About Johnny B.

After about 20 years playing in folk/rock bands, I never expected my first solo release to
be a kids’ record. You know... I sort of pictured myself as a rock star and never imagined
that the first song on my first CD would be “If You’re Happy and You Know it.” BUT Maura and I
had a baby boy named Tobias and... well... I started listening to kids’ music a lot and found
that I was wishing for something a little more organic and fresh.

My family is in Seattle and we enjoy singing, running around outside, going to the park and riding bikes
among other things...

A recent show at The Land of Nod in Seattle

Reviews and Feedback

From ParentMap magazine, January 2007:
Hootenanny, Johnny Bregar. Home-grown folk revival from a Ballard dad who knows how to get feet stomping! Bregar's second album includes a mix of covers and originals, including the sweetly evocative "Summertime" and the bluesy "Blackberry Pie." With neighborhood kids singing back-up to Bregar's laid-back vocals, Hootenanny is that rarest of discs that appeals to all ages. Just try to sit still! $13.50, www.johnnybregar.com

From Zooglobble, December 2006:
After hearing his debut kids' CD Stomp Yer Feet!, I saddled the Seattle-based musician Johnny Bregar with perhaps an unfortunate tag -- the next Raffi. I considered it a compliment, thinking of Bregar's gifted voice and occasionally soulful reinterpretation of preschooler classics, but there are enough people out there who have such a knee-jerk reaction to the mere mention of Raffi's name that I didn't expect it to be a marketing gold mine.

On his second album for kids, the just-released Hootenanny, Bregar neatly escapes the "next Raffi" tag by pitching his songs at a slightly older crowd. Gone are toddler classics such as "If You're Happy and You Know It" or "I've Been Working on the Railroad," in are folk classics for a slightly older crowd -- the revved-up album opener "Old Dan Tucker" or the straight-up folk last track "Eastbound Freight Train." The younger kids aren't completely ignored -- somewhere Dr. John is crossing "Miss Mary Mack" off his songs-to-record list because Bregar's soulful version will work just as well -- but this time they're the exception and not the rule. I also like his gently bouncing version of "Don't Fence Me In," with an occasional kids' chorus that suggests the lyrics don't just apply to adult cowboys.

Bregar puts a few more original songs on the new album, and for the most part, they're very good. Songs like "Best Friend" and "Airplane" speak to aspirations of five-year-olds. If there's a drawback to the songs, which sound great, is that they're all very Adult Album Alternative-sounding. As opposed to the goofiness of, say, "Pancakes" or "Blah de la" off Stomp Yer Feet!, the songs here are all very polished and may or may not capture kids' fancies.

The album's musicianship is always first-rate, and Bregar has a great voice, one of those things you don't appreciate unless you've heard a lot of kids' music and realize that there aren't that many kids' musicians with great voices. He sounds ever so slightly like Bruce Springsteen and a lot like Justin Currie, the lead singer for the '90s pop band Del Amitri -- in fact, there's even a hint of Del Amitri's sound in the album. (Should I start the rumor that Bregar is actually Currie's alter ego?)

The album's most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8. You can hear clips from both of Bregar's albums here.

Hootenanny is another strong album from Johnny Bregar, with many songs kids and their adults can enjoy. If it doesn't quite reach the heights of Stomp Yer Feet!, that's only because that album set the bar so high, and if you were scared by the "next Raffi" tag, it's OK to come back -- Bregar's now setting his own path worth following. Definitely recommended.

From ParentMap magazine, April 2006:

Out & About
By Kris Collingridge

Stomp Yer Feet!
It's music for families with parents who don't want to divide their CD collection into "ours" and "theirs." Ballard resident Johnny Bregar's kids' CD -- and his first solo release -- has the low-key sound made popular by Dan Zanes, with jazz-, blues- and folk-influenced arrangements of childhood standards and sweetly humorous original songs. (Stomp Yer Feet! got me and a car full of kids to Mount Vernon and back recently, with little wear on my nerves despite the fact that the 5-year-olds begged to hear I've Been Working on the Railroad over and over again.) Standout tracks include the beautifully written Moon -- about a child who wants to touch everything he sees -- and a gentle, singable Froggy Went A-Courtin'. Bregar's singing on the CD sounds intimate, as if he's performing for a very select group. Which he is, considering that wife Maura Ahearne, son Toby and a group of neighborhood kids, a.k.a., The Ballard Singers, provide back-up vocals (and the occasional animal noise). The release is currently available at The Land of Nod at University Village (www.landofnod.com) and through Bregar's Web site, and it's worth meandering over to pick up a copy. Remarkably Approachable Rockstars Music, 2005, $12.50. www.johnnybregar.com

From Kristine in Seattle, WA:
"...my daughter, and [her friend], both 5, really intensely (!) love the CD. It's always interesting to me how deeply kids appreciate folk/Americana/roots/old-timey tunes like the ones you cover. They just get it."

From Jen in San Francisco, CA:
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know how much the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE your CD. When Anni has a friend over she likes to put your CD on and teach her friends the songs (especially the alphabet song!!). So thank you. It's so nice to have music that we ALL enjoy listening to."

From Jenny in Bainbridge Island, WA:
"I'm a musician myself (mostly piano) and I love your CD.  With your goal being something fresh, you really did accomplish it!  My favorites are "Nine Pound Hammer" and "Moon" and Elliot's is "The Monkey and the Engineer".  I'm going to give your CD to my cousin who is pregnant with her first baby, and several other friends with little ones. Keep on groovin'!  We look forward to your next production!"

From Elizabeth in Cleveland, OH:
"I just wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying listening to your CD. Owen loves grooving to your music. He's working on his head bob and loves clapping while listening. Thanks for creating such a great kids CD. When will you put together your next CD?"

From Michelle in Wilmington, NC:
"We love the CD. It was given to us as a gift. We will definitely spread your great talent among our friends. Thanks for creating something parents can enjoy listening to as well."

From Kevin in San Francisco, CA:
"...a friend gave me your disc last night for our daughter lily - we both just love it!"

From Jonathan in Lopez Island, WA:
Your CD ROCKS! I brought it home for my son, and our whole family danced for the length of the disk. The songs are beautiful and sweet and fun. Toora Loora is my personal favorite, followed close by Pancakes! which has inspired our own bouts of improvised verse over most meals. All in all Stomp Your Feet is destined to be the sound track to some of my children's best memories of what family is about. Thanks for putting your passion out there in such a great positive way, your music is in a class all it's own!