschools again this year with my new dobro!
Recently, Soundzania helped kick-off a block party and gave a fun live performance including Lee Parker, Andy Berry, Ken Hougasian, myself.. and the magic carpet.  Yes, the magic carpet made a second appearance and the kids immediately took to it.  We’re going to have to program more sounds into it!
Well, thats about it for now, we’re still in the planning phase for the next Soundzania album.  If you have a fun story from elementary school, share it by replying to this, or posting a comment.
Now, for the monthly discount -use [coupon code available to those who sign-up for the newsletter] to get 20% off anything in the Soundzania store, pick up a cool t-shirt, or order some with school colors to show some spirit!  Nothing better than some tie-dyed Soundzania shirts with your own school colors.
Does it feel like summer where you are?  It’s starting to feel like it here.  The kids are splashing in the pool almost every day – we’ve been eating more than our share of hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream… I think its summer!  I hope your summer is going well too.
New Friends
It’s been lazy in Soundzania – just staying cool and listening to some music.  We have a new instrument in town – the Dobro (seen to the right over there -> ).  You can expect an appearance on our next album (planned for 2010).
Add Music
Pretty much everyone on this newsletter has picked up a CD of Soundzania along the way and I want to say Thank You again.  I sure hope the little ones are enjoying the music and would love to hear your comments on it.  Hit reply and let me know, or comment on the web page.  Either way, let us know.
Share the Love
While we’re talking about those past CDs, we still have plenty to spread over the land and want to get them into as many ears (hands) as possible.  So, from now until August 15th, we are running a massive sale on the pair of CDs.  50% off the normal price when you buy the pair!!  [only the people subcribed to the newsletter get the coupon code] I’m hoping that you can think of a friend or two who has children that would also enjoy the music.  Share this email with them – give them the coupon code!  This is a great deal and it will bring some cool tunes to the house/car/pool for the summer.
Then, after sharing the deal with your friends, have some watermelon and ice cream 🙂
Soundzania was invited to perform at a friend’s birthday party – what fun !! We recorded it, of course, and can share a clip here with you.
We debuted a new instrument – the Magic Carpet… thats right, a magic carpet! The kids had a good time jumping on the carpet and making crazy sounds. We’ve got lots of ways to make the magic carpet part of the fun of a birthday party.
If you have a little one with a birthday coming up, let us know ! We’d love to come out and perform for the party!