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Mamie, Michael, Bob, & Shlomo. Brooklyn, NY, 2006 (Photo by W. Weinstein)

GILLYGALOO is Mamie Minch, Shlomo Pestcoe, Michael Gorin and Bob Jones. We're a Brooklyn-based acoustic folk ensemble with one goal: to "edu-tain" kids of all ages and abilities with grownup-friendly roots music that really rocks the house!

We take our name from the colorful bird in the folk stories recounting the adventures of the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox Babe in America's once vast woodlands. The Gillygaloo was noted for her fine singing voice and the ablity to lay her eggs square so they wouldn't roll down the steep slope where she nested. (Some say Paul and his fellow lumberjacks used to steal Gillygaloo's eggs to make dice, but that's a whole other story, boys and girls....)

Our repertoire is a rich musical gumbo, made up of fun songs and dance tunes, drawn primarily from many different ethnic and regional folk traditions. It runs the gamut from African American ring dances and Hawaiian mele to old-time country classics and early blues favorites; from Jewish klezmer and Norteno/Tejano (Texas-Mexican) dance music to rollicking fiddle tunes from Upstate New York, Appalachia, French Canada, the British Isles, Scandinavia and the Tohono O'odham (formerly known as the Papago Indians) of Southern Arizona.

(To hear Gillygaloo's rendition of Tohono O'odham fiddle music [O'odham Fiddle Medley, Track 4] as well as a selection of jigs [Leandre B./Cuil Aodh, Track 2], please visit the MySpace.com page of Shlomo Pestcoe.)

Spicing up this flavorful mix are our own roots-inspired original songs and instrumental compositions, which reflect a wide array of influences: Caribbean calypso, Jamaican mento, Louisiana Cajun/ Zydeco, New England contra dance tunes, and jazz and swing from the 1920s and '30s, to name but a few.

Gillygaloo serves it all up, hot and tasty, on a variety of acoustic instruments: fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, button accordion, concertina, ukulele, dulcimer, cuatro, double bass, and more!

A LITTLE GILLY HISTORY

Our story begins at the dawn of the New Millennium, when Suzi Shelton and Shlomo Pestcoe-- local favorites of the Big Apple's children's music scene for many years-- got together with renowned master musicians Michael Gorin and Bob Jones. We were looking to offer "kids 'n' family" audiences fresh, new "edu-taining" performances of the various traditional songs and dance tunes we love-- as well as our own roots-inspired originals.

The result was Gillygaloo, an ensemble of highly-skilled, experienced performers that provides a unique, creative approach to the "kids 'n' family" music genre, combining interactive fun with quality musicianship and performance artistry.

In 2003, we released our critically-acclaimed debut album LITTLE GREEN THING Since then, it has received rave reviews from kids (and their grownups) across the country... and across the ocean-- such as in Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Spain and Taiwan!

The start of 2006 saw the end of an era for Gillygaloo and the beginning of a new one. A couple of years earlier, Suzi had embarked on a promising solo career, writing and performing wonderful original songs geared towards younger kids, the "Below 6" crowd. With the release of her hit debut album, SIMPLY SUZI, in the Fall of 2005 and the formation of her own band, it became clear that she needed to focus all of her energies in that direction.

Sadly, Suzi was forced to resign as an active member of Gillygaloo. Our 3rd annual benefit concert for The Claremont Children's School on February 5th, 2006 marked her last official performance with the band. There Suzi "passed the torch" to our new lead singer, Mamie Minch, as she joined us on stage for the first time to the great acclaim of our kid and grownup fans. Mamie is best known as a founding member of one of the hottest bands in the Big Apple today, The Roulette Sisters, sharing lead singing and guitar duties with bandmate Meg Reichardt.

Gillygaloo's debut album, LITTLE GREEN THING, is available at CD BABY. Please support indie music by buying at CD BABY, the largest online distributor of artist self-produced CDs.