Get Smart

Today's lesson: your introduction to an exciting new family band. Meet The Board of Education, whose first cd is about to be released. The Board appeals to all ages. As songwriter and singer Kevin Emerson explains, "There's no saccharine. The music's super-energetic, with a solidly vintage vibe, like Schoolhouse Rock." The Board of Education is Emerson, Jeff Blancato, Eric Goetz, and Andrea Wittgens; you may recognize this quartet by their alter ego band, Central Services.

The catchy, peppy tunes of Central Services have graced the airwaves of KEXP and NPR and lit up the stage at Bumbershoot. The Board of Education assembly focuses on kids' music.Their witty debut cd follows a school day, complete with songs about waking up, the number eight ("When eight takes a nap, that's infinity!"), and what happens when a tomato finds out it's a fruit. Warning: these tunes will stick in your head, and suddenly you'll know all about the inventor of pavement, and exactly how much fun can be had during an ice age. Writing songs for kids is natural for Emerson, who is a former elementary school science teacher, dad to an energetic almost-three-year-old, tutor at 826 Seattle, and author of kids' books --we'll keep you posted when the first two in his Seattle-set series come out later this summer. Ê

PS --The Board of Education cd is planned for a September release, but you can score a pre-release copy at a free show during Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum's Family Days this Saturday! Details below.

The Board of Education
www.myspace.com/cskids (listen to a few tunes here)
Show and pre-release cd party
When: Sat., June 21, 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Where: EMP Sky Church
Cost: Free
Sky Church shows are free. Other Family Days events are free to ages 10 and younger and EMP/SFM members. For everyone else, fee is included in regular admission: ages 11 and 12, $12; adults, $15; seniors, $12.