Rock N’ Romp provides musical congregation and creativity
By Captain Commanokers
I spent a lot of hours playing the tennis racquet when I was a kid – not a lot of tennis though. The racquet was my weapon of choice in trying to replicate numerous Angus Young riffs as I stomped about the garage in a mad fury of exuberance that rock ‘n’ roll can provide a young set of ears.
Snow Monster rocks FreeKY Fest, 2008. Photo by Matt Jordan / youaintnopicasso.com
A group of people in Lexington is trying to take that racquet and replace it with some full-fledged, joyous racket.
“It’s important for kids to see that music isn’t just a product but a means of expression,” said Neil Bell, one of the board members of Lexington’s new Rock N’ Romp undertaking, which is a concert series that showcases local bands and musicians performing daytime shows to kids and parents.
Several other successful RNR’s are established around the country that follow the formula of kids experiencing live music, experimenting with the instruments or just dancing to their heart’s content, while parents get the all-too-rare opportunity to see music they love with like-minded folks in the community.
The next Lexington RNR is set for Saturday, March 20 at 1 P.M. at Al’s, with performances by Tula, The Swells and Snow Monster, a group led by 6-year-old songstress Mabel, last seen rocking the FreeKY Fest stage in 2008. The only RNR stipulation is that adults need to be accompanied by a child to get in, and vice versa. A suggested donation of $5 goes toward the artists.
The organizers feel an act like Snow Monster can go a long way toward inspiring other young audience members. “A lot of the time the only young performers children get to see are either adults or Disney-fied musical acts that are so overproduced and driven by market trends, it becomes hard for kids to see that music is an act of creation – that it’s a personal process,” Bell said.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect; it shouldn’t be. If all goes well, kids will walk away feeling empowered to go out and create. Kids seeing other kids create and perform music will hopefully show them they can do the same themselves,” he added.
Another board member, Amberly Warnke, also emphasized the importance of Lexington’s RNR goal to include music of all age groups. “High school bands, 12-year-old singer songwriters, 8-year-old new wavers – our kids need to see someone their own age doing something they love, and they need to be encouraged to express themselves while building self-esteem.”
Warnke is also the driving force behind the radio show “Ages 3 and Up!” which airs at 8 A.M. Saturday morning’s on 88.1 WRFL here in Lexington. A mom and former WRFL DJ in the 90s, she had the idea to get back on the airwaves when her son was three.
“There really was not much I considered appropriate for him to listen to on the radio. The lyrics of many ‘grown up’ songs, while not considered ‘explicit,’ are sexually charged, and glorify violence. I fully support the artists’ rights to express themselves in that way, but it’s not what I want my kid to listen to.”
After seeing the music video “I’m A Little Airplane” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers a few years ago on the cable channel Noggin (now Nick Jr.), Warnke was inspired. “The song stuck in my head, and it occurred to me that someone should be playing songs like that for kids on the radio. Since then, my son (radio name: Kid-O) has been helping me do the show. He gets on the air and says hello occasionally and often helps me make musical selections. It’s fun for both of us.”
The wave of events like RNR, which finds parents and children sharing musical experiences together in a laid back and communal manner, seemed to take flight when founders of college/alternative/indie rock bands matured and became parents.
As they became parents, many musicians put out kids’ albums while maintaining an adult career (Medeski Martin & Wood, Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo, They Might Be Giants). Others began producing children’s music exclusively (Dan Zanes of the DelFuegos, Sarah Shannon of Velocity Girl, Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America). “These musicians and their fans wanted family entertainment-events they could attend and enjoy with their children,” Warnke said.
The same evolution has taken place here, as several members of Lexington’s music community sit on the board for RNR. A unified interest in keeping the series a very local endeavor is also an important factor for the members.
“When we create events for local kids and parents, hold them at local businesses and spotlight local talent it tells other members of our community (and communities nationwide) that people in Lexington care about families,” said Warnke.
“It encourages families who live here to stay here, and families who don’t live here to move here. I think a lot of effort has been made on the part of the local government to attract young professionals to downtown Lexington. Working to build a community friendly to children and families will be a key in retaining those new residents as they grow into parenthood,” she added.
Bell hopes that people who used to go out more often before nestling into their homes after having kids will come back out with their kids to see all Lexington has to offer.
“We see it as an investment in the future of Lexington’s creative scene,” he began. “These young kids will start bands, pursue art or at least appreciate creativity more as a result of being exposed to live music performed by people in their community.”
The air-racquet (or broom, or other household objects) is an art form that will likely be preserved for future generations—“Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” are testaments to that. RNR, though, adds more to the mix, allowing Lexington families the ability to share the irreplacable joy of experiencing live music together. That’s a racket we should all get behind.
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