The Fresh Beat Band

The Fresh Beat Band
Also known as	The JumpArounds
Genre	Live action, children's television series
Created by	Scott Kraft Nadine van der Velde
Developed by	Alice Prodanou Scott Kraft Nadine van der Velde
Written by	Scott Kraft Nadine van der Velde Heather MacGillvray Kim Duran Linda Mathious Carla Waddles Banks Calvin Leung Tom Saunders Alice Prodanou Dan Danko Tom Mason Kerri Grant
Directed by	Scott Kraft Neal Israel Henry Chan Jonathan Judge James Wahlberg Linda Mendoza Savage Steve Holland Jody Margolin Hahn
Starring	Jon Beavers Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer Thomas Hobson Shayna Rose (2009–11) Tara Perry (2011–13)
Theme music composer	Matter Music
Opening theme	"The Fresh Beat Band!"
Ending theme	"The Fresh Beat Band!" (Instrumental)
Composer(s)	Matter Music
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	60 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Scott Kraft Nadine van der Velde
Producer(s)	Jim Kukucka Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg Chris Robinson
Editor(s)	Mitch Sinoway Cindy Parisotto
Location(s)	Paramount Studios, Hollywood
Cinematography	Tim Gonuos Carlos Gonzalez (DP)
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Nickelodeon Productions
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Original release	August 24, 2009 (2009-08-24) – December 7, 2013 (2013-12-07)
External links
Website

The Fresh Beat Band (formerly The JumpArounds)^[1] is an American preschool television series created by Scott Kraft and Nadine van der Velde for Nickelodeon. The show stars the "Fresh Beats" (Twist, Kiki, Shout and Marina), described as four best friends in a band who go to music school and graduate together as musicians who are determined to follow their dreams. The series premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 24, 2009. In December 2013, it was announced that the series would not be renewed for a fourth season.

In 2015, an animated spin-off premiered on Nickelodeon. All four members of the band lend their voices to their respective characters in the spin-off.

Premise

All episodes follow the same basic structure:

• Each episode begins with a song that foreshadows a problem that the band will solve.
• The band works together to solve the problem.
• When the problem is solved they perform a song with the problem and solution incorporated into the lyrics.
• Each episode concludes with a version of The Fresh Beat Band's closing song, "Great Day".
• The main characters dance to choreography by Mandy Moore;^[2] Sean Cheesman; Chuck Maldonado; Scotty Nguyen; Dreya Weber; Mary Ann Kellogg; Nakul Mahajan; Mihran Kirakosian; Susan Austin and Fred Tallaksen.

Characters

Main characters

The show's main characters are:[3] Twist the Disc jockey (Jon Beavers) – turntables, beatbox, vocals Kiki the Violinist (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer) – guitar, violin, vocals Shout the Keyboardist (Thomas Hobson) – keyboards, vocals Marina the Drummer (Tara Perry, who replaced Shayna Rose)[4] – drums, vocals, Piano

Recurring characters

• Harper the Pizza Maker – Owner of the Pizza Café. Played by Shane Blades.
• Melody the Smoothie Maker – Owner of the Groovy Smoothie Shop. Played by Dioni Michelle Collins.
• Ms. Piccolo the Teacher – Music school teacher. Played by Monica Lee Gradischek.
• Reed the Guitar Player – Occasional guitar player and supplier of the Fresh Beats' instruments. Played by Hadley Fraser (Season 1), and later Patrick Levis in Season 2.

There are also four children known as "The Junior Beats" who are essentially the child equivalent of their grown up counterparts. All can sing and dance, and dress as a corresponding character.

Episodes

During the buildup to the show's debut, the band was initially advertised as The JumpArounds. Commercials promoting the band under that name were in heavy rotation on Nick Jr. prior to the series debut. The change occurred approximately in mid July 2009. The name was revealed on the Nick Jr. website, then made its debut on television.^[5]

• The episode "Stick Together" from Season 1 of The Fresh Beat Band is a pilot episode for the series.

Nominations and awards

• 26th Annual Imagen Awards Nomination for Best Young Actress/Television : Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer in The Fresh Beat Band^[6]
• Parents Choice 2011 Award: The Fresh Beat Band – Fun Stuff (Ages: 2 – 5 years) ^[7]

Music

The Fresh Beat Band: Music From the Hit TV Show was released on January 31, 2012.^[8] The album sold 189,000 copies in the US in 2012.^[9] A second collection, Vol 2.0: More Music From The Hit TV Show was released on October 9, 2012.^[10]

Singles

Four singles were released to iTunes; "Great Day" was released on February 2, 2010, "Here We Go" was released on June 28, 2011, "A Friend Like You" was released on September 13, 2011, and "Just Like a Rockstar" was released on November 29, 2011.^{[11][12][13][14]}

The Fresh Beat Band: Music From the Hit TV Show
Studio album by The Fresh Beat Band
Released	January 31, 2012
Recorded	2009–2011
Genre	Children's music[8]
Label	Viacom International Inc., Legacy Recordings[15]
Singles from The Fresh Beat Band: Music From the Hit TV Show
"Great Day" Released: February 2, 2010 "Here We Go" Released: June 28, 2011 "A Friend Like You" Released: September 13, 2011 "Just Like a Rockstar" Released: November 29, 2011

Tracklist

DVD Releases

References

External links

• Official site