Trout Fishing In America - Big Round World

Kids' music veterans Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood deliver their 10th album for kids as the duo Trout Fishing In America.

Ezra and Keith have been making music together since the mid-'70s. Their first CD for kids was 1991's Big Trouble, released on their own Trout Records, one of the first and most successful artist-owned labels. Big Round World is their first record produced at Trout House Studio, the band's own recording studio.

Several of the 14 songs on Big Round World were inspired by or developed during a series of kids' songwriting workshops hosted by the band. The tunes "My Favorite Jeans," "Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks," "A Tiger and a Monkey and Me," "Curse of the Spinach," "The Alarm Clock Rings," "There's a Rumor Going 'Round," and "It Must Be Halloween" all came from ideas that children shared at various workshops.

Big Round World has a laid back, mostly acoustic sound, due to sparse use of drums. Ezra's guitars and various stringed instruments and Keith's bass guitars are at the forefront, along with the duo's Southern-accented harmony vocals. Standout tracks include the title tune, the bluegrass-flavored "I Don't Care" (with help from fellow kidrockers Toucan Jam), and "It Must Be Halloween," featuring legendary guitarist Rick Gordon.

Trout Fishing In America's sincere but playful approach to children's music has helped make them one of the few kids' acts to maintain a long-term, healthy career. Sure, they're singing about goofy stuff that makes third-graders laugh, like the "Curse of the Spinach," but they also make those same eight-year-olds think about their "Big Round World." And that's a good thing.

Released September 9, 2008; Trout Records