Kids Rock for Peas

From San Francisco Chronicle - March 20, 2005 'Kid Rock' by Delfin Vigil 'This is a song that our friend Syd Barrett taught to us,' says the soft-spoken man wearing a turquoise-blue blazer and a goofy top hat. 'He used be in a band called the Pink Floyd. And they wrote some wonderful children's songs.' Before the dozens of parents in the audience have a chance to question why this cuckoo character and his band have decided to entertain their kids with lyrics from the warped mind of the king of psychedelia, an extraordinary thing happens. Nearly 100 children are jumping up and down and singing along to ... good music. From the impeccably cool likes of T. Rex, Sly & the Family Stone, the Monkees, the Velvet Underground ... Put the Tylenol away. Barney is not in the house. In the time it takes the Sippy Cups to unicycle through a bouncy rendition of Pink Floyd's 'Bike,' it becomes clear to the assembled moms and dads, most of them Baby Boomers, at this rock concert with training wheels: Their children could use this kind of musical education. Leave them kids alone! 'We don't want to be too squeaky-clean,' explains the Sippy Cups' lead singer, Paul Godwin, 43, at a Montara cafe about a week after the show. A casual striped shirt and corduroy trousers have replaced his top hat and 'Miami Vice' turquoise sports coat. 'If anything, our M.O. is preaching good music to children.' Godwin came up with the idea to form a grown-up rock band for young audiences (and their parents) about three years ago while playing 'Bike' on the piano as his then 2-year-old son circled around the living room on a red tricycle. The band name came first, inspired by the hundreds of kids who have brought plastic sipping containers to the music classes Godwin teaches as director of Music Together of San Francisco. And after an impromptu living room jam with his friend and Montara neighbor, lead guitarist Mark Verlander, Godwin's vision of the Sippy Cups was filled to the brim. Amid the wine and revelry of that first evening, Godwin and Verlander wrote their first song, set to the tune of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit. ' They performed it at a benefit to build a park in neighboring Moss Beach. The lyrics went something like: This is Moss Beach/ Build a park here/ It's less dangerous/ Get your checkbook. 'After we performed the song at the benefit, I said 'Thanks, we're the Sippy Cups,' ' remembers Godwin. 'Mark and I had no idea what were getting into.' Doug Nolan, who stilt-walked at the Moss Beach park benefit, joined the group as the band's leader juggler, unicyclist and quite possibly most popular Sippy Cup. AJ Kim was on bass and David Gilmour (not that David Gilmour) banged the drums as the band performed set lists of elite classics, like the Velvet Underground's 'Who Loves the Sun,' the Kinks' 'Village Green Preservation Society' and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah.' What followed was a year of steady gigs in packed theaters throughout the Bay Area -- and shows at some of the coolest, most coveted rock clubs in the region, including 12 Galaxies and the Rickshaw Stop. Classic -- but never cheesy -- cover songs for kids seem to be the secret to the Sippy Cups' success with this particular subculture. That and their friendly interactive shows: At most Sippy Cups gigs, children get to bang on drums, xylophones and are encouraged to jump on the stage, squeak their noses and get crazy. Sometimes Verlander even let's kids push the buttons of his effects pedals while he'