There’s been a shortage of legit rock for kids being released lately, an unfortunate fact that could certainly bring a tear to this man’s eye – especially seeing as the name of my site is The Rock Father. While there’s been no shortage of great music for kids and families (quite the opposite, actually), the drought on the rock note came to an end this week, due in large part to a pair of releases from Fun Fun Records, a new children’s imprint of Mike Park’s Asian Man Records. The first of those albums? KEPI GHOULIE’s KEPI FOR KIDS.
As the former leader of THE GROOVIE GHOULIES, Kepi’s been rocking stages punk-style for over two decades. Here we find the resident of “Kepiland” (an independent Nation said to be somewhere near Northern California) delivering a toe-tapping, 14-song serving of acoustic-driven Kindie rock that’s bookended by odes to his homeland in the form of “Kepiland (Main Theme)” and the strikingly similar “Ballad of Kepiland.”
Animals are abundant in Kepiland, and we soon learn that Kepi can talk to them – which he does with great frequency. The Ghoulies’ “The Beast With 5 Hands” gets a groovin’ re-do, before a break to go “Nuts for Nuts.” For the math fans, “Dee Dee Taught Me How To Count” plays on the signature “1-2-3-4!” of late RAMONES bassist, Dee Dee Ramone, while providing a nice tip of the hat to an old-school influence.
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Outside of the mainstream children’s entertainment circles, you’ll often hear folks like myself talking about music for families that breaks the stereotypical mold of what the general public thinks of when they hear “Kids Music.” With KEPI FOR KIDS, Kepi Ghoulie joins a relatively small, but growing group of artists making music that families can genuinely rock together.
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The Rock Father Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
FTC Disclosure: A Digital Copy of this album was provided to The Rock Father for the purpose of review consideration by Fun Fun Records. All opinions are that of James Zahn with input from a three-year-old.
