Frances England

OK, music fans, find the common thread here: a former Billboard Top 40 rocker, a trio of teachers, and a mom creating a fundraising project for her son’s school…all kindie rockers! From shiny power pop and faithful renditions of traditional tunes to funky fresh hip-hop and psychedelic sound tapestries, we’re entering a Golden Age of independent music for kids and their families. Major labels and distribution companies? Who needs ’em. Enhanced by the web and social media, the kindie scene has enjoyed unprecedented exposure as bands are able to physically and digitally distribute their music anywhere in the world at any time rather than having to lug around boxes of merch to every concert. Kindie rock has also experienced unprecedented growth in critical recognition, as evidenced by several Grammy awards and nominations over the last few years.

This independence has also boosted communication and collaboration among artists. Rather than fiercely competing for consumer cash or concert headliner status, kindie rockers have forged a cooperative community, giving rise to a network of performers, producers, and performance space owners who actively help and support each other. Artists regularly appear on each other’s albums, and bands routinely invite musical peers to their hometowns and host joint concerts. The camaraderie is also evidenced by bands’ eager participation on compilations such as Science Fair and Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti, both released by Spare the Rock Records, an indie label headed up by longtime kindie rock reviewer Bill Childs.

ARTISTS

Although many independent bands and artists have released superb albums over the last several years, we’ll concentrate here on kindie rockers who have built a significant body of quality work. Following are my picks for some of the best independent bands in kids’ music.

A trio of pre-K and elementary school teachers from Seattle with a passion for Beatles-like pop compositions has become arguably the most prolific kindie rock band in the business. Recess Monkey has released 11 CDs since 2005 (one a double album), each with its own theme. Having worked with young children for years, Drew Holloway (guitar), Jack Forman (bass), and Korum Bischoff (drums, replacing Daron Henry) are keenly adept at expressing the view of the world from a child’s perspective via extremely catchy melodies. For listeners who like the Beatles, Supergrass, and OK Go.

Recommended tracks:

Let’s set the scene: a little yellow creature hailing from the sun lands in the middle of the Minnesota wilderness. Over the course of six CD/DVD releases, he tries to make sense of earthly flora and fauna while struggling to come to terms with his homesickness. Brooklyn-based Morgan Taylor writes and performs (occasionally with the help of members of Wilco) the music of Gustafer Yellowgold, illustrating every song from each CD as a static, moving story on the accompanying “musical moving storybook” DVDs. Several of his CD/DVD packages have been transformed into stage productions performed at the DR2 Theater in Manhattan. For listeners who like Paul McCartney, Harry Nilsson, and XTC.

Recommended tracks: “New Blue Star” (Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wide Wild World, Apple-Eye Productions, 2005) “Smilefield” (Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom, Apple-Eye Productions, 2014)

Mitchell and her husband, Daniel Littleton, have performed grown-up music for years as the band Ida, making their home in New York’s Hudson Valley. After transitioning to children’s music, Mitchell has become a song collector of sorts, rendering ancient folk songs from around the world on each of her albums. Mitchell also focuses the spotlight on tunes by celebrated pop songwriters such as Neil Young, Bill Withers, Lou Reed, Jimi Hendrix, Dickey Betts and Duane Allman, her presentations sometimes joyful, sometimes meditative and mantralike. She was signed by the Smithsonian Folkways label as their first children’s music artist of the 21st century, and her album Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie was nominated for a Grammy in 2012. For listeners who like Joni Mitchell, Velvet Underground, and traditional folk.

Recommended tracks: “Who’s My Pretty Baby” (You Are My Little Bird, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2006) “Keep On the Sunny Side” (Sunny Day, Smithsonian Folkways, 2010)

Jones has become the go-to producer in the kindie rock world, having helmed the boards for critically acclaimed bands like the Okee Dokee Brothers, Elizabeth Mitchell, Recess Monkey, Frances England, the Deedle Deedle Dees, and Uncle Rock. Also hailing from Hudson Valley, the inexhaustible Jones has released three solo albums of music for kids and families and eight with his kindie rock band Dog On Fleas. Jones’ lyrics range from the sublime to the ridiculous, but his words always leave the listener thinking. For those who like Tom Waits, the Band, and Americana music.

Recommended tracks: “Rock Paper Scissors” (Rock Paper Scissors, Dog On Fleas Records, 2010) “Green Grass of Summer” (When I Get Little, Dog On Fleas Records, 2006)

In 2006, San Francisco’s Frances England self-released her debut Fascinating Creatures, intended as a fundraiser for her son’s preschool, and became an accidental kindie rock star. Her career has progressed in reverse of the typical children’s artist’s track: After having released three critically acclaimed albums for kids and their families, she simultaneously recorded an album of grownup songs, Paths We Have Worn, with her fourth children’s album, Blink of an Eye. England’s songs express everyday joys and concerns from the point of view of adult and child, and her sincere, thoughtful lyrics and intimate performances make listeners feel as if she’s singing directly to them. For those who enjoy Yo La Tengo, Sam Phillips, Norah Jones.

Recommended tracks: “Tell Me It All” (Blink of an Eye, Frances England Music, 2013) “Free to Be Me” (Family Tree, Paper Bird Records, 2009)

Once upon a time, Chris Ballew headed up the pop band the Presidents of the United States of America. After charting a handful of Top 40 hits in the ’90s the band parted ways, but Ballew soon reignited his musical career and reinvented himself as Caspar Babypants. The Seattle resident is a seemingly bottomless well of songs, having created eight CDs of family music since 2009 (including an album of Beatles classics), with upwards of 20 originals and covers each. Ballew brilliantly utilizes his pop songwriting acumen to transform folk, blues, and traditional classics into newly realized Babypants tunes. For listeners who like the Presidents of the United States of America, blues and traditional tunes, and the Beatles.

Recommended tracks: “Free Like a Bird” (Here I Am!, Aurora Elephant Music, 2009) “$9.99” (More Please!, Aurora Elephant Music, 2009)

This former member of the Minneapolis-based indie-rock band Pimentos for Gus has translated his sharp sense of musical arrangement into shining power pop for kids and their families, focusing on the everyday triumphs and travails of elementary-age kids. Now a Chicago-area resident, Roberts has released nine albums on his own Carpet Square Records since 1998, and he has two Grammy nominations under his belt (“Jungle Gym,” 2011; “Recess,” 2014). Although Roberts handled the distribution of his music when he first kicked off his kindie rock career, it’s now taken care of by Red Distribution (Sony/BMG). For listeners who like Fountains of Wayne, Green Day, and the Beach Boys.

Recommended tracks:

“Recess” (Recess, Carpet Square Records, 2013) “Picture Day” (Way Out, Carpet Square Records, 2005)

Lead singer/guitarist Molly Ledford (formerly of the indie-rock band the Verna Cannon) has increasingly become the face and presence of this West Columbia, SC, trio. In addition to rocking out with drummer/husband Jay Barry and bassist J.P. Stephens as Lunch Money, Ledford involves herself with empowering and entertaining projects like Girls Rock Columbia and puppetry troupe Belle et Bête. Releasing four albums since 2004, Lunch Money may be the most “indie rock”-sounding band in children’s music, highlighting a not-so-heavy, loose-limbed, jangly style, emphasizing uniquely kid-centric lyrics. For listeners who like Lush, Jonathan Richman, and Cocteau Twins.

Recommended tracks: “Please Don’t Move (to Another Time Zone)” (Original Friend, Squirrel Mechanic Records, 2010) “Wake Up World” (Dizzy, Squirrel Mechanic Records, 2009)

Other notable artists

Todd McHatton. Want psychedelic? Todd’s got it.

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. The absolute best Kid Hop out there.

The Okee Dokee Brothers. Grammy-winning duo creates Americana music travelogues.

A former senior children’s librarian with the New York Public Library, Warren Truitt now reviews children’s music for his blog “Kids’ Music that Rocks.”