It's music to their little ears

Local performers play to children -- and win over parents -- with live shows, CDs and more

It didn't matter that it was 10 a.m. and it didn't matter that they were in a coffeehouse: They came to rock to Stacy Clearman's LittleLand, and Clearman came to rock them. So at Holly Springs' Java Divine one recent morning, Clearman, along with guitar and a recording of music he mixed in his home studio, belted out the ABC song.

Now I know my ABCs

Next time won't you JUMP with me.

And then Clearman jumped. A few feet below, two dozen toddlers and preschoolers jumped and bumped too, making a mini mosh pit.

Their moms sat back, clapping, smiling and singing along. Because it probably wasn't that long ago that some of them were front and center at concerts, rocking and singing too. And because this was children's music they could bear.

For some parents these days, that's the way it is: Kids fit into their lives, not the other way around.

Parenting blogs and glossy magazines such as Cookie focus on how moms can stay cool -- even with their offspring. Local boutiques feature shirtdresses for little girls that their mom would wear.

And while the CD player in the car may spin the same CD again and again, there's a good chance it's music that is tolerable to the parents, at least during the first 100 listens.

Children's music isn't just lullabies on Casio keyboards, Barney and Raffi anymore. Artists who first entertained today's parents, such as They Might Be Giants, Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies, are making their own CDs or singing on compilations. One CD series turns melodies by Pink Floyd, Nirvana and other popular bands into instrumental lullabies.

The "kindie rock" stars include Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, the South Carolina-based band Lunch Money, and the Sippy Cups, who sound like a lot like the indie bands that moms and dads were listening to before kids came.

And, locally, at least three local children's artists and bands have recent CD releases. Another is working on a second. They pack in parents and kids for regular weekday performances and draw crowds at community festivals and concerts.

"None of it is very hugely well-known like Raffi was, but there's a lot of stuff," says Tray Batson of Durham, who performs as Baron Von Rumblebuss, the leader of the band Redd Zeppelin. Batson, a music therapist and the father of a 3-year-old, sings, plays guitar and writes the music for the group.

Batson takes a lot of his influences from The Who, calling his pieces bombastic and triumphant -- not words normally used to describe music for young kids. But they love it.

'Made for both of us'

Little Naveen Shankar in Holly Springs falls asleep to a CD of Coldplay melodies, and mom Jacqueline Shankar doesn't mind listening.

Jack Johnson's "Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the film Curious George" also is a favorite. Shankar is a fan of Johnson, an alternative pop-folk singer-songwriter.

"I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be made for both of us," Shankar says, as Naveen explores the microphones set up at Clearman's LittleLand concert.

Karen Horne plays a collection of lullabies from Pottery Barn for her 1-year-old son Thomas, Naveen's cousin. It's the usual "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," but to a bluesy or bluegrass sound.

"Music is very, very important for their development," Horne says at the Holly Springs coffee shop. "But I don't want to listen to something that is repetitive and boring."

A dozen years ago, parents were popping Mozart into the CD player for their babies because a study found a relationship between intelligence and listening to the composer, a child prodigy.