Duds fit to punk up a preschool
There seems to be a baby boom in the new punk and rock generations. So if you’re going to a shower, you’ll want an appropriate gift.
With that in mind, a new line of togs is being launched, though it’s not quite Baby’s First Tongue Stud or Toddler Tattoos. Using the brand name Little Rocker, the line is starting out with baby clothing tied to the Beastie Boys and Foo Fighters. The company will also market items sporting its own logos: boy and girl versions of kids with punk attitudes, hairstyles and fashion sense. Safety pins are still just for diapers, though.
“A friend of mine in the music business was having a baby and I wanted to put together a gift that was fun and could relate to something she would enjoy,” says Little Rocker founder Felicia Villareal, who works for manager John Silva overseeing the merchandise of the Beasties and Foos, as well as A.F.I. and Beck. “I found a lot of cute things, but nothing with that music edge.”
That was last year, around the time Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett’s wife was due to deliver their first child, and he also noticed the dearth of appealing clothes.
“During the pregnancy you start collecting clothes and there isn’t much out there really hip,” Shiflett says. “It’s a rare treat to get something black, not the usual pink or blue, especially for people into punk and rock.” Having worked closely with Villareal on band items, he enthusiastically lent a hand with Little Rocker. A test run during the band’s tour last year found an eager market for infant and toddler T-shirts.
Villareal recently took the line to the annual Magic apparel convention in Las Vegas, and soon will officially open business via a website, www.littlerocker.com. She envisions it as a source not just for her products but for others’ items, such as the Ramones’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Preschool” shirts and baby T-shirts with the CBGB club logo, which are already on the market. She’s also in discussions with other artists and their managers about licensing rights for more Little Rocker items.
“I want to buy some of their merchandise and support them as well as be the hub people can go to,” she says. “There’s plenty of room.”
More Donnas, fewer Madonnas
The Donnas don’t want to be the only female rock band out there. So the group is teaming with Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, a brand of electric guitars designed for girls, to provide 11 scholarships to DayJams Rock Music Day Camps around the nation.
The Donnas will serve as “spokesgirls” (their term, not ours) for the venture, in which deserving girls will be given a guitar or bass and free tuition to the two-week program held during the summer in 11 cities.
“We basically do whatever it takes to help inspire girls to play guitar,” says Tish Ciravalo, president of Van Nuys-based Daisy Rock.
The company will work with local DayJams representatives to identify girls who might benefit from the program but who wouldn’t be able to afford it on their own. Ciravalo says that this will likely be done in conjunction with such community organizations as Big Sisters and Girls Clubs.
“We’re aggressively trying to find that one girl for whom it’s her dream ... and we can help make it come true,” she says.
The best news, Ciravalo says, is that there’s no shortage of girls who want to play guitar. Her company, in its fourth year, had more than $1 million in business last year. Products not only sport colors and styles for girls (flower and butterfly shapes among them) but are also more physically accommodating (they’re lighter weight and have necks thinner than conventional guitars).
Most important, she notes, after a stretch with such pop stars as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who do not play instruments there’s now a wealth of young women playing guitars, from Avril Lavigne to the teen character in the “Freaky Friday” remake.
In addition to the Donnas, the company boasts relationships with musicians from Heart and Lisa Loeb to rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson, and even to such non-females as the Cure’s Robert Smith.
“There’s a big surge of girls wanting to play guitar,” Ciravalo says. “I turn on the Disney Channel and every second hour there’s an all-girl band.”
‘Little Boy, I Want to Marry You’?
Now that the mayor of Asbury Park, N.J., has opened that city for same-sex marriages, perhaps the community’s favorite musical son will be asked to perform at some weddings.
Should Bruce Springsteen do so, he may want to alter a few lyrics to be appropriate for the occasions. We thought we’d give him a hand.
Everybody sing along:
The screen door slams, Larry’s vest sways ...
In Andy’s room, there are pictures of his heroes on the wall ...
And his eyes that shine like the midnight sun / Oh, he’s the one
I got you and baby you got me / Hey, hey, hey, what you say, Barry darling ...
Really, Bruce, no need to thank us. It was nothing.