Disney Park Artists

[SharonKurland]

First...it's nice to be back online here. I had a problem with my cookies for 3 days and MagicMusic wouldn't "let me in." Thanks to my husband (of just shy 7 weeks), I'm back online here. That's why I married him, y'know.

ANYWAY...after buying the 3 Toxic Audio CD's last week, I realized the topic of "Disney Park Artists" might be a nice discussion over here. I have several CD's of "artists who work at Disney parks who have made their own CD's," including Toxic Audio (started at Epcot and now work at Pleasure Island every few weeks), Voices of Liberty (actually a derivative thereof...Derrick Johnson is their director/producer of the Liberty Voices), Mariachi Cobre (Mexico pavilion), Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, Rod Miller (DL ragtime piano player on Main St.), Firehouse Five (OLD records [now CD's] of the band comprised of some of Walt's Nine Old Men), Encorps (old Epcot band), Cast in Bronze (I think they still perform at Epcot?), Judson Green (Disney bigwig who also plays piano), Off Kilter (Canada pavilion), Dapper Dans (Main St.), Billy Hill & The Hillbillies (DL Frontierland) and several others.

Whatcha got?

-Sharon-

 

[Scott]

Off the top of my head, I remember picking up Four For a Dollar's CD on my last trip to WDW--they do the Beauty & the Beast preshow at the Studios.

 

[SharonKurland]

Cool beans, Scott! I actually don't have this one yet. One criteria I have for buying the CD's is that I have to know where they're from. Last time I saw the B&TB show was..probably right after Sunset Blvd. opened , and I don't know if 4 For A Dollar were even opening for them at the time. Thanks...now I have an "excuse" to buy their CD!

-Sharon-

 

[Shane]

The Side Street Strutters, a Dixieland Jazz band that plays in and around New Orleans Square at Disneyland, have released several albums over the last 15 years or so. Of course, they do not exclusively play at the Magic Kingdom, but when they do, they appear on the stage at The French Market as well as on rafts upon the Rivers of America as pre-show entertainment for Fantasmic!

They stock most of their albums (some of the older ones might only be available on cassette tape, I think) in 20th Century Music Co. on Main St., as well as in the Pieces O' Eight shop & the souvenir cart in New Orleans Square. So, it's safe to assume they can be ordered from Disneyland DelivEars.

I also saw one of their recent releases on CDNow, so you might find them somewhere else online as well.

 

[Alex K]

I've got this unusual CD from the Italy pavilion a few months back.

Bella Fortuna
Misteri di Venezia
by Wyn Hernes
Hardrive Productions Inc., Orlando Florida
http://www.hardriveinc.com/
(warning: 4MB flash multimedia intro)

I guess they put together productions for theme parks, including Epcot.
I forgot what they were called, the people all dressed up in masks at Italy.

Of course I bought a bunch of Rondo Veneziano CDs because I was fascinated
by their eclectic style.

-Alex K

 

[Frank]

I was wondering if Denny Zavett and the Riverboat Rascals ever produced any recordings. They played in the Baton Rouge Lounge of the dear departed Empress Lilly. Zavett also performed as a solo at Dixie Landings.

Frank

 

[Scott]

Dunno if you'd count groups like Blast and Barrage in this--they're more than just "Disney park artists", but they've definitely played there, sometimes for long periods of time. And they certainly have plenty of CDs/DVDs to buy.

 

[SharonKurland]

I have a few Sidestreet Strutters CD's too...forgot to mention them in my original post.

Scott, for me, I had to draw the line SOMEWHERE. Buying CD's of performers who work at Disney for a living (or at least who have in the past) is about as far as I'll go. Blast and Barrage are great, but if I were to start collecting the CD's of every person who ever played at the American Adventure Garden Theater, I eventually wouldn't have enough money to buy ANY CD's .

-Sharon-