What's a canoe?
What's a bayou?
What's a prairie?
Is there a difference between a buffalo and a bison?
Who is this Farmer Jason guy and why is he asking all these questions?
The man in the pristine Stetson hat and freshly pressed dungarees turns out to be none other than Jason Ringerberg, leader of prototype cowpunk alt.country band Jason & The Scorchers.
His alias is all part of a parallel career as chirpy kids entertainer; a character partly inspired by his own farming background prior to moving to Nashville (his parents ran an Illinois pig farm).
It also stems from a recognition that he needed some wholesome way to keep his own daughters amused.
After award-winning releases A Day At The Farm and Rocking In The Forest, Farmer Jason keeps the outdoor theme going by exploring cool things you can see and do in nature with the help of 16 sing-along songs, 18 guest artists, a 20 page illustrated booklet and 4 videos on a bonus DVD.
The underlying message is that the natural world is "way more awesome than it looks on TV".
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The tunes and between song patter are in a similar vein to Sesame Street and are equally unpatronising and fun.
The rock and roll/country credentials come from FJ's ability to rope in some unlikely guests on the project. These include REM's Mike Mills (Take A Hike), The Saw Doctors (Well Oh Whale) and Iris Dement (Prairie Riddles) while his own Scorchers band play on The Glacier. All artists are donating their royalty shares to conservation causes.
Nature Jams presents a shiny, happy world aimed primarily at educating and entertaining pre-school kids, though, as its heart is so evidently in the right place, parents or "approved care givers" are likely to give it the thumbs up too.
Farmer Jason's website
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