Exploding with musical creativity and loaded with brainy, tickle-your-funny-bone humor, Thumb Wrestling Champions, the debut album from The Green Orbs, is set for release on September 7, 2018.The Green Orbs are the brother-and-sister team of Eddie RosenBerg III and Heather Hirshfield, who grew up in a music-filled household near the Jersey coast listening to the Beatles, oldies radio, and '80s songs. These influences are front and center in this brilliant, zany album.
The never-a-dull moment, laugh-out-loud fun of Thumb Wrestling Champions hits the ground running, with its wacky, eponymous opener setting high the absurdity bar for the whole album. "Thumb Wrestling Champions" is an homage to the '80s movie montage, as each verse describes a new battle between two crazy contestants, culminating in a guest appearance by none other than Abraham Lincoln. Next up, a fantastic '60s-style dance number, "The Suction Cup Shuffle," demonstrates Heather Hirshfield's uncanny ability to deliver a blazing, beautiful melodic lead. The following track downshifts to the Kafkaesque "Doug the Bug," a spectacularly droll song that delivers a six-legged world view.
"Twelve Steps to Eating Your Veggies" gives a tongue-in-cheek slant to the mealtime struggle endured by kids ordered to consume items that usually warrant a torrent of juvenile loathing, while "Soup" dishes up undeniable truth and a hearty helping of Neil Young with its droll wit that grows progressively more hilarious with repetition.
The Green Orbs officially saw the light of day in 2011 when Eddie RosenBerg III and Heather Hirshfield wrote a trio of original story-songs for the Mibblio music app: "Mashed Potato Monster Gang," "Always Bring Your Toothbrush When You Go to Outer Space," and "The Hams in The Deep Blue Sea."
Three years later The Green Orbs were invited to record original instrumental songs and nursery rhymes for the YouTube Audio Library. To date, they have written and recorded 50 songs for YouTube, with 40 currently available for use in videos, copyright free. In 2015 they collaborated with actor Joel Marsh Garland (Orange is the New Black, The Last O.G.) on a song called "Mr. Mustache," which was later released, along with "The Hams in The Deep Blue Sea," as The Green Orbs' first EP, Dear Mr. Mustache. 2017 saw The Green Orbscollaborating with children's artist Uncle Dox on the song "Cornfield," which was named the #3 kids' single of the year by the Radio Active Kids radio show.
Eddie Rosenberg III is a composer/performer currently living in New York City. He studied saxophone at the Eastman School of Music, composition at Queens College, and counterpoint with Paul Caputo. Eddie is currently pursuing a PhD in musical composition at Stony Brook University.
Ed performs regularly with a variety of jazz/rock/new-music groups including: Anti-Social Music, Asphalt Orchestra, Fireworks Ensemble, Talking Band, The Mettawee River Theater Company, Amy Lynn & The Honey Men, Euphonique Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Signal, Liz Roche Dance Company, and the Bottlenote Music Collective in Dublin, as well as more staid aggregations like the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
A founding member of the instrumental prog-jazz-metal group Jerseyband, Ed has played throughout the US and Europe and recorded seven albums with that ensemble. He also enjoys making grind-core music with Heart of Barf and meditative drone-based prog-rock with Glue Gun Optimism. In his spare time, Eddie likes to write personalized songs for kids under the name SongBaby.
A resident of Marlton, New Jersey, Heather Hirshfield is the mother of three beautiful daughters who continue to inspire her every day. Heather began playing piano in second grade and currently teaches fifteen keyboard students. Over time, she added ukulele, trumpet, and baritone horn to her instrumental accomplishments, and she has also been training as an opera singer for the past twelve years under the tutelage of Ildiko Rozs. Heather's love of singing includes a special affection for musical theater, so when she began voice lessons Heather thought she would focus on Broadway show tunes. However, to her eventual delight, Ildiko Rozs led her into the world of opera and choral works, which includes one of Heather's favorite pieces to sing, "Inflammatus et accensus" from Rossini's Stabat Mater.
Thumb Wrestling Champions will be available at iTunes, CDBaby, and Bandcamp (CD and digital), as well as Amazon (digital only).
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