After two years of filming elaborate dance numbers, miniature candy-carnivals, tap-dancing robots and poolside chickens, New York's underground rock band for kids, The Jimmies, whose sound New York Magazine describes as "bubble-gum-meets-indie," will unveil their much-anticipated Trying Funny Stuff DVD on November 3. Released on singer and band mastermind, Ashley Albert's own Pluckypea Records, the collection features The Jimmies' songs, music videos, a 45-minute live concert, karaoke sing-a-longs, a bonus live CD and a "Film 101" behind-the-scenes documentary on how the videos were made.
Trying Funny Stuff captures The Jimmies' signature blend of sophisticated imagery, laugh-out-loud humor and subtle lessons (like how to sneeze into your arm, set a tadpole free and layer in the wintertime).
Also on November 3, The Jimmies will make available nationally for the first time their Parents' Choice and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award-winning debut CD, Make Your Own Someday. The critically acclaimed album-which was initially distributed out of Albert's living room-garnered national visibility as it hit 1 twice on Sirius/XM Radio's kids' music chart and earned the band spots performing at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Festival.
It's been three years since The Jimmies accidentally began, when someone tried to hire Albert's non-existent kindie-rock band. Instead of coming clean, Albert tried her hand at songwriting and flew down to Miami to produce the album with her dad and uncle-veteran record producers, Howard and Ron Albert-at their studio, Audio Vision. She then returned to New York, found a band, started dreaming up videos with Trying Funny Stuff director/co-producer, Michael Slavens, bought a bubble gun and a groundhog puppet and never looked back.
When she's not working on The Jimmies, Ashley spends her days as a voice-over actress for cartoons, commercials, books-on-tape & television shows. At any given moment, you might hear her telling you about the whole-grain goodness of Lucky Charms, the virtues of McDonald's Filet-o-Fish or what's coming up next on HGTV, MTV or Nickelodeon. She also has a lucky peanut. And it works.
