Life with them is one big circus

KIDS’ music bands normally don’t trace their existence to the late, eccentric Pink Floyd singer Syd Barrett, but the theatrical-minded Bay Area outfit the Sippy Cups isn’t your typical kids’ music group.

The band’s origins trace back to 2004, when musician and kids’ music teacher Paul Godwin watched his then-2 1/2 -year-old son, Bodhi, ride his tricycle around the living room. Godwin started playing the old Pink Floyd tune “Bike” and something clicked. “A really Syd Barrett psychedelic moment,” he describes it.

A short time later, Godwin played some Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground tunes at a benefit for a local park with two friends, guitarist Mark Verlander and juggler Doug Nolan. After their performance, he spontaneously dubbed their band the Sippy Cups.

Since then, the Sippy Cups have become quite the sensation in the Bay Area family-entertainment scene with their exuberant music making and carnival-like shows. The group has solidified into a spirited six-piece outfit, with Godwin, Verlander and Nolan joined by keyboardist Alison Faith Levy, drummer Josef Becker and, most recently, bassist Rudy Trubitt, who intrigued the band members by telling them that he owned a cow suit.

They’re appearing Saturday at the House of Blues Sunset Strip. Performing in nightclubs isn’t unusual for them: They have turned San Francisco clubs such as Cafe du Nord and the Great American Music Hall into kids’ wonderlands.

The Sippy Cups separate themselves from the Raffis and Laurie Berkners of the children’s-music world through their sense of spectacle. “A lot of kids’ music came out of Burl Ives, Ella Jenkins, Pete Seeger, a guy with a guitar,” Godwin explains. “For us, it was more rock show with streamer cannons and giant balloons.”

Verlander and his wife, Susan, both graphic artists, are responsible for the band’s imaginative design work, from the Technicolor stage props to the cartoony CD covers. “You could say we are children of the ‘60s just now getting to live out our own psychedelic dreams,” Verlander says.

Although Nolan doesn’t play an instrument, his role is just as important as the musicians’. Besides juggling, riding a unicycle and generally clowning around during the shows, Nolan (an American Conservatory Theater graduate who teaches environmental education) also assumes the guise of several characters, such as the sensitive superhero Super Guy and the malaprop-ish Major Minor, while interacting with the crowd.

The Sippy Cups’ original concept was to serve up great ‘60s and early-’70s songs to the youth audience. Classic tunes such as Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun,” the Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man” and the Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow” populate the group’s first CD, “Give Peas a Chance.” But some of the band’s choices -- such as Love’s “My Little Red Book” -- didn’t go over with the children. The band discovered that it needed songs like War’s “Low Rider,” that had a hook either tempo-wise or performance-wise.

The Sippy Cups also learned that they occasionally had to alter lyrics. After the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” (a rare foray into punk-new wave tunes) became part of the group’s repertoire, Godwin’s son sang it at preschool. His teacher objected, saying that although she liked the Ramones, the song wasn’t appropriate to sing in class. So “I Wanna Be Elated” was born.

THE Sippy Cups have just released their first all-original album, “Electric Storyland,” which is filled with songs about creatures great (“I Am a Robot”) and small (“Snail Song”). It’s a lively, musically varied set, ranging from the Hendrix-like “Drinking From the Sun” to the power-poppy “Springtime Fantastic” to the twangy “Little Puffer.”

Because everyone in the band is a parent, song inspiration often comes from home. Verlander relates how after one show his young daughter Lia “came out of her room with a life-sized stuffed-animal dog with a wedding veil and satin shoes. She had built this dog that she wanted so badly.” Verlander used this experience to write “How to Build a Dog” (and yes, Lia now has a real dog).

The new album also has brought a new Sippy Cup stage show, filled with original skits, colorful costumes and fun foolery. To bring “Electric Storyland” to life, the group worked with San Francisco stage director Jeffrey Bihr and is touring with gymnast-dancer Teana David, whose roles include playing a jellyfish and a dog.

With their animated performances and whimsical songs about magical toast and flower towers, the Sippy Cups aim to be the Flaming Lips of the toddler set.

weekend@latimes.com

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The Sippy Cups

Where: House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

When: Doors open at 11 a.m. Saturday; show at noon

Price: $15, adults; $10, children younger than 10; free, children younger than 2.

Info: (323) 848-5100, www.hob.com