How can I order The Monkey Dance?

1. Order the CD online: The Monkey Dance CD is available for sale through Amazon.com for $11.99, plus shipping.  Just click HERE. 

2. Download the songs:  You can also download individual tracks or the whole album from I-Tunes and from Amazon.com.

3. U.S. Post:  If you prefer regular old mail, please mail us a note indicating how many copies of the Monkey Dance you would like, your name and address, and a check made out The Sweet Colleens for $12 per CD plus $3 for shipping.  Mail it to The Sweet Colleens, 133 First Ave. N., Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55401.

4. Come to one of our shows! You can always buy a copy of The Monkey Dance or any of our other CDs at our live shows!

What can you tell me about The Monkey Dance?

Holy schmokes…where to even begin!  The Monkey Dance is the first kids CD released by the Minneapolis-based Celtic-folk-pop favorites The Sweet Colleens.  We celebrated the release with two concerts in January 2010 to capacity crowds (including an awesome 8-and-under mosh pit!) at the legendary Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Joining the band on stage was the Minneapolis Youth Chorus, a fantastic non-profit kids choir featured on several tracks of the band’s new CD.  Here are some photos of the concerts.

The CD has 9 songs (10 if you include the mysterious hidden track on the CD…shhhh), which we selected with kids age 2 to 9 in mind; however, as with CDs by artists such as Dan Zanes, kids aged 9 to 99 will enjoy this record too!  Featuring The Sweet Colleens’ classic rootsy sound, the mostly original songs range in style from funky (The Monkey Dance) to folky (Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Baby), Cajun (No Beans, No Brownie) to Caribbean (Going on a Road Trip), sad (The Golden Vanity) to Celtic (the lullaby Da Doo) to…well…just plain gross (Big Fat Wet and Goopy Poopy Diaper).

You can watch a performance and an interview all about the CD that we gave on the Minnesota TV station KARE 11 the week before the CD came out.  Click HERE to watch the video.  Feedback on the CD so far has been wonderful!  Here are a couple comments:

• “5 out of 5: my children loved this album and play it constantly." (online purchaser)
• “5 out of 5: The best music ever!! My 10 month grandson listens to it many times a day and is starting to know the songs by grown-ups saying the words to the songs before we even put on the c.d. Lots of fun!" (online purchaser)
• “We LOVED the concert last week and now know all your songs by heart :-) Great job with the CD.  So glad you have now replaced the Wiggles in our house!” (Facebook fan)
• Here is a review of the CD by a writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• And probably the biggest compliment we’ve received?  Check out this recording sent to us from 3-year-old Charlotte, who has “Goopy Poopy Diaper” down cold. Nice work, Charlotte!

Who are The Sweet Colleens (and why are there no “Colleens” in the band)?

The Sweet Colleens are five musicians—Jeremy Greenhouse, Pete Sandvik, Dave Bade, Wolf Loescher, and Dave Bille—who between them play a ton of musical instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle, mandolin, bass guitar, accordion, harmonica, and all sorts of drums.  You can hear all of these instruments on The Monkey Dance.  Our sound has been described as a “high-energy, infectious, and crowd-pleasing mix of Celtic folk-rock and alt. county/Americana, with Cajun and Caribbean seasonings.”  That’s pretty close!  We have released several CDs of our songs and instrumentals and performed them in all sorts of places, but this is our first CD especially for kids.  (Here’s a video of us playing a song off one of our other CDs.) As for the lack of “Colleens”… it’s complicated!  We first heard the expression in the beautiful Irish song The Star of the County Down (“no maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen I met in the County Down”) and thought it would make a good band name.

Can I listen to some of the Monkey Dance songs online?

Definitely! You can hear excerpts from all of the songs on Amazon
or iTunes.

When and where do The Sweet Colleens perform concerts for kids?

In addition to our regular performing schedule, we play a number of kids concerts each year.  For up-to-date information on dates and times, please see the “On Tap” section of our website, or visit our Facebook page.

How can I receive information on The Sweet Colleens concerts and recordings?

We would love to let you know about upcoming events!  Here are three good ways:

1. Sign up for our eblast:  We regularly send out a sweet email newsletter, announcing shows, band news, providing links to reviews, etc.  To receive the eblast, Sign up here.   

2. Join our Facebook fan page:  We have a Facebook page, which is a ton of fun.  You can get to that page by clicking HERE.  We would love to have you as our “friend.” You can see pictures, videos (check out the one of Pete in the Monkey suit… ahem!), see comments from other listeners, get regular updates.

3. Check our Website:  We keep our website, www.sweetcolleens.com, as updated as possible and will also update this page with news and other information.

How Can I contact the band?

We always love to hear from people who listen to our music! To send us a message, you can email us at jgreenhouse@greenhousegram.com, or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Who should I call about booking The Sweet Colleens for a show?

For questions about booking the Sweet Colleens, to arrange interviews, or for any other information, please contact us at 612-501-5567; jgreenhouse@greenhousegram.com; or visit www.sweetcolleens.com.

Hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows!
And don’t forget your Monkey-Dancing shoes!!