Thursday, December 20, 2007

Fun Holiday Tunes

Vending Machine, headed by Rock-n-Romp's very own Robby Grant, has four original holiday tunes available for downloading on the Vending Machine blog.

Robby created the tunes with his family and friends and they ROCK. I especially love Wot is Nog w/Shelby Bryant. The tunes will only be up through December, so check them out now!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Oct 27th Recap

Ok, I know there was a lot going on Saturday, but I have to say that if you missed the Rock-n-Romp, you should be SAD.

Oh
My
God
It was AWESOME!



The kids were all dressed up and busy rocking out, painting Junkyard boxes, tattooing themselves, and having a wild time as usual. The parents were enjoying some much needed sunshine, cold beer, and incredible music. The Butlers' had the yard all Halloweened up, and Colin kept everyone entertained with his multiple costumes.



Rae Ray was up first and immediately drew the kids in with a tale of underwater love between a shark and an octopus. (I won't ruin the ending for you!)



The next thing I knew, a pint-sized Dorothy was on stage playing backup kazoo. And best of all, the parents who had realized we didn't have any ear plugs to pass out, collectively made a sign of relief. The volume was just perfect.

Next up was the oh so smooth and easy on the eyes, Arma Secreta.



I had never had a chance to hear them play live and was once again amazed by Robby's ability to book kick ass bands again and again. They were a little louder than Rae Ray but still very "oops I forgot my earplugs" friendly.

And now for the really good part...which definitely required ear plugs and/or desensitized ear drums!!

When I first imagined Rock-n-Romp, The Subteens were on stage doing their rendition of the Ramones' Blitzkrieg Bop. Everyone said it would never happen, but on Saturday it did.

With one exception.

I always figured my two monkeys would be up front rocking out, but instead, one was feverish and passed out next to me while the other was being joyfully rolled around the yard in a cardboard box by the skinniest Spider-man I ever saw.

But you know what? It was still freaking too good to be true. Those dudes can rock!!



Look at Mark!



Terrance and Bubba started the season off with The River City Tanlines, ended it with the Subteens, and said they'd happily play again with whatever band they have going at the time. I can hardly wait for next season!

Speaking of, email us or comment here and let us know what bands you want to hear, where you want to hear them, and at what time! We're thinking of going 3-6pm next year and we're kicking around some ideas to take Rock-n-Romp to the next level. So, let us hear from you!

Thanks to everyone for making the second season of Rock-n-Romp even more rockin-n-rompin than the first!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Monday, October 01, 2007

October 27th Line-Up

We will wrap up the second season of Rock-n-Romp on Saturday, October 27th from 2-5pm at the Butlers'. Dress the kids in their Halloween costumes, pack a healthy snack to share, and come enjoy an afternoon of amazing music.

The line-up includes:

Arma Secreta
Rae-Ray

and...

The Subteens!!!

Evites will be going out shortly. If you are not already on the guest list, please send an email to memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

September Recap

Wow, we TOTALLY lucked out on the weather Saturday. After rain all day Thursday and Friday and a dismal forecast, I thought for sure we'd be romping at the Strings & Things! Instead we had several hours of sunshine and light in which to take over the Murphys' lovely backyard.

However, once I stopped worrying about the weather, I started worrying about our attendance. At 2:00pm we only had a spattering of regulars setting up their blankets and filling their beer cups. Everyone else stayed calm, and by 3:00pm we had our usual mob of music lovers. (Is 2:00pm too close to nap time? Should we start at 3:00pm?)



The Junkyard gang came with lots of materials for making instruments and, best of all, paint! The kids loved it and kept quite busy.



(Look for the Junkyard gang at Cooper Young this weekend. They are having the kids build a city out of boxes!)

Caleb Sweazy, a recent Memphis transplant and Rock-n-Romp poster dad, took the "stage" first. All those late nappers missed out!



The Arch Rivals were up next and confessed that this was the largest audience they'd ever played for!



(I found them totally charming until Quinn called me "Mam" later in the afternoon!!!)

Last but not least, we had Those Darlins from Murfreesboro. They are an old time country band specializing in Carter family songs. They are also the women responsible for bringing The Southern Girls Rock-n-Roll Camp to Memphis. It was really awesome to see them, especially now that they are all living in the same house and coordinating their outfits!



Beautiful weather, awesome music, activities for the kids, free beer...what more could anyone ask for? Kool-aid pickles? Well, we had those too.

Stayed tuned for the October line up!

See more RnR pictures here.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

September 8th Line Up

This just in!

The September 8th Rock-n-Romp line up has been confirmed! Get out your dancing shoes and your ear plugs! (Actually, this may be the first ever Rock-n-Romp that doesn’t require ear plugs!)

Come hear local dad, Caleb Sweazy, Murfreesboro’s Those Darlins, and local band The Arch Rivals.

Evites will be going out the week of August 27th. If you are not already on the guestlist, please email memphisrocknromp@gmail.com and we will add you!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

July 21st Recap

The third Rock n Romp of the second season was by far our biggest turnout yet! Good thing we had the obscenely large backyard of the Kerrs for this show-- thanks so much to our gracious hosts Terry and Elaine. (This was also RnR's first excursion out of Midtown-- that wasn't so bad, was it?)

The weather was uncharacteristically great for July-- low humidity and a light breeze. We had a water play area, the good ol' banging wall, homemade tattoos, and Lisa from Junkyard Memphis doing crafty cool stuff with the kids.

Pezz kicked off the show, rocking in ways that RnR has never been rocked.



Ill Ease, straight off the road from Chicago, re-defined the concept of crowd involvement:




And finally, Papa Top's West Coast Turnaround both rocked and romped it:



Thanks to all three bands, and thanks to everyone who came out. Seeya in September!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

July 21st Line-up



To be added to the guestlist send an email to memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Kidzapalooza



The second annual Kidzapalooza is in Chicago August 3, 4, and 5. Someone please go and tell us all about it!

The Line Up
Paul Green School of Rock All Stars
Perry Farrell and Peter DiStefano
G Love
The Hipwaders
The Sippy Cups
Peter Himmelman
The Candy Band
Wee Hairy Beasties
The Q Brothers
The Blisters
Rock For Kids Jam Band
Alvin Ailey Dance Camp
John Yost's Rhythm Revolution
..and some more main stage very special guests!!!

Activities
Paul Green's School of Rock workshops
Dance workshops with the Brickheadz and Chicago School of Dance
Hip Hop Workshop with the Q Brothers and the Inferno Mobile Recording Studio
Remo Drum Circle with facilitator John Yost
Rock & Roll Hairdooz
Small Paul Screen Printing
Photoshootz
Gibson G-Pod
Gibson Little Baldwins
Playstation Gaming
Arts at Play
...and much more!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

June 9th Recap

Despite some rain on Thursday (or was it Friday?), we ended up with beautiful weather for the second Rock-n-Romp of the season. The show was hosted by Wendy Sumner and Kalki Winter, who you may or may not know from the Midtown Artist Market. They graciously opened up their gorgeous backyard to about 150 parents and kids.



As if great weather and a great yard weren't enough, we had two incredible bands and an awesome DJ.

The Warble was first up and they really got the show off to a great start. They were unlike any band I've ever heard--totally original. They were responsible for the whimsical Rock-n-Romp poster design and were just as creative with their lyrics.



The kids were quite taken with them. The boy on the right cracked me up. He had a perplexed look on his face, but every few seconds, he'd bend his knees and dance along with the music.



When not listening to the music, the kids kept busy with the usual tattoo offerings, bubbles, and the ever popular banging wall.





It seemed like we had a wave of folks come around 3:15pm (due to naptime maybe?), which was great, but they all missed out on the magic that was The Warble!

Next up was Giant Bear, "the world’s only five-piece Orchestral Funkabilly band," who just got national distribution for their latest CD. After one song, I could see why. They were absolutely top notch.

Jeff White, who plays guitar & banjo, and does vocals, had his son nearby to accompany him on the "bubble guitar."



The kids (and parents) really responded to Giant Bear, and I was happy to see some real live dancing going on.









What can I say...Rock-n-Romp just keeps getting better and better. Stay tuned for details on our July 21st show, which is guaranteed to be our biggest show yet!

For more pictures, check out our Flickr set.

To get on the RnR guestlist or send feedback, please email memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Monday, April 30, 2007

April 28th Recap


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The second season of Memphis Rock-n-Romp got off to a great start thanks to Vending Machine. (Fronted by Rock-n-Romp co-founder, Robby Grant).

Kelly Anderson, who is bringing the Southern Girls Rock-n-Roll Camp to Memphis this Summer, was on hand to sign up girls ages 10-18.

Kate Crowder, our April Rock-n-Romp host, is not only the lead singer of Two Way Radio, but a teacher and kid craft genius. She set up a station for all the rompers to make safari shakers to play along with the bands.

As always the banging wall was set up for rompers to bang at will.

Rompers could also be seen driving through the yard on one of many toy cars. (Oliver Crowder, our youngest host, wins the RnR Sharing Award for so freely giving of his toys.)

Plenty of tattoos were also available to keep the kids happy.

There were lots of new faces.

DJ Colin Butler rocked the yard for awhile with his eclectic mix of music and then the River City Tanlines took the stage. Having never had the chance to see them live, I was thrilled.

I was happy to see that some people took our "bring earplugs" advice seriously. However, some people found the hard rock to be quite soothing. When the music was over, there was plenty of time for the kids to play rock star while the parents chatted and finished off the keg of Abita.

Hope to see you at our next show June 9th featuring The Warble and Giant Bear!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

April 28th Show

Schedule:
DJ Colin Butler - (2-5pm when bands aren't playing)
Vending Machine - 230pm
River City Tanlines - 4pm


To get on the guest list, email memhisrocknromp@gmail.com. You will be sent an evite with the address for the show.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Southern Girls Rock-n-Roll Camp coming to Memphis!

Kelley Anderson, the founder of the Southern Girls Rock-n-Roll camp in Murfreesboro, is holding one in Memphis this summer. If you want to volunteer or know any young girls interested in music, please contact her or visit the Southern Girls Rock-n-Roll Camp website to download volunteer forms. (Men and women are encouraged to volunteer!)

To give you a quick overview: SGRRC offers girls age 10-17 instruction in guitar, drums, bass, keys, vocals, and electronic music as well as workshops in DIY arts & crafts, zine making, photography and songwriting. The camp is being held at the Gibson Guitar Factory in downtown Memphis and the dates are June 18 - 23. The coolest part about camp is that the girls get to form a band, rehearse each day with a volunteer band "manager" and then at the end of the week perform a song. The final showcase is going to be on the roof of the Gibson Guitar Factory in true Beatles fashion. More info on the camp is available at www.sgrrc.org.

Contact:
Kelley Anderson (sgrrc05@gmail.com)
Founder, SGRRC
(615) 849-8140
www.sgrrc.org

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Line up for April 28th

This just in...the line up for the first Rock-n-Romp show on April 28th!

DJ Colin Butler
The River City Tanlines
Vending Machine

To get on the guestlist, please send an email to memphisrocknromp@gmail.com. Evites with the location will be going out the first week of April.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

2007 Season

The Rock-n-Romp crew is hard at work planning five shows for this year. We are currently looking for hosts and bands who are interested in playing. Please contact us at memphisrocknromp@gmail.com if you are interested.

In the meantime, go ahead and mark your calendar for the following dates!

April 28
June 9
July 21
September 8
October 27