About the Album

Bay area musicians Sarita Pockell (singer songwriter and founding member of Kid Kaleidoscope and Hamsa Lila), and her husband Johnny Schroeder (multi-instrumentalist and founding member of The Wise Monkey Orchestra, The You Band, Hamsa Lila and Dr. Abacus) announce the release of their first Album dedicated to children (of all ages). The CD, entitled BUBBLEJUICE, represents a lifestyle change for the couple, as both of them left the popular festival dance band “Hamsa Lila” last year to dedicate themselves more completely to creating music which inspires curiosity, imagination, awe, and awareness in children (and their parent’s too!)

“I felt very dissatisfied with the music that I was finding out there for my daughter.” Sarita admits, “When I was little we listened to “Free to be You and Me” and it left such a strong impression on me. It actually helped to form my worldview. I wanted to make an album for our children and your children which offers the same kind of inspiration and gives them the opportunity to ponder the miracles of their environment and their world.”

Bubblejuice is a fantastic journey through all sorts of dimensions. As the listener embarks, he or she is swept up inside her own bubble and then travels to the depths of the ocean, to outer space, and then floats all around our amazing world. This is the premise of the first track, “Blow Another Bubble”, which sports a catchy chorus and synthesizer parts that evoke a feeling of being swept away on a bubbly adventure.

Following songs include “Come on and Play” with piano played by Peter Kafin (member of Klezmer band “Mozaik”). This song calls on every nursery rhyme character from Little Miss Muffet to the old man snoring to “come on and play” and ends in a festive rollingstoneseque party with everyone singing the chorus together. Pete also wrote and played the piano parts for “What is a Dream?”, a song which asks kids that very question and leaves it open for the child to ponder.

A new version of Sarita’s hit single,”One is the Sun”, from the “Kid Kaleidoscope and the Puppet Players” album beautifully points out the numbers of things on or bodies and in nature...the 4 elements, 5 senses, up to seven colors of the rainbow...and one is the sun. There is also “The Magic Paintbrush” teaches kids the order of the rainbow and then dedicates a verse to each color, hinting at that color’s significance and energy in our lives.

Many songs suggest that there is an order or balance in life and in nature. The chorus of “The Cycle Song” sings, “it all starts over again, it all starts over again, what’s the beginning and what is the end, it all starts over again. “Before You Take a Bite of Food” suggests that before we do just that, “it’s nice to remember how it got to you”. It travels from the farmer to the driver to the cook to the potter who made the plate.

And then there is just plain silliness: banging on pots and pans, honking on kazoos, Schroeder even plays the saw on the album (as well as the bass, sax, clarinets, marimba, fender rhodes, flute, guitars, vocals, and percussion). Both artists are unique multi-instrumentalists, and Sarita’s songwriting blended with her knack for creating sweet and intricate vocal arrangements really make for an intelligent and musically rich album for the whole family to enjoy.

A notable aspect about the flow of the CD is that most of the upbeat songs (like the bilingual “Ensalada is Salad in Spanish” which is produced in full miriachi splendor) are heard at the beginning of the album and the songs become softer and gentler until the last song (the only cover) “Sing Terio Day”, a memorizing lullaby that Sarita said was sung to her by her parents when she was little. “It not only put me to sleep, but it left a delicious taste in my mouth similar to Turkish Delight”. This deliberate order was created with a 40-minute drive in mind and almost always ends in a nap.

Sarita and Schroeder have successfully created a magical, universal children’s album, which is certain to become a classic. They plan to continue to focus their abundant talent on providing children and families with stimulating, enriching, delicious entertainment, helping kids to remember to “be in awe! That all of life is truly miraculous, a lot of it is beautiful, and it can be really fun!” The couple is presently working on a video series and a second album.... stay tuned!