Justin Roberts and The Not Ready for Naptime Players

 Justin Roberts is truly one of the "all-stars" of the indie family music scene. He logs thousands of miles on the road each year, leading some to call him the hardest working man in children's show business. With numerous national awards and recognition and a devoted fan base, Justin and The Not Ready for Naptime Players dish out unexpectedly intelligent and whimsically rocking music for kids and their parents.

Mr. Robert’s latest GRAMMY Nominated CD Jungle Gym ascends through the collective memories of childhood: from the joys of trick or treating and gym class parachutes and sleepovers to the magic stillness of snow days. The recording takes listeners on a journey through iconic experiences that kids will relate to and parents will remember. It's an often funny and rocking ride: from magic moments sailing on a moonlit cardboard box, through the temporary trauma of getting lost, to the anticipation and wonder of a school fire drill. Giant pounding drums, vintage electric guitars, strange and fanciful time changes, soaring vocals and elegant French horns conquer the heights of the jungle gym.

This seventh family music CD from Justin Roberts continues a hot streak that started in the early 1990s. Roberts began his music  career in the Minneapolis-based indie-rock band Pimentos for Gus. He decided to moonlight (during the day) as a Montessori preschool teacher. It wasn't long before Mr. Roberts began writing and singing songs for a new generation of fans: his students. The kids immediately responded and inspired Mr. Roberts to record some of his new songs and send them out to a few friends for Christmas. One of the gift recipients was Liam Davis, a college pal and music producer, who suggested that they record the songs professionally.

In 1998, Mr. Roberts released his first CD, Great Big Sun, and the critics took note. Justin's music was soon being compared to everyone from Elvis Costello and Fountains of Wayne to Paul Simon, ELO and Nick Lowe. By 2001, Mr. Roberts had hit the road full time, doing what he loves most: playing music for appreciative crowds. Kiddie mosh pits broke out, word spread and shows started selling out. He has played at such renowned venues and festivals as NYC's Symphony Space, DC's National Geographic Live, LA's Getty Museum, Seattle's Moore Theater, Lollapalooza and Chicago's Ravinia.

Mr. Roberts has performed in front of millions of people on The Today Show, he's featured on Nick Jr. TV, and his song "Get Me Some Glasses" was featured on a World Series broadcast. He's also garnered kudos and raves from national media including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, People, Entertainment Weekly, and the Chicago Tribune. 

Once again, Justin Roberts raises the bar for family music with a playground full of bright new songs for parents and kids to enjoy together. Whether you're playing the familiar game Duck Duck Goose ("We Go Duck") in a new way or saying a wistful goodbye to your trusty bed as you leave for "Sleepoverland," Jungle Gym provides a memorable soundtrack for the way families live today. 

Mr. Roberts has just released his first collection of original nighttime songs for families. Lullaby is for those wee small hours just before bedtime. Lullaby’s ten new songs present an unusual mix of genres, including elegant moments of chamber music, snatches of ‘70s soft rock, and sleepy bossa nova and R&B grooves.

Liam Davis (a/k/a Thunder Thighs) loves to ride his bike (like Jackie) and watch baseball games(like Gerald) whenever possible. Mr. Davis also enjoys vanilla milkshakes and (like Dave) a good Turkey Reuben. When Mr. Davis met Justin Roberts, people still used typewriters, cell phones were as big as burritos, and everyone watched movies on TAPE! Can you BELIEVE it?? Mr. Davis helps Justin Roberts make the sounds on the CDs that you hear in your car or in your house, and that's why he's called a "producer". Mr. Davis’s favorite song to listen to is "2X4" from the upcoming Jungle Gym album, but his favorite songs to PLAY are the totally ROCKIN' numbers, you know.

Mr. Davis is very proud to be a Not Ready For Naptime Player but also must confess that sometimes, after traveling all over the country playing his guitar and listening to Willy the whale's shenanigans, he is actually ready for a Nap.

Gerald Dowd (a/k/a The Monocle) is the first drummer in family music to sport not one, but TWO beards. That's right: underneath Mr. Dowd's "top" beard lies an auxiliary beard (known as "Beard #2"), just in case anything were to happen to the first beard. And even though sometimes they might get a little long and unruly, his wife and two boys tolerate these beards. They worry sometimes that when he’s cooking dinner, one of his beards might accidentally come loose and SPLORT! fall right into the spaghetti sauce. "Fear not!" He shouts, "I'm wearing my handy-dandy BeardNet2000™!" It's an all-purpose beard net which keeps my beards safe and sound behind a thin layer of some kind of space-age polymer. This bit of information seems to be of great comfort to his family.

But enough about beards! As a fan of anything talking-animal related, he is naturally drawn to Justin's song "Willy Was A Whale." However, since he’s also a huge baseball nut, he feels a particular affinity towards "Pop Fly". He loves the way in which (if you listen closely to the sub-text of the lyrics) you can hear Mr. Roberts sing passionately, and quite eloquently, about how great the Boston Red Sox are, and how excited he is about the acquisition of John Lackey to bolster their rotation, and how if everyone on the team stays healthy, their march to the post-season will be unstoppable!

At least Mr. Dowd thinks that's what he's saying.