The Okee Dokee Brothers; Can You Canoe? CD/DVD

The Okee Dokee Brothers release new songs and videos from their month-long Mississippi River adventure,

inspiring kids to get outside and create their own fun. Guest artists include Garth Hudson and Elizabeth Mitchell.

Can You Canoe?

(Minneapolis, May 2012) – As childhood friends, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing spent summers at their neighborhood creek building makeshift rafts, fishing for crawdads and dreaming of great river adventures.

Now, as The Okee Dokee Brothers, they have realized these boyhood dreams via a great adventure on the Mississippi River, culminating with Can You Canoe? This new CD-DVD set will be available on May 15th (Red Eye Distribution, $16/$8.99 digital). This is the first release in a planned Adventure Album series for families.

It all began last June when Joe and Justin embarked on a canoe trip in Minneapolis and continued down the river for the next 30 days until they arrived at the St. Louis Gateway Arch. During their month-long journey on the Mississippi, they camped, canoed, filmed and most importantly, composed the songs that make up their new album for kids and families.

Can You Canoe? was produced by Dean Jones in his Hudson River Valley straw-bale studio. Guest appearances from Garth Hudson (The Band), Elizabeth Mitchell (You Are My Flower), as well as Morgan Taylor andRachel Loshak (Gustafer Yellowgold) add sparkle to these joyful songs.

The songs on the album range from direct references of the river (“Can you Canoe?,” “Mr. and Mrs. Sippi,” “Haul Away Joe”) to more general topics in the outdoor motif (“The Bullfrog Opera,” “Campin’ Tent,” “Thousand Star Hotel”).The Okee Dokee Brothers also use the river as a metaphor to address deeper themes such as the struggles in a friendship (“Brother, Along for the Ride”) and life’s changes and phases (“Roll on River”).

The 40-minute supplemental film tells the story of The Okee DokeeBrothers’ trip while including educational segments, camping shenanigans, music videos, interviews and pristine nature scenes.All the footage was filmed on location along the Mississippi River, including a visit with The Original River Rat and a group of young Tom Sawyer-Huck Finn-Becky Thatcher look-alikes in Hannibal, MO.

Joe and Justin draw inspiration from their experiences while providing a creative framework for the audience to explore their own imaginations. “We hope a project like this can inspire kids to take an active role in their lives, get outside and make their dreams realities,” they explain. All the songs and footage on this CD/DVD set are tied together by themes of rivers, friendship, and especially outdoor adventure.

The Okee Dokee Brothers will perform at World Cafe Live on April 28th and they are planning a busy summer concert tour, including dozens of Minnesota public libraries. They’ll be featured performers at the Kansas City Jiggle Jam over Memorial Day weekend and will host a CD release celebration event at Hennepin Park in Minneapolis on May 19th.

If you are looking for a great CD to play on your family vacation drive, or just some music to get your kids dreaming about summer at the lake or playing in the river, this is the CD you need. Be sure to pick up this Mississippi River Album Adventure CD/DVD today!!!

Sugar Mountain PR is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. One lucky blog reader will win their own copy of The Okee Dokee Brothers; Can You Canoe? CD/DVD. Thank you Sugar Mountain PR for the review copy and for sponsoring this great giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.