Pete Sinjin will be celebrating his new family album, House of Song, with a full band performance and party on Sunday, November 8th at The Bell House (149 7th St, Brooklyn). "Hootenanny Pete" is a beloved Brooklyn treasure, especially to the littlest Brooklynites and their parents. He and his wife Kira opened the Hootenanny Art House in 2007, instilling a love for music in thousands of children in the community. The community they've built through song, supported the making of House of Song by supporting Pete and Kira's Kickstarter campaign which included homemade, hand-delivered chocolate cookies in addition to music. In 13 days the project made 150% of its goal and the album release celebration attracted more than 400 people.
House of Song is a record for families, as opposed to a 'kids' record. It's a record designed to inspire and to motivate, to dance to and sing to. The songs on the album feature a big sound with full instrumentation as well as an emotional range that is wide and diverse. Pete explains, "The original inspiration for House of Song came about while walking the streets of NYC and recognizing the diversity of its people. From there came the notion of a house that invited and celebrated 'all people, all races, all colors, all faces'. A gathering place where everyone could find themselves singing in harmony and raising the rooftop with the spirit of love and acceptance."
The album starts off with Pete's solitary voice singing," I'm gonna build myself a house of song" and he is shortly joined by a banjo then drums, accordion and handclaps fall in line to build into a full-on New
Orleans style street parade and we are all encouraged to join in. Pete leads the parade through songs with universal themes that encourage hope and creativity, a trip to Coney Island for the "Mermaid Parade" and odes to Pete's heroes
Pete Seeger on "Poem for Pete" and Lou Gehrig, "Luckiest Man (The Ballad of Lou Gehrig)". The album ends with a big dance party to "Olly Ollie Oxen Free," using that call from childhood games to encourage everyone to be who you are, cast off your fears, and don't be ashamed of what you are inside...in other words, come out! Celebrate that person and join the party.
Pete states, "This album invites all of us, big and little, old and young, to find our spirit to grow, to create, to make friends, to celebrate and honor life's heroes, to honor your own self, whoever that may be, and to take part in making a better world."
House of Song was co-produced by Sinjin and Riley McMahon, and recorded at Riley's New Warsaw studio in Bushwick. Sinjin and McMahon were joined by Liam Hurley (Josh Ritter) on drums, Shane Endsley (Ani Difranco) on trumpets, Jay Foote (Lone Bellow) on bass, and Tony Lauria (Spottiswoode and his Enemies) on accordion.
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