Friday, October 31, 2008

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Bye Bye Birdie


Well, we're just about done here. Season 2 has been the ultimate blast, but the clock is striking and we're about to turn into a pumpkin (very appropriate for Halloween, no?). We're moving out and the lease is up. In fact, this building is soon to be demolished. The wrecking ball will be leaving in it's wake the bright colored remains of music, laughter, good karma and the rubble of hieroglyphs that were painted in the bathroom and in Joel Fox's office. Today we're packing up, saying goodbye and reflecting on what a dream job this has been.
We hope that this season brings you and your family some of the sincere love we put into it. Thank you very much.

Now, on to season 3...????

Monday, October 27, 2008

Enough With The Praise Already!

We're kidding, we could never get tired of fans telling us how much they love the show. We love the show and love that other people love it, in turn loving them. Love. Read this article from Advertising Age and what they think of Yo Gabba Gabba!


Friday, October 24, 2008

Oh My Gosh!!Party Time!!!


I know what  you're thinking, "I would LOVE to throw a party, but only if I could invite everyone in a Yo Gabba Gabba fashion." Well I got news for ya, sister! Evite.com now has Gabba-style invitations, so start throwing parties! We'll be there with a lampshade on!

Buy Toys and Play New Games Online!


Via:Yo Gabba Gabba! News

You can now get toys and merchandise on Ty's Toy Box's special Yo Gabba Gabba! site. Ty Simpson, owner of Ty's Toy Box, says “We delight in offering fans the merchandise featuring their favorite characters, especially when full selections might not be available on big-box toy store shelves and with the second season of Yo Gabba Gabba! under way on Nickelodeon, fans are eager for items that feature its unique characters.”
Thanks Ty's Toy Box! Here is a link to start shopping http://yogabbagabba.tystoybox.com

--------------------

There's a couple of fun new games online!
YoGabbaGabba.com brings us Halloween Mixer which is great if you have a young one that likes to pound on the keyboard like I do!
I also have an older kid that likes the adventure type online games. For that, Nick Jr. has Yo Gabba Gabba! Magic Word Adventure
And while we're at it, don't forget from England, it's Brobee's Party In My Tummy Game. It's fun!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

USA Today - 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' is monstrous fun for kids, adults


By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
Eclectic rock, pop and hip-hop have found an unlikely hot spot: a daytime kids' show.
Appearances by such performers as The Roots, the Ting Tings and Jimmy Eat World have helped Yo Gabba Gabba!(Nickelodeon, weekdays 11:30 a.m.) attract not only the Nick Jr. preschool block's 2- to 5-year-olds but also their parents, teens and young adults without children.

Christian Jacobs, 36, and Scott Schultz, 37, out-front and behind-the-scenes participants in rock band The Aquabats, noticed how their children enjoyed a wide range of music and decided to make a show that would appeal to them.

"Our kids were responding to a lot of dance music and hip-hop and beats," Jacobs says. "We built a world around dancing and music."

The self-described "pop culture nerds" found inspiration in shows from their youth — from Sesame Street and The Electric Company to Pee-wee's Playhouse and the Sid and Marty Krofft puppet shows — to create a colorful world in which DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson) brings to life four monsters and a robot (Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Toodee and Plex) with the magic words Yo Gabba Gabba!, the creators' own nonsensical phrase. (They are happy that it also pays homage to The Ramones' chant, "Gabba Gabba Hey," itself a tribute to Tod Browning's 1932 film Freaks.)

This week's shows feature musical guests I'm From Barcelona, Money Mark and Datarock, along with actors Amy Sedaris and 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer. Jack Black will appear later this season. Each show has a simple theme (today: differences, Wednesday: robot, Thursday: teeth, Friday: weather) with related, repetitive songs with simple beats, written by Jacobs, Schultz and friends. Some are written with specific bands in mind.

Gabba is a children's show, but it has "a cool factor" because of participating artists, Nickelodeon animation president Brown Johnson says. Viewers "respond to the happy sounds, from 1- and 2-year-olds to my daughter," a 22-year-old DJ who sometimes plays the songs at her gigs.

The second-season series trails Nick Jr. hits Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! in viewers (though drawing more than 1.3 million for new episodes), but Johnson says it can take a year or more before a show really takes off. A feature film is in the works, says Charles Rivkin of Gabba producer Wildbrain.

Popular musicians, some of them parents, are eager to appear on the show; Jacobs and Schultz have sought out their favorites. First-year guests Mya, The Shins, Sean Kingston, Elijah Wood and Hector Jimenez can be seen on the new DVD, Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch. A song album also is available.

Regular features include Mark's Magic Pictures with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame and beat-boxing instruction by Biz Markie.

Mothersbaugh, who has scored such kids shows as Pee-wee's Playhouse and Rugrats, says Gabba has a defining sensibility that could make it this generation's Playhouse. Besides that, it gives his daughters, ages 4 and 7, a sense of what he does, an impetus for numerous performers. "All of a sudden it resonates with them: 'You are doing something I can relate to.' That makes it more valuable to me."

Schultz sees another reason for the broad appeal: "There's an element of wanting to be fancy-free and not too serious, and to be a kid again."

USA today link

Monday, October 20, 2008

Yo Gabba Live in HOLLYWOOD!

Hello Friends!
DJ Lance Rock and some familiar friends will be doing a live in-store show at Amoeba Music in Hollywood Saturday November 1st at noon!  Yo Gabba Gabba DVDs will be for sale and DJ Lance will do a signing.  It's all free so bring the whole gang!
Amoeba Music is located at 6400 Sunset Blvd (323) 245-6400 

Friday, October 17, 2008

Babble About Yo Gabba Gabba!

Babble has two great interviews up right now. Want to know why Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO signed up for our little dog and pony show? Read his interview! Want to know who creators Christian and Scott want to get on the show for next season? Read their interview! Want to know what I had for lunch? Burrito!

Help us out on iTunes!

Say folks! Earlier I mentioned
that we've got some downloadable goodies on iTunes. Well if you like and support it, please help us by giving us a good rating over at the iTunes store. It will really mean a lot to us. Oh and while you're at it, if there are any "unhelpful" comments please mark it as such. We thank you for your support. iTunes MUSIC LINK
- Your best Yo Gabba Gabba friends ever

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

People Like Us!

So yesterday, everyone was able to get their hands on the BRAND NEW Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and a CD of music from the show! Everyone including people who write stuff for the internet's world wide web. Hear are some links to reviews/praise/words people had about said products. 

PS - Some links even have songs from the CD to listen to! Oh happy ears!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Economic Stimulus Package!


Just in time to stimulate the economy, amazing Yo Gabba Gabba! kids clothes are available at Walmart and Target with GREAT PRICES. Most of the PJs, Hoodies and T-shirts are under $10! Go Crazy! (DJ Lance Rock not included...)

The goods, YO!

YO GABBA GABBA DVD and MUSIC ON iTUNES!

Well folks, the Yo Gabba Gabba Production Blog is proud to announce that Nickelodeon finally delivers. Yes! The much anticipated musicy album and dvd are here! Like now, even! For your consuming pleasure. For you! Or your babies, or your grand-babies or great-grand babies!

So, "The Dancey Dance Bunch" (not our pick of title, but hey, what can you do when you ask them to PLEASE PLEASE not call it that?) may contain only 4 episodes, but you can also download the WHOLE SEASON at the iTunes Store. Either way, it's what you want or what Santa might bring later (hint nint nudge nudge) available RIGHT NOW!
Amazon DVD and/or iTunes Episodes

And what's this? MUSIC! Are you aware that you are just a few seconds, just a few mere mousy-clicks away from downloading the all new Yo Gabba Gabba album, entitled, "Yo Gabba Gabba!"? As of virtually now, you could momentarily be bumping along to "Party In My Tummy" in your car, dancing with your great-great-grand-babies to "Pool Party" or even learning a new beat from BIZ himself??? Click now or regret it after now.
iTunes MUSIC LINK

And now after all of that super movie robot awesomeness, what could be cooler???

Well I'll tell ya, remember our lucky young friend, Izzie that I mentioned last month? Well check this out. She's 3 and she has a Foofariffic super blog . It showcases drawings of Foofa or whatever Izzie's into at the moment.


There are drawings of Foofa from foofalicious artists like Bryan O' Malley and Hope Larson!! And this blog is FREE!!!!
Issabella's Foofabook LINK This is the true spirit of Yo Gabba Gabba because gabba is as gabba does.

Today is a good day.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Fans Petition to Create a DJ Lance Doll


I get asked this question all the time, "When are you guys going to make a DJ Lance Doll?". And then it's followed up with, "You know, like the old talking Pee-Wee Herman doll?"
( example below:)

Well folks, you're preaching to the choir here.


I've wanted to make a DJ lance doll since the earth was formed. So we've established that I want one, and I know the people asking me want one, but the real question is; do the makers of such goods know that we want such a DJ lance doll?

Well, the folks over at www.Gabbafriends.com are running with this idea and making a petition of sorts. Follow this link and discover where it might carry you.Lance Doll Petition
The future is in your hands, America. Only you can prevent forest fires. Only you can rock the vote! Stay in school ! Don't do drugs! Call your mom! Who else is gonna buy you a DJ Lance Doll?

Friday, October 10, 2008

Toys are fun!


I want one of these...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Break it dooooown!

My friend Laurie over at the Gabbafriends.com sent me this:
Someone wrote on Twitter (and I laughed): They need to review the debate the way they do it on Yo Gabba Gabba. Throw in some dance music, crazy visuals and "break it dooooown!"

So in that same spirit, I post this silly clip I found on Youtube:

javascript:void(0)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Gooble's Origin

As promised, the following is a little background behind Gooble, the ghostlike mysterious Yo Gabba Gabba character.

Artistically, Gooble's origin began with a song off of the Aquabats 1999 "Vs. The Floating Eye of Death" album called, "Monster's Wedding" The song itself is a ghost story; not unlike Tim Burton's 2005 film, The Corpse Bride. In the song, there is a foreboding ghost's voice saying, "you must go". That ghost's name was Obakemon (which translates to "ghost-man" in Japanese).

I did the graphic design for the "Floating Eye of Death" album and I knew that Obakemon would be a real fun character to illustrate for the inside lyric booklet. Of course, he is what he is in the song, a ghost man. I designed him to emulate the style of my brother Christian's signature red cyclopses that he used to doodle all over the place--which eventually became Muno (but that's another story). In promotion of the album, Obakemon later found himself on Aquabats t-shirts, stickers and jackets. They were mostly glow-in-the dark, cuz you know, he's a ghost!

I really dug Obakemon's sad clown look of misery with his candy red lips. I don't know why, but for some reason it visually appealed to me. When I was working at Paul Frank Industries, I had an Obakemon messenger bag custom made for me that I carried around for years and years.

So then, I believe in 2004, Christian & Scott invited me (with a few others) to the first working Yo Gabba Gabba concept meeting. It was then that they pitched the idea of developing a TV project other than The Aquabat Super Show. This was going to be a character based kids show but pulling from what we had already built in the Aquabats universe. I thought it was a great idea to put some of these characters to better use. Muno, Brobee and Gooble are all characters that have Aquabat roots.

We changed Obakemon's name to Gooble because we liked how it sounded. Besides, Obakemon? American kids don't like them Japanese names fer stuff! They like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon and Apple pie stuff like that!

My job as graphic dude was to help flesh out the early concepts for a pitch. This was Gooble #1:



OK so several years later, we end up making the show. We settle on the 5 main characters, because we just didn't have it in the first season budget to make more! Gooble did survive in a couple of scripts as a minor role, but now he had to be animated. This made me sad because I thought he would look really cool as a live action character.

But then my favorite mistake happened. In the process of making one of the Muno costumes, there was an error, and Muno just didn't turn out right. We spent big dollars on this Muno we simply couldn't use. So, I made this proposal: we take the bad Muno costume, scrape off the bumps and remake it in a Gooble fashion.


...And it worked!


Here, in the episode aptly entitled, "Love", Gooble joins the rest of the cast in a touching rendition of, "Be Nice To Everyone". I personally think this is one of the weirdest moments of Yo Gabba Gabba...and I LOVE it!