Seattle Children's Music Festival brings rock to the little ones

On Saturday, the all-ages Vera Project will truly be for all ages.

Usually the venue caters to teenagers, but this time, all children — even the grown-up kind — are welcome to the very first Seattle Children's Music Festival, dubbed "Timeout To Rock!"

It'll be a full-on rock concert with four bands, goody bags for the first 100 kids, a bake sale and an art station. The event is also a fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting the American Diabetes Association.

The concert is a testament to the growth in the kids' music genre.

"There's definitely a big movement of children's music in Seattle in the last year or two," said Danny Adamson, guitarist for participating rock band The Not-Its!, and the festival coordinator. "The genre is gaining huge momentum. ... It may be a sign that now all these indie rockers have kids."

More on the bands on Saturday's lineup:

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com

The Not-Its!

"I think parents enjoy watching their kids totally rock out to a band for the first time," said Not-Its! bassist Nori Hoeft.

The band even has kid-friendly posters with proper rock etiquette.

Headed up by Sarah Shannon, singer in Sub Pop band Velocity Girl, all the band members are veterans of the indie-rock scene.

"We all missed playing in bands, but logistically trying to fit a band into having a family works a lot better if you're playing children's music," Hoeft said. "Our shows are at 2 in the afternoon, instead of 2 in the morning."

The five musicians in the pop-punk band have seven children among them, ranging from 10 months to 6 years old. The kids serve as inspiration for songs.

"We know a song is not going to be good if our kids are not into it," said Adamson, who should know — he has a son in kindergarten.

The Board of Education!

Seattle indie-pop band Central Services decided to go younger for their latest album — much younger.

"There's something rewarding about it, in a different way than playing a grown-up show," said frontman Kevin Emerson.

Emerson's music draws on his background as a children's author and teacher. He writes a paperback series called "Oliver Nocturne," about vampires, and teaches writing to elementary- and middle-school students. So his music has "Schoolhouse Rock"-type topics: the ice age, tomatoes, the use of commas.

But while the subjects may be kiddie, the sound of the Central Services offshoot is still "modern pop rock," said Emerson, 34, who is influenced by WILCO, Aimee Mann and Ben Folds.

Recess Monkey

Recess Monkey is the perfect extracurricular activity — each member is a Seattle elementary-school teacher.

"We're adults, they're kids. We find a common space at work. Why can't we find it in music, too?" asked bassist Jack Forman, a first- and second-grade teacher at the University Child Development School.

Many of Recess Monkey's songs are inspired by their students, such as the one who hula-hooped for 45 minutes. Their sound, however, is from the band members' own favorite: The Beatles.

Each member is a Beatle doppelgänger. Drummer Daron Henry is the George Harrison, the eternal optimist who cheers the band on. Bassist Forman is bandleader, a la Paul McCartney. And singer/guitarist Drew Holloway is the creative mind behind the band, a John Lennon who comes up with the bulk of the song material.

"Usually, it's hard for people to go back to when they were kids, but as a parents or teachers, you get a second lease on reliving some of those moments," Forman said.

Caspar Babypants

Chris Ballew, lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America, lends his wacky chops to Caspar Babypants.

"It's not much of a stretch from The Presidents," said Ballew, whose Seattle punk-pop band is currently taking a break. "I'm still singing songs about bugs and animals. I'm still drawing upon the same influences — old folk music and blues."

The difference? Caspar Babypants music is much quieter, said Ballew, and without the sexual innuendo, it has a much more innocent vibe. This band (the name comes from Ballew's nickname) is geared toward calming down the newborn-to-toddler set.

"I'm drawn to and inspired by that age" said Ballew, who has two kids, ages 8 and 12, "because they're perfect humans. They haven't been screwed up yet. They're happy where they are. They don't know the boundaries of their own bodies. They're totally enlightened little creatures and free.

"I want to be around that energy."