Rockin' Out with the Kids

Joe and I just finished playing a gig for a Kindergarten class at A.N. Pritzker School in Wicker Park. We thank them! The gig came by way of Joe, uncle to one of the kids Grant, who was out sick today (sadly). Thanks in no small part to the fabulous Ms. Frank, the crowd of about 20 youngsters was friendly and polite. We quickly realized that their sensitive little ears couldn't handle super-loud, in-your-face rock, so we kept it pretty quiet. They giggled when Joe's drum machine said "Please Choose An Activity," and with the pressing of a button, we were OFF with "Itchin" ("Bitchin' with child-friendly lyrics). They seemed to take to it nicely, bobbin' their heads. Joe's theremin was of course a big hit. Next up was "Hi Love You" which inspired them to clap along with the Seeburg beatbox's Teen Beat. A beat-free "Gigantaur" was next... inspiring one little boy to fall asleep next to the bass speaker (which was actually kinda funny), while another young girl swayed in place, eyes closed, obviously lost in rapture. The other kids were kinda slack-jawed... I believe the little boy woke up when Joe's simulated siren started. At the behest of a blond bespectacled little audience member, we started out our final number "Derailment" as an instrumental and then, realizing it was starting to get sorta repetitive as a mere instrumental, added vocals when it came time to "shake your arms out." It was nice to see some pairs of little arms shake. To close things out all the kids got to try out the theremin (while I introduced them to the bass riff to the Cameo song "Candy"), and they liked it so much they all did it twice! What an interesting journey into the unknown. We'll put some show pix up soon, courtesy of Joe's wife Liz, who was kind enough to help us schlep gear and take pictures today. Thanks for reading!
-Deck