Danny Weinkauf

Danny Weinkauf (born 4 December 1963) is a Grammy-winning New York–based musician and composer. He has been the longtime bassist for They Might Be Giants (TMBG). He has recorded and toured with the band since the late 1990s.[1] Weinkauf had previously performed in a band called Lincoln along with TMBG's guitarist Dan Miller and drummer Gonzalo Martinez De La Cotera.[2] He has written four songs for TMBG, all for their children's albums. Weinkauf wrote and sang "Where Do They Make Balloons?" on the children's album No!, "Number Two" from Here Come The 123s, "I Am a Paleontologist" from Here Comes Science, and "Elephants" from Why?[3][4][5] He also played bass alongside bandmate John Flansburgh for his solo project Mono Puff, in addition to providing additional bass on John Linnell's State Songs album. In 2014 Weinkauf began releasing albums for children and families as "Danny Weinkauf". That year he released "No School Today" followed by "Red Pants Band" (2016), "Totally Osome!" (2017), "Inside I Shine" (2018), "Dinosaurs and Metaphors" (2020), "Words" (2021), "lullabies" (2022) and "Light Up Your Love" (2023). The later 7 albums were all released on his own label Red Pants Music except "Words" (8 pound Gorilla recs.). He performs live as 'Danny Weinkauf and his Red Pants Band' with Tina Kenny Jones on bass, keyboards, and vocals, Steven Plesnarski on drums and vocals, and Russ Jones on guitar, bass, vocals, and ukulele. His eight albums have received numerous awards and frequent rotation on kids radio such as Sirius XM's Kids Place Live.

Danny Weinkauf
Weinkauf performing in 2010
Weinkauf performing in 2010
Background information
Born (1963-12-04) 4 December 1963
GenresAlternative rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, Guitar, keyboards, vocals
Years active1995–present
LabelsDisney Sound, Idlewild Recordings, Red Pants Music
Websitewww.dannyweinkauf.com

Other work

Weinkauf attended Berklee College of Music for a year[6] and got his start in music in the New York City–based band The Belltower. The band also featured Jody Porter (Fountains of Wayne), Britta Phillips (Luna - Dean and Britta), and Pete McNeal (Cake). He later played bass on Fountains of Wayne's 1996 debut album. Weinkauf has also played on albums by David Mead, Stephen Fretwell, CandyButchers, and The Davenports, among other musical acts. He and Brian Speiser produced Common Rotation's 2003 album The Big Fear and can be found in two videos of studio footage on their website.

Weinkauf produced the album The Way We Found It for artist Syd. He has also written and produced hundreds of tracks of music for television, commercials, and movies. Credits include: Sex and the City, Malcolm in the Middle, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Jon and Kate plus 8, ABC Wide World of Sports, HBO, CBS Sports, ESPN, Resident Life, History Channel, MTV, Food Network, A&E, Mercedes Benz, Saturn, Burger King, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Radio Shack, Big Brother/Sisters, Elmer's Glue, Kohls, and many others. In 2011, Weinkauf started Red Pants Music which is a website representing his commercial, television, and film composition work.

In April 2014, Weinkauf signed with Idlewild records as a solo children's music artist and released No School Today. No School Today featured 16 tunes penned by Weinkauf with lyrics co-written by others on 3 songs. Weinkauf produced and played all the instruments[7] on the album and featured his wife and two children. Children's musician Laurie Berkner appears as a guest vocalist on "Our Love Fits."[8] Hank Green appears on "The Kidney That Lived in Four People" which he also co-wrote.[9]

Weinkauf released videos for several of the album's songs. The album's first single, "Champion of the Spelling Bee", went to #1 on Sirius XM Kids Place Live and featured Weinkauf's 12-year-old son Kai on lead vocals.

In October 2014, Weinkauf released his first holiday single called "Wonderful Christmas Day" as a digital release on Idlewild records. In 2015 Weinkauf released 4 singles including "It's your Birthday", "My Mom", "Only One You", and "Super Powered Mindy" which have all been featured on Kids Place Live. In 2015 Weinkauf also wrote and produced the song and video "B is for Build" for Sesame Street as part of their 47th season.

Personal life

Weinkauf is married to Michelle Weinkauf, née Gotthardt. He has two children, Lena and Kai Weinkauf, who perform spoken word parts on the song "I Am a Paleontologist". Kai sings lead vocals for "Champion of the Spelling Bee", "Together we can Fly", "Ambivalent", "Picky Eaters", "Antithesis", and "A song about Anything". Weinkauf's wife and two children perform several vocal and spoken parts on his solo albums.[5][10]

Awards

In 2002 TMBG won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media; Weinkauf played both bass and guitar. In 2009, They Might Be Giants was awarded a Grammy for Best Children's Album for Here Come the 123s, featuring one song written by Weinkauf.[11] In 2011, TMBG was nominated a third time with Here Comes Science, which features Weinkauf's song "I Am a Paleontologist". In 2014 "No School Today" was declared a Parents' Choice Award winner and a NAPPA award winner. Weinkauf's song "Elephants" was an International Songwriting Competition winner in 2015.

References
  1. Condran, Ed (12 February 2012). "Bigger Isn't Better for Pop-Rock Duo". The Tampa Tribune.
  2. Miller, Dan (18 June 2011). "The Gibson Classic Interview: They Might Be Giants' Dan Miller" (Interview). Interviewed by Courtney Grimes. Gibson. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  3. No! (Album notes). They Might Be Giants. Rounder Records. 2002.
  4. Here Come the 123s (Album notes). They Might Be Giants. Disney Sound. 2008.
  5. Heres Comes Science (Album notes). They Might Be Giants. Disney Sound. 2009.
  6. "Danny Weinkauf Interview - TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base". tmbw.net. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  7. "Danny Weinkauf Interview". This Might Be A Wiki. Retrieved 12 March 2023. To celebrate the launch of the Kickstarter campaign for his new kids' album, No School Today, Danny Weinkauf granted an interview to TMBW! ... How much of the instrumentation on the new album did you do yourself? All of it …wow, it sounds like I'm ego-tripping to say that. Part of that was just convenience and an effort to keep costs down. For example it's easier to play a guitar part quickly myself than to hire and schedule another player. If I had a giant budget, It would be great fun to hire a whole band and track the tunes in a fancy studio. As someone who composes and records music for TV and commercials - the turn around on those projects is often very quick, so out of necessity I've become accustomed to playing all the instruments myself.
  8. "No School Today". Bandcamp.
  9. "The Kidney That Lived in Four People by Danny Weinkauf and Hank Green - Songs for Children". YouTube.
  10. "danny-w". DannyWeinkauf.com. 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  11. Bubblegum, Black (24 February 2009). "They Might Be Giants - a Grammy, Coraline & FLOOD AGAIN". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
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