Shaking Some Serious Ocean Booty: Rockin’ New Children’s Music CD by the Banana Slug String Band

Feb. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Can our children help take care of the world’s ocean? The Banana Slug String Band is certain they can…and have fun shaking some serious booty along the way.

The award-winning eco-band for children announces the release of a unique new musical CD, ONLY ONE OCEAN. (Release date: 1/11/11) The goal of the project: Outrageously good music that inspires youngsters and their families to learn about – and then take better care of – our precious ocean.

The 14 songs range from indie rock and reggae to aloha jams and wild slack-key guitar riffs.

“Going Down, Down, Down” gets funky about ocean floor geology to the bass guitar sound of Grammy winner Victor Wooten. Sweet voices of the children’s choir join indie rocker Brett Dennen’s unmistakable vocals in “Mountain in My Hand,” an ode to (that’s right) sand. A rousing sea chanty-style “Standing On My Head” gives a fun lesson about everyone’s favorite upside-down crustacean: “He’s a barnacle, a barnacle, he’s standing on his head.”

While wacky and fun, the ONLY ONE OCEAN CD (the band’s eleventh) has serious work to do. Four heavy hitting ocean science organizations, including the National Science Foundation-funded Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) – representing thousands of scientists and educators nationwide – co-sponsored the recording to raise awareness about the health of the ocean.

The important mission drew talented assistance from others concerned – the Slugs are joined on the album by a who’s who of musical prodigies. In addition to Wooten (of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) and Dennen, the CD features Grammy winners George Winston and Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil, along with raging fiddler Tim Carbone from Railroad Earth and Zach Gill of ALO/Jack Johnson’s band on whimsical keyboards.

The Banana Slugs seamlessly integrate excellent music for kids with accurate science. Always focusing on the positive and upbeat, the band teaches kids to love the Earth. That’s what they’ve been doing for 25 years, on stages from the New York Museum of Natural History to the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Why sing about the ocean? Climate, weather, even the oxygen we breathe is regulated by the seas. In fact, in the co-sponsoring group’s words, “All life, including our own, is dependent on the ocean.” Yet most U.S. schools are not teaching ocean science. To address the problem, a consortium of scientists and educators has mounted the “Ocean Literacy” campaign to teach both students and teachers nationwide ocean sciences. And they asked the Banana Slugs to write the “soundtrack.”

Over the years, the Banana Slug String Band has won wide acclaim for its music including the Association for Independent Music Indie Award for Best Children’s Recording, a National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Gold Award and the iParenting Media Award.

The band’s previous album earned raves. One starred review in School Library Journal, said, “This outstanding album features catchy tunes that teach youngsters about the importance of a healthy environment.”

In addition to COSEE, the CD is co-sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF); the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA); and Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

To learn more about the Banana Slugs, visit www.BananaSlugStringBand.com. To sample Slugs’ songs (free), follow this link: http://bananaslugs.bandcamp.com

For additional information about Ocean Literacy, visit these sites http://lawrencehallofscience.org/mare/only_one_ocean.html or http://oceanliteracy.wp.coexploration.org/

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The award-winning Banana Slug String Band is toe-tappin' earth-lovin' music and science education at its best! From rockin' boogies to countrry, acoustic sing-alongs to reggae and rap, the Slugs will have you on your feet in no time.