November 1st Recap-o-rama

Saturday was our last show of the 2008 season and if I do say so myself, it was badass. It was the first time that we skipped sign-ins and just had people read a disclaimer, so I can't tell you how many people were actually at the Metal Museum, but it definitely looked like our largest crowd ever.

The Metal Museum was a really awesome venue and I want to thank the Ferrymans for hosting us. It was great having the Mississippi as a backdrop and the kids loved having so much space to run around in...and sculptures to climb on!



First up, we had the Nellie Olesons. They came dressed to the nines and had the best face paint I have ever seen. They played old-time country music mixed with some 70s and 80s covers and were very rockin. Two of the Nellies are former teachers and one is also a parent/RnR regular. I thought they did a really nice of job of trying to involve the kids.



The Barbaras always put on a good show and Saturday was no exception. They definitely got the kids' and parents' attention. Bennett Foster, who was singing lead, was super high energy and I think the kids could really relate to him!



The True Sons of Thunder were a little more hardcore than the Nellies and the Barbaras, so we had to break out the earplugs. They came to rock, and rock they did.



There was at least one romper, however, who wasn't deterred by the volume.



Harlan T. Bobo and the Luv Clowns definitely stole the show.



We've probably never had an act geared so much towards the kids, and I think they really enjoyed it. (However, there was definitely a "I'm too cool for clowns and puppets" contingency!) To me, the best part about the Luv Clowns was that it was fun for the adults too. (Although I'm sure there were some parents who wanted to see plain ol' Harlan.) I especially liked the way they ended the show with Bob Dylan's "Everybody must get stoned" but with the lyrics "Everybody must have kids."



As an organizer of RnR I couldn't help feeling awfully proud of what we've accomplished.



Three years ago, eight parents banded together to produce a kid-friendly outdoor concert series for rockin' parents who didn't get a chance to see live music very often. We relied on the musicians to play for free, people to open up their houses and yards, and for guests to spread the word.

We've had 15 shows at 12 different locations and had 34 bands/DJs play to hundreds of Memphis families. The price has always been a very reasonable $5 per adult and since our second season we have been able to pay all of the bands as well as provide our hosts with a $50 restaurant gift card.

Thanks to everyone who has helped make Memphis Rock-n-Romp such a smashing success! We'll be sending out a survey soon to get your feedback and ideas for 2009!

To see more pictures from the show(s), visit our Flickr Pool. If you took pictures, please add them!)

Saturday's Line Up:

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Metal Museum!

Here's the line-up:

2:15 pm: Nellie Olsens
3:15 pm: The Barbaras
4:15 pm: True Sons of Thunder
5:15 pm: The Luv Clowns featuring Harlan T. Bobo

Don't forget to bring a blanket/chair and snacks to share. We'll provide the beer, sidewalk chalk, and awesome music. Costumes welcome.

Adults $5 donation; kids free.

Rock-n-Romp at your own risk!

November 1st Line-Up

Our final show of the season is fast approaching and we are SO excited!

We've got a great line-up:

The Nellie Olesons
True Sons of Thunder
Harlan T. Bobo
The Barbaras

Because we have four bands this time and it is our last show, we will be rocking and romping from 2-6pm.

And if having four awesome bands wasn't exciting enough, we will be holding the show on the grounds of the National Ornamental Metal Museum!

So mark your calendars for November 1st and stay tuned for more details.

To add your name to our official invite list, send an email to memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Sept. 27th Recap

I'm still a bit stunned by how perfectly the show went on Saturday. We had incredible weather, the best backyard in town, three amazing bands, and a huge turnout of rockin' parents and rompin' kids.



Two Way Radio, eight members strong, kicked off the show:







Garrison Starr who drove all the way from Nashville just for us played second. (These photos were taken prior to 30 kids rushing the stage to "help" her play a few songs!)



The Bluff City Backsliders finished the show. Mike Graber, who you probably know from Facebook, came up from Oxford to play.





We really appreciate everyone who made Saturday such a wonderful day. If you took pictures, please add them to our Flickr pool.

Mark your calendars for the last show of the season, November 1st! Bands and location to be announced soon.

September 27th Show

Email invitations (no more Evites!) with show location going out soon! To get on the list email memphisrocknromp@gmail.com

Rock-N-Romp Recap

We totally lucked out with the weather and had an awesome show on Saturday! Thanks to the Phillips for offering up their amazing yard; Chasing Squirrels, Dan Montgomery, and Ultra Cats for the rockin' tunes; and to everyone (big & small) who came out to support Memphis music.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming shows: September 27th and November 1st! As always, to get on our evite list, email us at memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Rocking On Outside

The rain seems to be disappearing as it gets to us, so today's Rock n Romp will held outside after all, at original location on your evite. A couple of raindrops can't stop us! Seeya there.

Rain Plan

We aren't too happy about today's forecast, and are busy coming up with a plan. We will let you know by 1:00pm whether we'll be romping outside as scheduled or at our backup location, the Hi-Tone.

Stay tuned!

New Tees

Don't forget to bring a little extra cash to the show this Saturday if you wanna get your hands on one of our new rockin' tees! Adult & kid sizes available. 100% of the proceeds go to producing future Rock-n-Romps and paying our awesome musicians.

June 28th Show

We've confirmed the following bands for our June 28th show!

Chasing Squirrels
Dan Montgomery
The Ultra Cats

The show will be from 3-6pm at a house near the U of M. Evites will be going out in the next few days. To get on the list, send an email to memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

Date Change!

Sorry to do this to you, but we've had to change the June 7th Rock-n-Romp to June 28th. Please mark your calendars accordingly!

Remaining 2008 Dates:

June 28

September 27

November 1

April 12th Recap

Saturday we kicked off our third season of at the Tidwells' house. They just happened to have the most perfect amphitheater-like yard ever. We lucked out with warm weather for most of the day and had a massive crowd of 200+ people.

The Flying Monkeys, The Harmony Brothers, and Dragoon were all awesome in their own way. The Flying Monkeys appeared to be having so much fun, I thought we might have to drag them from the stage! (I mean that in a nice way!)

Jeff Hulett, of The Harmony Brothers, has played two other Rock-n-Romps with two different bands, both of which got rained on. He was very excited to finally have the full-on sunny day experience of Rock-n-Romp.

Those of you who left a little early really missed out on the fun that was Dragoon! The lead singer, an elementary school teacher by day, really got the kids going!

Speaking of, why did people start leaving around 5:00pm? Was it getting too cold? Was it time for dinner? Was Dragoon too loud? Let us know! We pushed our start time back an hour to accommodate the nappers, but we don't want to lose people just when things are getting lively!

Here are some photos from staff photographer Chip Chockley:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

April 12th Show!

Evites with show location going out soon! To get on the list email memphisrocknromp@gmail.com

Awesome poster art by Flannery Harper

2008 News

Hello fellow Rock-n-Rompers,

Just wanted to let you know that the 2008 season is fast approaching! We are currently looking for hosts in the Midtown area with decent-sized, child-friendly yards.

Hosting is easy and FUN! The Rock-n-Romp board will handle all of the set-up and clean-up, prepare your neighbors by distributing fliers, contact the local police department to let them know what's going on, and rent a Port-a-Potty if necessary.

The host family will receive a gift certificate for dinner at a Midtown restaurant, each member of the host family will receive a free Rock-n-Romp t-shirt of their choosing, and everyone will think you totally rock!

Shows are scheduled for the following dates:
(The new show time will be from 3-6pm to accommodate the nappers!)

April 12

June 28

September 27

November 1

In case of rain, shows will be relocated to the Hi-Tone.

Please let us know right away if you are interested in hosting...or if your band wants to play...or if there is a band that you really want to see play at RnR. (And while we're at it, let us know if you are interested in joining the board for the 2009 season!)

Thanks!
The Rock-n-Romp Board

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!

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.

Oct 27th

Cover art by Max Dixon. Design by Kelli Smith.

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.

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.

See you September 8th!

Poster art by Flannery Harper, age 11

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!

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!

July 21st Line-up

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

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!

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.

June 9th Show

To get on the guestlist, please email memphisrocknromp@gmail.com.

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!

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.

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