One Night In Frogtown - About

Frogtown...where the bugs are juicy and the water is blue

Learning Diversity Through Music
Philip Pelletier´s new musical storybook, "One Night In Frogtown", brings together Portland´s multi-faceted music community, from the worlds of classical, jazz, r&b, and hip-hop to tell a unique story of the value of cultural diversity. Beautiful illustrations by Portland artist Verne Lindner and soulful narration by Curtis Salgado bring the musical pond of instrument-playing frogs to vibrant life. The picture book with audio CD is being released through One World Musical Books in Portland, and is available online at: www.frogtowncentral.com

Pelletier, an award-winning writer & composer, handpicked Portland´s A-List, including Linda Hornbuckle, Curtis Salgado, and Andy Stokes; and features rising star Devin Phillips on tenor sax, playing the part of the lead character Tad-a tiny saxophone-playing tadpole. The performers shine on each of the strikingly original songs on this great-sounding disc, which features the entire 25 minute narrated story, (so children can read along by themselves), as well as each song individually, (so parents can read aloud and enjoy the songs too).

Cultural & racial tolerance message
How did Pelletier pull together all these people? "As soon as I showed them what Frogtown was about, everyone wanted to do it.", he explains. "I think the themes resonate with alot of people in our post 9/11 world. Creating a message of cultural & racial understanding in a fun way was something that everyone wanted to be a part of. Plus it´s not every day that you get to go into a professional recording studio and make frog noises."

A Concept Album for Kids
Pelletier, who has experience producing children´s music, having composed the score for the Emmy-award winning ABC children´s series "Rapmatazz", as well as projects for Disney and Pixar, says, "An all-ages concept project appealed to me because children are so open. I felt kids could relate to the natural innocence and curiosity that Tad´s character shows. As a composer, I enjoy working with different musical genres and making them accessible to kids who may have no experience with them; often making them come alive for the first time."

Music as Metaphor
"One Night In Frogtown"´s wide-ranging musical canvas exposes kids to different kinds of music, from R&B, to Classical, to Hip-Hop. The different styles of music symbolize the differences between the social groups of frogs, while the pond itself acts as a metaphor for the world. Pelletier was working in LA during the LA Riots, and the memory still haunts him. "It´s probably one of the reasons I wanted to do this.", he says. "When I showed Frogtown to Curtis, he echoed the other performers when he said, "Of course I´ll do it. The world needs this right now"..