Thursday 6 December 2012

Rick Scott's The Great Gazzoon



Fresh ‘Gazzoon’ tunes for fun family time!

If you are looking for a family oriented, inspiring, entertaining musical collection, look no further than Juno nominee Rick Scott’s new musical audio novel, The Great Gazzoon: A Tall Tale With Tunes and Turbulence.  With over four hours of narration, poetry, music and song, The Great Gazzoon features 60 colourful chapters and 22 characters who unfold the adventure of how one boy’s love of music overcomes his fear and transforms his community.  Not only is the four-disc set intended for multiple generations, it is a cross-generation Vancouver Island collaboration. Sound engineer Anthony Maki turned Rick Scott and Valley Hennell’s log home on Protection Island into a recording studio for 25 actors, singers and musicians, playing instruments ranging from violin and cello to kalimba, kora and didgeridoo.

Players range from 7 to 75, from veterans to newcomers. Scott, inspired by facing his fear of tightrope walking, narrates and plays eight roles. Hennell co-wrote and produced. Chanteuse Joelle Rabu sings punk rock as an angry Wind and reigns as the Queen, with Mike Matthews as compassionate King. Nico Rhodes plays piano and horns. Marty Shepard provides trumpet fanfares and his son Kyle Shepard, the human beatbox, creates mouth percussion and sound effects. David Essig, Trish Clair and Shelly Brown combine talents as the lively Footflap Orchestra. Sydney’s John Payne doubles as wily villain Lord Grot and Gazzoon’s cheeky friend Mug. Three of Scott’s nine grandchildren play supporting roles.

The 40-page illustrated songbook, designed by Hornby Island graphic artist John McLachlan, combines 50 original paintings by Ottawa artist Linda Sandborn in a custom cardboard package. Sanborn’s paintings, works of art in their own right, really bring the characters, such as the Shnooks and Princess Pindoolah Keeper of the Alphabet, to life with vibrant colour. Recommended for age eight to ageless, for bedtime stories, family time and peace in the car on road trips, it is available from www.gazzoon.com and at Kool & Child in Nanaimo…might we also suggest the Christmas list? Upcoming concerts are on the website, too. Scott is Goodwill Ambassador for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation. His seven children’s music CDs have been honoured with three Juno nominations and Parents Choice, NAPPA Gold, iParenting Media and Canadian  Folk Music Awards. This album also won a Parents Choice Award.
The Great Gazzoon: A Tall Tales With Tunes & Turbulence, 2012, Grand Poobah Music, $35

Article reprinted with permission from Island Tide News  www.islandtides.com 


Tuesday 23 October 2012

Welcome to our new website!

We are so happy to finally have our new website up and running!  One of the great new features of our website is our blog which we've cleverly called Kool News where we can let you know about Kool things happening around the store!  One of the most exciting new products we have is called Elf Magic.  We were quite unprepared for the buzz surrounding these cute little Elves which help prepare your child for Christmas.  We are proud to be an official North Pole Supply Post.  Elf Magic elves "magically" arrive in homes between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, bringing a genuine warmth and closeness with the home, sparking imagination and creating memories that last a lifetime.