Musician Goes From Indie Rock to Kiddie Rock

Justin Roberts’ journey from indie rock to kiddie rock started in the 1990s. He was playing in a rock band at night and working as a Montesorri preschool teacher during the day.

Roberts started writing some children’s songs “almost as a joke,” he said. But kids, friends and family responded so well that he recorded his debut family music CD in 1998. The indie rock thing didn’t work out, but who cares? As a children's musician, Roberts has earned rave reviews from major media outlets (USA Today called him the “Paul McCartney of kids’ music”), performed on The Today Show and was even nominated for a Grammy in 2010.

Backed by the Not Ready For Naptime Players band, the Chicago-based musician will bring his brand of rocking children's music to Skipper's Smokehouse Sunday, toting tunes such as "Willy Was a Whale" and "Obsessed By Trucks" in his arsenal. New Tampa Patch spoke with Roberts over the phone recently. And here is what he said …

… about where his inspiration comes from despite not having children of his own.

Roberts: “A lot of it comes from memories of my own childhood and other people telling me stories in their childhood. … I kind of write mostly with myself in mind. I’m just basically trying to write a song I would want to listen to. I (don't) do market research. I write the songs, write the records and find out later if they like them.”

… when asked whether this was a full-time job.

Roberts: “It has been for 10 years.”

… whether he was in the midst of a tour.

Roberts: “We’re kind of constantly touring. We do performances on weekends. We go from Friday to Sunday. Every weekend we’re somewhere.”

… about the sales of children’s music CDs when compared with other music genres.

Roberts: “It is a little better. There is a sense that, with kids and the age of parents coming to shows, there’s still a connection of holding something in your hand. … There’s something to all the illustrations and things like the lyrics. There’s an element that the physical product is important.”

… about the fact that his lyrics cover not just happy topics but heavier issues, too.

Roberts: “I have been sort of doing this all along. When I started writing kids songs, I wanted to write about all aspects of childhood. There’s all the other things we experience. … I wrote a song about my friend’s mother passing away from cancer. I wrote a song about being afraid of the first day of school and relating it to parents’ fears of things. And I’ve written a song about divorce.

"On the most recent record, there’s a song bout getting lost. The strange thing about that is occasionally kids say these are their favorite songs. … When we played in Seattle, a kid requested ‘Lost.’ … His mother said he has never gotten lost; he feels sorry for the kid in the song.”

… about performing for children versus his past as an indie rock musician.

Roberts: “It’s turned out that this is the best of both worlds because I love performing music and touring around. The way we do it now it’s better than going on at 1 a.m. We play at 10 or 3 and have a lot of smiley faces and excited kids jumping and parents singing along. It’s satisfying knowing that’s such a part of families’ lives.”

Show Details
Where: Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, July 31
Cost: $8  

For more information about Justin Roberts and to hear samples of his music, visit www.justinroberts.org.