Sho, Mo and the Monkey Bunch

BIOGRAPHY

“I love you. You love me. We’re a happy family….” A Purple Dinosaur. An irritated parent. Is that what we want kids listening to? Maybe it’s time to give kids music that won’t drive their parents insane. Music that has bite to it while still being sweet. Introducing Sho, Mo and the Monkey Bunch! A couple of years ago, Shoshana Sperling and Maury LaFoy decided to create Christmas presents for their nieces by pooling their respective talents and giving a couple of songs as gifts. Soon, demand for this little homemade CD went beyond family loyalty. Requests started pouring in from people they weren’t related to. As a result, Sho and Mo began to write and compile their favorite ditties from growing up and mixed them with musical stylings that they loved. Each song pays tribute to a different musical style that speaks up to kids with musicality, humour and a little bite. The first half of the album wakes you up and the second half rocks you into sleep. If you like the music / humour of: The Who, The Beatles, Shirley Temple, Spike Jones, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Steve Martin, Sarah McLachlan, but you’re still working with pull-ups then “Sho, Mo and the Monkey Bunch” has a song for you. Meet Sho: Shoshana Sperling is a Toronto writer/performer who has given us character-rich plays, television and live comedic monologues. Meet Mo: Maury LaFoy is a musician/songwriter who has played with Jann Arden, Sarah Harmer, Ron Sexsmith and his own band, The Supers. Now Meet The MONKEY BUNCH!! Ali Eisner (YTV Host, Nanalan Puppeteer), Mia Sheard (Toronto Singer Extraordinaire), Dan Bryk (Quirky Songwriter without equal), Ian LeFeuvre (Starling, Lynn Miles producer), Teresa Pavlinek (Sean Cullen Show, History Bites, Second City), John Obercian (Sarah Harmer, Danny Michel), Davide Direnzo (Jacksoul, Ashley McIsaac, Holly Cole), Graham Powell (The Supers, Jason Plumb), Dave Matheson (Moxy Früvous), Kevin Fox (Sarah Harmer, Shaye), Mark Mariash (Sarah Slean) and a Grade 3 class from Ryerson Elementary School?!!!! This CD is for parents who love music and want their kids to do the same. Sho, Mo and the Monkey Bunch are ready to change the way you think about children’s music. If you are between the ages of 2-83….. Join the bunch!!

REVIEWS

NNNN!! Think Raffi's played out? Can't stand those Wiggles? Worried that repeated exposure to Britney and her pop-tart peers will encourage the kids in your life to dress trashy and binge on Cheet-os? Help is here in the form of a delightful children's record by Sho Mo & the Monkey Bunch – aka local comic genius Shoshana Sperling, partner Maury LaFoy (the Supers) and friends like Ian Lefeuvre, Jann Arden, Mia Sheard and Ron Sexsmith. Sperling (who has a strikingly sweet, strong voice) puts her goofy wit to good use by employing gentle meta-humour, the kind that made Shrek as enjoyable for parents as it was for their kids. Best of all, the tunes are educational – Electric cars are good, pollution is bad! Wear sunscreen! – without getting didactic or talking down to the kiddies. You'll go bananas.
–Now Magazine, December 8th/05

Four Stars Sure, you can count on NWA to teach your kids about racist police and materialistic women, but who's going to teach them about recycling and electric cars? Sho, Mo and the Monkey Bunch, a fun and funny kids' group formed by The Supers' Maury LaFoy and local performer Shoshana Sperling, make good music with good messages. Split into an energetic morning side and a lovely lullaby side, the album -- originally released last spring but now repackaged with guest contributions from Jann Arden and Ron Sexsmith -- features a horn-heavy Beatles-esque wake-up call, a sunscreen-endorsing interpretation of "You Are My Sunshine," a pro-recycling call-and-response led by Sexsmith and a sultry jazz take on "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
-Eye Weekly Magazine. December 1st/2005

“Chances are you’ve heard of some of these song titles before – but not performed like this. Enter one of the brightest, spunkiest, quirkiiest kids’ records to have come along in a long while. …it’s a slightly mad Benny Hill, Sho, Mo & the Monkey Bunch deliver the unexpected in enthusiastic proportions…As stated in their press notes, this is “a CD for parents who love music and want their kids to do the same”. Thanks to their novel approach, the possibilities are endless.
-Today’s Parent, July Edition 2005

”…a veritable romper-room of Sgt. Pepper-ed brass marches, honky-tonk nursery rhymes and monkey-funk created with local luminaries like Kurt Swinghammer and Starling's Ian LeFeuvre and Maury LaFoy. Fun for the whole family, honestly.”
-EYE weekly, Apr 14, 2005

“…hilariously fabulous local performer Shoshana Sperling and her partner in crime, the Supers' Maury LaFoy, have done the impossible: created a kids' album that's actually great. The dynamic duo's new Sho Mo & The Monkey Bunch disc is a collection of tunes that range from goofy traditionals like Itsy Bitsy Spider to beautiful original lullabies, all of which you'll want to hear again. And again and again.”
-NOW Magazine, Apr 14 - 20, 2005

“It’s a good bet that Shoshana Sperling (Sho), Maury LaFoy (Mo) and their collaborators had more fun than a barrel of monkeys making this CD for kids. Sperling is a Toronto writer, performer and comic who never fails to entertain. Turns out she has a gift for musical mimicry in a range that runs from hillbilly country and western to Billie Holiday. No musical style is left untouched. Children have always enjoyed hearing the music of previous generations. They’re going to love this.“
-Susan Walker, Toronto Star, April 21st 2005

“This record’s so good. That Lovebird song, It just kills me. I think we might have to cover that song. Would you kill me if we did that?”
-Jann Arden (Musician/Songwriter)

"Shoshana Sperling is one of the most entertaining people I've ever met and with "Sho-Mo and the Monkey Bunch" she's found the perfect vehicle. Shoshana and partner Maury Lafoy have made a wonderfully musical kids album full of wit and charm without any of that "goofy" after taste. It's not easy to make a kids record that parents can enjoy too but they pulled it off!"
-Ron Sexsmith (Musician/Songwriter)