The Not-Its! is a Seattle-based band that makes rock music for children. The five-member band which includes Sarah Shannon, Danny Adamson, Tom Baisden, Jennie Helman and Michael Welke creates high-energy danceable tunes. Their first full-length album, titled We Are The Not-Its! won them the Fids and Kamily music award in the category of best children’s music albums in 2009, and since then they have been belting out hits one after another.
The female band members are always seen in big, pink tutus whereas their male counterparts wear glittery Chuck Taylor shoes and skinny pink ties - to ensure they maintain retro look. The band will soon be releasing their next album Are You Listening?
The Not-Its will be travelling to the city to perform at the BuddyDaddy Family Bash, a live entertainment family festival to be held later this week. Metrolife spoke to the drummer Welke, who talks about their music, association and future projects.
How did you guys come together?
We all used to play and tour with indie rock bands (Sarah was with a band called Velocity Girl, I was with Harvey Danger) but then stopped once we began having
children.
As our families were growing, we joked that we should start a band that made music for children. Mainly because everything out there was pretty tame and soft. We wanted to make music that really rocked and made children want to move around. Little did we know the band would turn into something like this!
What is your musical philosophy?
Our musical philosophy is ‘fun’. This band is not our job –we all have day jobs-so we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't super fun.
What challenges did you face while taking up this idea?
Getting people to come watch you was the biggest challenge. Once we got that part rolling, the next challenge was creating a show that would keep kids engaged.
I would say our live show is half about playing the songs and the other half about crowd participation, and making it fun for the whole audience. The other challenge is volume.
Playing loud rock and roll, we always have to be conscious about not making it too loud on little ears.
Are you open to play other genres of music, if needed?
We all used to play lots of indie rock. We did enjoy that, so I wouldn't rule it out, but let's be honest....most bands these days comprise people in their 20’s.
We are in our 40’s. That ship has most likely sailed. But if The Not-Its! ever called it quits and the opportunity came to play music of another genre, I'm sure none of us would turn it down if it were music we loved.
How’s the response from the international audience?
India is our first international trip, but we have played in many other states around the US with great response and have had a good response for our CDs with great reviews as far away as Australia.
Any artist that you’d like to collaborate with?
Our friend, Secret Agent 23 Skiddoo, who is also performing at the fest is someone who we have collaborated with in the past.
We have a record out with a song from him on one side and our song on the other side. As far as other artists we'd like to collaborate with,
probably Taylor Swift or the band Air Supply.
Have you ever heard Bollywood music?
We have heard Bollywood music before, there is a lot of it available online in the United States. I know our singer, Sarah, is probably the biggest fan as we’ve seen her dance to Bollywood before.
What is in store for your fans?
We are very excited to perform in Delhi. Travel planning is a bit hectic and we are trying to learn a lot about the culture. We have some super cool moves that we're going to get the audience to do with us.
Our fans at the Buddy Daddy Family Bash will see a super high energy, fun,
participatory rock and roll concert when we're on stage and our fans worldwide can get our upcoming album, titled Are You Listening?, in store soon with a release date of February 19.
