New Music from Charity and the JAMband: "Pancakes"

A few months back, I let you know about San Francisco's Charity and the JAMband decision to start offering monthly free downloads at their website. Well, they're still going, and in case the past few slower-tempo songs were, well, not quite jam-my enough, the April Song of the Month might be up your alley. "Pancakes" is as close as the band gets to a rave-up, telling the story of how pancakes are made from the very beginning. A fun song to listen to while making pancakes, even you're assembling them from Bisquick. (And if you've missed the other songs, go back and get 'em here.)

Listen To This: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - Charity and the JAMband

San Francisco's Charity and the JAMband has always been good about offering mp3s on their website, and now word comes from Charity that she's going to be offering these on a monthly basis.

The first one, for December, is a sweet little acoustic expansion of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Definitely worth the time to listen (and download). Sign up at the top of the page to be notified of future downloads.

Owls and Bogs: New Music from Charity and the JAMband

It's been awhile since we've heard from San Francisco's Charity and the JAMband, but Charity's just posted on her website a couple of tracks that she says are "a couple of the most-loved songs from my kids' time" at their preschool. You can stream or download a peppy "Rattlin' Bog" or a very atmospheric Wise Old Owl", along with chord/lyric sheets.

And for those of you wondering when we'll get another funky full album, she notes in her newsletter that it's...

"just about ready for the world. I've been singing about sunsets and moons and stars and dreams and owls and the light and love that inevitably shine through, despite, and because of the darkness."

She also is reluctant to call it a CD and calls it a playlist instead. But I'm gonna call it a CD -- I'm old school like that.

An Open Letter to Residents of Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

So I've been getting newsletters from Elizabeth Mitchell on a regular basis talking about her late summer tour of the West Coast. I knew, therefore, that she was going to be singing with Renee & Jeremy earlier this month (Suni Paz in LA was a surprise) and Frances England and Charity Kahn this past weekend. I even knew (I think) that she was going to sing with Justin Roberts last month. (They sang the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning.")

What I didn't expect is that nobody was going to upload any video to the Internet. C'mon, people! I don't have one of those fancy iPhones or other cell phones with a camera in them, but somebody out there must've gone to the show with one in hand.

And now I hear that the lads from Recess Monkey are going to be joining Elizabeth on stage for their shows in Seattle this Saturday.

Seattle -- you can do it! Video! Video! Video! (Hey, I gave you, like, fiveRecess Monkey videos.)

(Note: Unless, of course, recording is expressly prohibited by the terms and conditions of the ticket entry. Then, er, forget I ever asked.)

A Last-Minute Valentine's Day Gift (or Two)

Never called the florist? Didn't have time to buy chocolate? Oh, well, the Internet has provided a couple free mp3s for your listening pleasure.

First up, Charity Kahn from the Bay Area-basedCharity and the JAMband has posted "Moon Hug," a mellow love song just as appropriate for a parental mash note to a child. Kahn says in an e-mail that she's working on a new album and the track is from that upcoming album.

And, across the Bay, the Hipwaders have posted "Valentine" at their Myspace page. It's more of a puppy-love song straight out of the '60s.

Both are available for download today only...