We caught up with them during a 6abc sponsored book festival event at The Philadelphia Free Library on the Parkway. They thrilled the audience with brand new songs from their recently released children's book/cd entitled "My name is Chicken Joe".
Here is information for their latest release, along with their biography
"Grimwood and Idlet are the Lennon and McCartney of kids' music."—NPR
Four-time Grammy-nominated duo Trout Fishing in America bring the children's story My Name is Chicken Joe to life beginning April 21 when the storybook-music CD combo is released via Canadian publishing house The Secret Mountain. Trout Fishing in America have earned widespread critical praise from USA Today, Billboard and The Los Angeles Times, which touted the band as "Some of the most lyrically creative, musically sophisticated, vocally muscular music-makers in the family music business." The duo formed by Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet was also recently included in Performing Songwriter's Top 100 Most Influential Independent Performers of the Last 15 Years list.
My Name is Chicken Joe features an album of 11 previously released Trout Fishing in America songs inserted in the back cover of the book including the title track. The innovative packaging, combining a hardcover book with a CD, is ideal for young children. Featuring vivid illustrations by accomplished French-Canadian artist Stéphane Jorisch, My Name is Chicken Joe tells the whimsical story of a cat named Chicken Joe and other fun, nonsensical animals. Trout Fishing in America's lighthearted folk provides a fitting soundtrack to the story. For more information, please visit http://www.thesecretmountain.com/
Roland Stringer, founder of The Secret Mountain says of the project, "We look for songs that tell stories, music that works for both children and parents. Such is the case with Trout Fishing in America: witty lyrics that capture a child's perspective, tuneful pleasurable melodies and solid musicianship. My Name is Chicken Joe is a wonderful opportunity to introduce our Storybook-Music CD line in the U.S. with artists that have such a loyal following as family performers and truly embrace our idea of offering original stories and music for all eyes and ears!"
The Secret Mountain is dedicated to the creation of children's books, videos and audio recordings of the highest quality. Recent releases by The Secret Mountain include the acclaimed Down at the Sea Hotel, which features dream songs by icons including Neil Young, Tom Waits, Don Henley and Billy Joel as performed by roots music artists Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka and Guy Davis, among others. All titles are also available in a basic CD-Digipak format with a printable PDF file of the illustrated book; and on most music download sites.
Trout Fishing in America
Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. The name taken from a Richard Brautigan novel, seems almost as incongruent and intriguing as a picture of this musical duo - Ezra Idlet (guitar) stands six feet nine inches and Keith Grimwood (bass), five feet five and one half inches. What is more intriguing is the musical career these two have carved out in nearly three decades of writing, recording and performing together. Trout Fishing in America can look back at a body of work that is impressive and know they are just hitting their stride. On the heels of their third Grammy nomination (My Best Day, a 2006 live concert recording), and their newest release, Big Round World, it is no wonder that Trout Fishing in America sees the future as the brightest part of their successful career.
A brief history of Trout Music: Grimwood's professional musical experience began when, as the precocious teenage bass player, he began sitting in with jazz musicians who had socks older than him. Always the good student, he earned a degree in music from the University of Houston and then quickly landed a position with the Houston Symphony. By that time Idlet had given up his spot on the bench of a local junior college basketball team to pursue a life of rock & roll. It was shortly thereafter that Idlet and Grimwood met as members of the Houston based eclectic folk/rock band St. Elmo's Fire which became the perfect percolator for Trout Fishing in America. As St. Elmo's dissolved in 1979, Trout Fishing in America was officially born. Idlet and Grimwood had become best of friends and musical partners.
Success happens when opportunity meets preparation. After years of accumulating original songs and polishing their performance TFIA was ready when the CD revolution took place. TFIA was in the first wave of artist owned labels (Trout Records) to successfully record and market their own music. Their infectious mix of folk/pop and family music is tempered by the diverse influences of reggae, latin, blues, jazz and classical music. TFIA recordings have garnered three National Indie Awards and multiple Parents Choice Gold and American Library Awards as well as 3 Grammy nominations. TFIA has also expanded their touring territory to over forty states and several Canadian provinces.
Sharing knowledge and encouraging art has become another musical mission of TFIA. In the past few years they have developed a variety of song writing workshops for teachers and students which illustrate how art and music come from the fabric of everyday life. Their willingness to make fun of our most annoying and sometimes disgusting habits in one song then touch our hearts with tender and passionate images of family life in the next is what makes the connection between Trout Fishing in America and their audience so real.
Please enjoy the performance video from their show at The Philadelphia Free Library on the Parkway
You are now Tuned In to Trout Fishing In America
On the web-
http://www.myspace.com/troutfishinginamerica
Get Action News on your website