Coane cousins dancing to the music of their fathers, Craig and Scott (L-R): Nola (3), Lily (1), Kayla (8), Annie (4), Michael (5) Photo Sophie Braccini
Nola, Lily, Kayla, Annie and Michael Coane are fortunate cousins. The kids, age one to eight, all live in Moraga and see each other all the time because their dads are brothers and best friends. Their talented fathers have just released their first CD, "No Sugar Added" by the Juice Box Heroes, full of the 80's tunes that get kids dancing and with lyrics they have fun signing.
Once upon a time there were two daddies going to work everyday, raising their budding families with their lovely wives, and dreaming to reconcile their busy suburban lives with their love of the 80's music. Before daddy-hood they had performed at night with San Francisco bands, "coming home at 4 a.m. after playing in bars all night somehow didn't seem to fit our lifestyle anymore," says Craig Coane, the older brother.
Out of singing one too many renditions of "Old Macdonald Had a Farm" came the liberating idea of mixing their favorite music with words and themes children could relate to. "We love our kids, we love music, so we had to find a way to mix the two," says Scott. After a year of work, Craig and Scott have just released their first album with 12 songs that have a bit of educational content, but mostly are for kids to have fun.
"Living in a Cheerio World" to the beat of Madonna's "Material Girl," "Kids Just Wanna Have Fun," parodying "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, and "Don't Worry Take a Nappy," to the rhythm of Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" (a personal favorite of this reporter) are some of the songs on the album.
The music was first tested on the five little cousins. And now? "Put on Juice Box Heroes," 5-year old Michael asks whenever they drive in the car, while 8-year old Kayla wonders "When are you going to be on iTunes?"
The production of the album was done at Berkeley Studio Denoise, with professional studio musicians. The brothers sing the songs, with their children and their friends joining in at times for the chorus. The album is selling by word of mouth through their web site, www.JuiceBoxHeroes.com. "What we are hearing back from our friends and their friends are always positive comments," says Scott, "and we are starting to sell all over the country without any advertising."
Once upon a time there were two daddies going to work everyday, raising their budding families with their lovely wives, and dreaming to reconcile their busy suburban lives with their love of the 80's music. Before daddy-hood they had performed at night with San Francisco bands, "coming home at 4 a.m. after playing in bars all night somehow didn't seem to fit our lifestyle anymore," says Craig Coane, the older brother. 
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA