Listen to our Debut album - "My Purple Fox"
Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies welcomes you online... well we don't actually exist online, we are real people... well kinda. We love the funk. Do you love the funk? Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies will get you dancing in the street! of course if the street is closed off, because you don't want to be in the street, unless of course you are safely crossing the street at the intersection after looking both ways and holding your buddy's hand...
Alright Purple Foxers! I'm sticking to the plan! Here is the latest Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies music video, Red Hot Hot Rod!
And keeping with my timeline (and my birthday wishes), I'm starting the recording for the next album tomorrow!!
But, come out and see us at the end of the month for the Eggstavanza in Central Park, San Mateo, CA.. hitting the stage at noon..
March 31st 12pm-1pm
yours truly,
Purple Fox Josh
Hey all you Purple Foxers, have you wondered what we do while we are in between shows? (Our next one, by the way is a birthday party this weekend)...
Well, I'm glad you asked! Purple Fox Josh here, and while we aren't on the stage and interacting with all you Purple Foxers in the audience, I'm editing videos for our songs. And you gotta see our latest two I just put out!
Red Hot Lava Lyric Video:
I Got Mad Style Lyric Video:
Please leave a comment, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel, we wanna hear what you think!
yours truly,
Purple Fox Josh
Hey all you Purple Foxers! How are you doing? I feel like we haven't seen you in AGES! Can we have a playdate this Friday at an ALL AGES show in San Carlos? It's the Week of the Family, and San Carlos Youth Center is going to be hopping with your favorite Children's FUNk band for your movin' and shaken'!
Come dance with us!
Fri, Feb 2, 2018 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
San Carlos Youth Center
1001 Chestnut St, San Carlos, CA 94070, USA
FREE!
yours truly,
Purple Fox Josh
https://www.mypurplefox.com/
My Purple Foxers! Have you seen our latest music video? I know we aren't at a million views, but 10,000 views made the cheese fall off my cracker! Allakazoo!
Apparently we are getting popular in Venezuela. :-D Perhaps a tour of the Americas is in our future! In the meantime, a tour of your living room with a Live Like a Champion dance party might happen right about now (at least in our living room).....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrRH2NG5N0
Hello all you Purple Foxers! What did you do over the holiday break? Did you go somewhere fun? I was editing our latest music video (which is almost to our release!) and hanging out with Jude and Jozy reading a ton of books while we were sick. At least we had good company, right? Well, it's a rainy day today, so I won't be able to do much playing outside.
We got a great review of our latest album by MrJeff2000:
http://mrjeff2000.blogspot.com/2017/12/quick-hits-groovy-purple-fox-para-doxs.html
aaaaaaand..... We have a radio interview coming up on Jan 20th, and more videos in the works, looking forward to sharing with all of you!
best wishes,
Purple Fox Josh
I am sooooo excited, we are almost done writing the material for our next album. To be released in June 2018! Our working title is the name of one of our songs, any guesses? We have a fun live performance on our YouTube channel...
In the meantime, I've been also video editing ... almost done with a Lyric video for I Love You, Infinity.... Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the in the moment update when we post!! We need 49 more subscribers until we can claim youtube.com/mypurplefox... wanna help us out? Plus I know you wanna get the latest up to the moment PING! when we release our next video....
I mean, look at our URL name now, kinda hard to remember, but at least it will get you there:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYvbBpl6YUQVDMuXEmXlxcQ
We miss you dearly, Purple Foxers, but it won't be long before we see you after a show. I do believe we have found our cycle... Play live Feb - Oct, back to the studio Nov - Jan ... Just know we aren't hibernating! I will be more active on this blog to update progress on our recordings, videos, books, and general love of life... ;0)
in light,
Purple Fox Josh
Hello my Purple Foxers! and Greetings from Los Angeles! I am here at the birthplace of Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies, the TAXI Road Rally... This is where it all began! One night in my portable recording studio (hotel room), I got 7 songwriters together that had never written a Children's song, to do just that. That was the first song for PFatHJ "I Love You Jude (Pull My Hair)", which you can see the video for in the Media section of the website with some sweet stop motion animation that Jason Shelley and I created last year. And those vocals by the totally talented Nell Maynard!
Okay, just a quick hello... I need to get back to the rally and find my next collaborators!!
yours truly,
Purple Fox Josh
Submitted for best children's album for the 60th Grammy Awards and voting members of the academy please consider voting for the album.
Nominees are announced 11/28.
Album Notes
There was a void to fill. A good funk album for kids. Here it is. The music stands on it's own. Just. Hit. Play.
1. Red Hot Lava (2:36)
written by Brett Warren, Andrew Levin, and Josh Friedman lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
claps and additional vocals: Brett Warren and Josh Friedman alto and tenor saxophones: Kenny Schick
lead electric guitar: Andrew Levin
rhythm guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
organ and Juno synthesizer: Max Cowan
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- inspired by morning freestyling to and from Kindergarten with my son Jude. 20 minutes one way, that’s a lot of opportunities to burn the socks right out your shoes! I took the idea to Brett Warren, whom will never admit that he writes pop music. We finished writing and recording the original demo in a couple hours. Later, after I had about 15 demo tracks for the album, I brought Clay Bandy to Gadgetbox studios in Santa Cruz and had him record some live drums. I just played the Apple loops I used for the demos, and had him record 3 different variations on each of the 15 loops. He didn’t really know what song he was recording, just variations on the loops. Then I took all those recordings and cut them up for the final recording. Can you tell? I sure can’t. What a fun process, that was the first time I’ve done the final drum recording without having the drummer learn the exact part. It was far out!
- Andrew Levin showed up to the studio at our last recording session, “Hey, sounds good. You want me to record something?” and who could say no to that guy? He had some great ideas, we included him as a writer for the song. Getting some hired guns on the rest of the track, this was the first round, and by far not the last, of saxophone tracks I got Kenny Schick to record. I went up to Berkeley to hang out with Max Cowan is his, “room that would make Stevie Wonder drool”. We ended up only recording on 2 of the infinity keyboards at his place that session.
2. My Purple Fox (3:06)
written by Cameron Stymeist, The Land of Deborah, and Josh Friedman
lead vocals: Josh Friedman
vocoder: Josh Friedman and Max Cowan
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
featured children’s vocals: Dylan Shelley, Levi Shelley, Jude Friedman, and Jozy Friedman alto and tenor saxophones: Kenny Schick
slide whistle: Jude Friedman
electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- on first meeting Cameron Stymeist at the TAXI Road Rally in Los Angeles, CA, it didn’t take long before we were collaborating. The main hook My Purple Fox was pretty much written on the 15 minute walk from our meeting spot to the demo recording in my hotel room / portable recording studio. We ran into The Land of Deborah along the way, “what are you guys up to?” she said. “Oh, we are in the middle of writing a song,” said me. “Wanna join in?” She did.
3. Live Like a Champion (2:56)
written by Iari Melchor, Marcus Barone, and Josh Friedman lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
featured children’s vocals: Dylan Shelley, Levi Shelley, Jude Friedman, and Jozy Friedman alto and tenor saxophones: Kenny Schick
organ and synthesizer: Max Cowan
electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- this song’s first life was going to be for the Summer Olympics 2016. Hired Beth Griffith to sing the powerful lead vocals. Turned it into a funk tune for kids!
4. I Got Mad Style (3:15)
written by Jessie Alsop and Josh Friedman
lead vocals: Jessie Alsop and Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
additional vocals: Kristen Cardiasmenos, Katie Brunner-Post
children’s vocals: Penelope Strong, Felicity Strong, Jude Friedman, and Jozy Friedman alto and tenor saxophones: Kenny Schick
electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- Jessie was there in the beginning. TAXI Road Rally 2014 was when Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies was born. I met Jessie Alsop in the registration line. She was there with her writing partner Richard Scott Naylor, with their writing project, “Echo Pirates”. I was with my writing partner Paul Goldowitz with our writing project, “Time Bandits”. Of course we needed to collaborate, I mean what is the alternative with the meeting of the Echo Pirates and the Time Bandits? That’s where we wrote the first song, “I Love You Jude, but I Hate it When You Pull My Hair”. That one didn’t make it on this album, but it is in the running for the next one.
5. 123 to Infinity (1:56)
written by Juma Spears, Joy Villa, Rachel Lynn Sebastian, and Josh Friedman lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones: Kenny Schick
lead electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
rhythm electric guitar: Andrew Levin
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- This was the second song that was written at the TAXI Road Rally in 2014. The second night, I knew I was onto something, and I knew it was big. I mean BIG. And bigger than me. I knew this was a movement. My goal was to get as many songwriters as possible. To collaborate. Especially the songwriters who never wrote kids song. Writing good songs, clean songs. Changing the kids music industry one song at a time. That’s what this song is about. This was also the birth of my record label, 8th Dynamic Records. My hotel room was on the 8th floor. Room 828 (or if you read it differently, Infinity to Infinity). Oh yeah, it was real.
6. Red Hot Hot Rod (2:34)
written by Brett Warren and Josh Friedman lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones: Kenny Schick organ: Max Cowan
electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- It’s electric! Commissioned by Robert Hammer to write a song. I got some inspiration from his love of cars.
7. Sugar (1:37)
written by Brett Warren and Josh Friedman
lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones: Kenny Schick electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- I don’t know about you, but my kids love pretty much anything with sugar. Although eating sugar is not the best thing in the world, it has definitely taught them about brushing their teeth! If you don’t wanna brush all your teeth, only brush the one’s that you wanna keep!
8. Chocolate Cake (0:12)
narrated by Jude Friedman
original classical guitar piece, “The Five Step” composed and performed by Josh Friedman
- Jude is a great teller of jokes. Pair that with one of the guitar studies that I wrote and recorded, “The Five Step”. Sheet music can be found in Josh’s Flash Pack, 20 guitar studies for the modern classical guitarist.
9. Funky Fox (0:27)
written by Brett Warren and Josh Friedman bass: Brett Warren
programming: Josh Friedman
- This is a song that Brett and I have yet to completely develop. Originally titled “Dad’s Cup of Coffee,” we didn’t want to make it just a dad thing. Or a coffee thing. And it is definitely funky thing. Hence, the name change.
10. The Flute Song (2:00)
written by Josh Friedman
lead vocals: Jessie Alsop and Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
children’s vocals: Dylan Shelley, Levi Shelley, Jude Friedman, and Jozy Friedman piccolo, shakuhachi, contrabass, alto, dizi, native american and C flutes: Meerenai Shim bass: Brett Warren
drums: Clay Bandy
- Meerenai Shim is my hero. She is one of the hardest working musicians I know. She commissioned me to write a song. So I hired her to record the flute parts. And that was just some of the flutes she plays.
11. The Question (0:16) narrated by Jude Friedman
original classical guitar piece, “Chimera” composed and performed by Josh Friedman
- Jude is also great teller of riddles. And pair that with one of the guitar studies that I wrote and recorded, “Chimera”. Sheet music can be found in Josh’s Monster Pack, 20 simple guitar studies for the modern classical guitarist.
12. I Love You, Infinity (1:36)
written by Mike Lounibos and Josh Friedman
lead vocals: Josh Friedman
harmony vocals: Lucie Blue Duffort
electric guitar: Kristen Cardiasmenos
ukulele: Josh Friedman
bass: Brett Warren
Logic drummer: Benny on the Motown Revisited kit, variations with the Stacks beat preset
- I reserved this song collaboration for Mike. Mike knows love. Mike knows kids. And Mike knows about what it takes to nurture kids with love everyday. The music for this one was fun to write. Mike basically took the melody, I took the chord progression, and we crafted it together, back and forth, beautifully contoured. I kept the original demo drums on this one, it just felt right.
all drums by Clay Bandy recorded at Gadgetbox Studios in Santa Cruz, CA.
Audio Engineer Colin Atkinson, produced by Josh Friedman
organ, Juno, and vocoder recorded at Max Cowan’s place, produced by Max Cowan and Josh Friedman
all other instruments recorded at Josh Friedman’s studio.
all tracks produced, edited and mixed by Josh Friedman
mastering: LANDR
- all liner notes written by Josh Friedman, edited by Linda Yelnick, manager.
...and if you want to know a little more about the back story....
Beautifully written by Paul Freeman of the Mercury News:
"Josh Friedman has had his share of serious music. Now it’s all about fun. He studied classical guitar and composition. But with colorful outfits, catchy songs and energetic fellow musicians, he’s happily fronting the kids band Purple Fox and The Heebie Jeebies.
“We just want to be entertaining. I love seeing people smile and dance in the audience. If I can entertain kids from 2 all the way through adults, that’s a success. We just played Hometown Days in San Carlos, and teenagers gave me high-fives,” Friedman says, laughing.
The band presents a participatory show with a sound fueled by horns and funk, mixing in elements of rock and hip-hop.
“That’s what makes me dance,” Friedman says. “And if people see me having a good time, that inspires them to have fun, too.”
Growing up in San Diego, Friedman was entranced by music, even as a small child. “One of my earliest childhood memories, my dad would put on 45s like The Who’s ‘Who Are You?’ and I would dance in circles around the room.”
In addition to rock, funk and dance records, Friedman was a huge fan of Swedish electric harpist Andreas Vollenweider. “I’ve always loved a wide range of music.”
He moved north to attend UC-Santa Cruz, earning a masters in music composition.
“I wrote tons of music for wild and crazy ensembles. I wrote a concert for guitar that went through a looper. I wrote a piece for juggler and Disklavier (a modern version of a player piano). “To tell you the truth, I never really had a strong end game,” he says, laughing. “I’ve been having fun with music. And that’s what’s gotten me to where I am now.”
After marrying and moving to Mountain View, Friedman joined the progressive rock band Fractal. In 2014, he started Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies. He had been writing pop songs, pitching them to established artists. Then he had an epiphany.
“I realized I needed to switch gears and write fun kids music. My muses are my kids. So that evening I wrote a song called, “I Love You Jude, But I Hate When You Pull My Hair.”
He lives in Sunnyvale with his trumpeter wife Jessica Morgan, 7-year-old, drumming, singing son Jude; and 5-year-old daughter Jozy. Jess and Jude perform with the Heebie Jeebies. Every weekday, when he’s walking Jude to elementary school, Friedman works on music ideas with him.
The name Purple Fox came from Jozy’s favorite color and favorite animal. Bassist Brett Warren dreamed up the Heebie Jeebies portion of the monicker.
The band’s first single, “Red Hot Lava,” is available on iTunes and CDBaby. Their debut album is due in July.
“I’ve been telling people that we already won the Grammy for Best Children’s Album for 2018 and 2019, that I came back from a time machine and told myself what I had to do. So I just have to fulfill that,” he says, laughing.
As for the repertoire Friedman creates, he says, “It’s not really an educational band. We do songs about love, kindness, respect, enjoying friendship.”
Musically, he keeps it interesting. “We can make it really fun without having to simplify it too much. The bass player is playing the style that Flea and Les Claypool play. And the guitarist (Kristen Cardiamenos) is playing intricate, funk guitar lines. So the music can be complex and tasty. That’s rewarding for the audience, but also for me, being able to craft a good song and play with high quality musicians.”
He has co-written a children’s book (with author Russ Towne and illustrator Christina Cartwright), “Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies,” available at shows and through the band’s website. “The book talks about how music can bring happiness to your life … and also to not eat too many sweets.”
Through the MidPen Media Center, Friedman creates the imaginative kids show “Afternoon Snack,” a local cable access program that can be viewed on YouTube.
At his main teaching location, a Los Altos suite, where he has set up a recording studio, Friedman gives private lessons in ukulele, guitar, singing, music composition and theory (www.myteacherjosh.com).
As a session musician, he has played for diverse artists, including chamber music’s Saint Michael Trio. Friedman has served as a manager for the Palo Alto chapter of West Coast Songwriters. His grown-up songs have earned placements in TV and films. But his main focus now is Purple Fox and The Heebie Jeebies.
Father, husband, children’s performer, rock musician, TV host, composer, teacher, author — so many hats! It’s enough to give a guy the Heebie Jeebies.
“I’m a Josh of all trades. I don’t have a lot of down time,” Friedman says, laughing. “I enjoy all the parts of my life.”
Power to the Purple, Purple Foxers! A big big thank you to all of you coming up to us after the last show. We had so much fun signing all of your new coloring books!
Did you know that Friday was the release of our latest single "Forever Everyday":
and you can listen to our first single RED HOT LAVA
Our TV show Afternoon Snack won Best Children's Community TV show by an independent producer in the nation in the Hometown Media Awards 2017!
Watch the winning episode featuring Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies
Purple Fox Josh will be attending the award ceremony in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 13th! Be sure to check our Instagram...
Our next BIG show is July 29 in Palo Alto:
Mitchell Park, Palo Alto CA
Sat, Jul 29 @ 6:30 PM — 8:00 PM
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/31/hes-got-the-heebie-jeebies-and-the-purple-fox/
After reading those write ups, even I want to see this band bring the FUNk! See you Sunday 2:30pm-4pm at Washington Park in Burlingame!
Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies will be a 7 piece! Purple Fox Josh, Messy Jessy on Trumpet, Lucie Blue and Ariel Estebez backing vocals and crowd surfing, Kristen Cardiasmenos playing that FUNky guitar right! Brett Warren on Bass and Plumber Drummer on... oooh I forget what he plays. Can you remind me?
Power to the Purple!
Purple Fox Josh