Choo Choo Soul is a children's entertainment act composed of Genevieve Goings and her partner Constantine "DC" Abramson, a dancer and
beatboxer
Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. dressed as a railroad conductor and engineer, respectively.
History and recordings
Choo Choo Soul began as a collaboration between video game developer
Greg Johnson, recording engineer and sound designer
Burke Trieschmann, and vocalist Genevieve Goings during dialogue recordings for ''
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth'', the first
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
installment of the ''
ToeJam & Earl'' video game franchise. Johnson created the concept and recorded melodies and accompaniment tracks onto his cellphone and e-mailed them to Treischmann to develop. Once in the studio, Goings provided vocals.
The act debuted in 2004 as a 16-track
CD Baby studio album that described itself as "kids' music that won't drive parents crazy." It is now out of print.
On October 31, 2006,
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...
released ''Choo Choo Soul'', a 12-track album available through the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
and other online music outlets. It features most of the same songs as the 2004 release.
In 2007, "Choo Choo Soul with Genevieve!" was honored with a
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...
for children's television.
In May 2008, Disney released featured a two-disc set which consisted of the ''Choo Choo Soul'' album on CD, and a DVD featuring ten music videos.
Disney Channel series
Beginning in May 2006, a series of Choo Choo Soul interstitial programs began airing in the United States during the
Playhouse Disney
Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televi ...
programming block on the
Disney Channel. The music video–style shorts feature Goings and D.C. performing Choo Choo Soul songs with a group of young children in a blend of live action and computer animation. Choo Choo Soul has including more premieres and has more dubs of the show than Hebrew, Spanish and Italian, including Hebrew dubs on
Israeli Educational Television
The Israeli Educational Television (also known as IETV, he, הטלוויזיה החינוכית הישראלית, ''HaŦelevizia HaKhinuchít HaIsraelit'' or just ''חינוכית'' - ''Hinuchit'') was a state-owned public terrestrial televisio ...
(now
Kan Educational
Kan Educational ( he, כאן חינוכית, Kan Hinuchit) is a public television channel in Israel designated for children, on behalf of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation. The channel launched on August 15, 2018 and replaced Israeli Educati ...
), the Spanish dub of the show between the airings on
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
blocks of
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven y ...
shows and the Italian dubbed version of the show airing on Playhouse Disney (after reruns of Choo Choo Soul episodes airing on Disney Junior).
In July 2011, Choo Choo Soul filmed 8 new video shorts, remaking Disney songs in their style for the new network "Disney Junior." Genevieve also sings the network's theme song "I Wanna Go" along with 16 other short songs for the network. Genevieve Goings continues to write and record songs for the Disney Junior Network, including Holiday songs and Nursery Rhymes.
Live concerts
Choo Choo Soul tours regularly across the U.S. and Canada.
Choo Choo Soul has performed live on several occasions in 2007, including September and October shows at the
Disney-MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by ...
theme park at
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
in Florida, a performance at the
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
Children's Book Festival in
Boston, Massachusetts on September 15 and several shows in June 2009 at Sesame Place located near
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. They have performed at
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Or ...
in 2012 and 2013 at the "Just for Kids" Event in January.
Choo Choo Soul has been touring the U.S. and Canada from 2007, and was the opening act for the Imagination Movers during their Big Warehouse Tour in 2011. They toured 56 cities.
Choo Choo Soul also performed at the 2011
California State Fair
The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF ...
in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
Choo Choo Soul read two stories at the 2016
White House Easter Egg Roll.
References
External links
Playhouse Disney site
{{Disney Junior
American children's musicians
American children's musical groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Trains in fiction
Disney Junior original programming
American television series with live action and animation
2000s American children's television series
2010s American children's television series
2000s preschool education television series
2010s preschool education television series
2006 American television series debuts
2012 American television series endings
American preschool education television series
English-language television shows
Interstitial television shows