I Know It's Only Rock And Roll, But They Like It.

A couple of years ago Kira and Kiyomi became obsessed with the band Puffy AmiYumi and the cartoon that was created about them. I liked this phase, since the worshipping of two hip Japanese rocker chicks was preferable to the phase where they were fixated on Barbies, princesses and those awful Bratz dolls. My daughters, at the young ages of 6 and 8, were determined to become superstars and someday travel around on their own tour bus, just like their idols. I told them I had a similar dream, but it involved me, alone in my minivan on a four day bender to Vegas.

That Christmas they asked for electric guitars so that they could embark on their quest for musical stardom. I found a couple of cheap ones at Toys R Us, but Rigel, currently pursuing his own dreams of rock and roll immortality, decided this was his domain and no wife of his was going to go buying his offspring just any old guitar she picked up in a bargain bin. I figured this was his sneaky way of spending even more time at GuitarCenter, but I was relieved to have anything crossed off my holiday to-do list. Three days and almost four-hundred-dollars later he had purchased two mini Fender guitars, each with it's own amp and guitar stand. I thought this was a little extravagant, especially coming from a man who thought that having GPS installed in his wife's car was too much of an expense, even though it's known that she requires MapQuest to navigate down their own driveway.

Now, two years later, they've just started their guitar lessons. It's going well, and they've already mastered the first few chords of their favorite Green Day song. Kira has obviously inherited Rigel's musical genes which also probably explains why, despite the fact that she barely practices, she has managed to become first-chair violin in her school's orchestra. But what Kiyomi lacks in actual musical chops she makes up for in theatrics. She just joined the orchestra on violin this year as well, and after playing for me a scratchy version of Hot Cross Buns the other day, she stood up, blew me a kiss and then pretended to smash her violin on the floor with big overhead swings. I did the wave and then held my lighter high up in the air.

They've even started a band with their two best friends, Sophia and Samantha, calling themselves the Sunflower Sisters. Though they don't have any songs written yet, haven't mastered any instruments or decided on a genre, Kira has already designed an entire tours worth of band outfits and decided exactly what the inside of the deluxe bus will look like. They've already had their first fight - about the logo design - so it won't be long before they're stealing each others' boyfriends, battling substance abuse and attempting to mend their broken relationships as a result of their solo albums. I'm just beaming with pride!

Recently I saw the two of them in the living room, practicing their post-concert sign-off. Kira had the microphone hooked up to their karaoke machine and Kiyomi was sitting next to her with a globe in her lap. She would spin the globe, stop it with her finger and then show Kira where it had landed. Then Kira would shout out, "Thank yewww... TOKYO!!" and "Thank yewww... WYOMING" and my favorite, "Thank yewww... [examining...long pause]...LIBYA!!"

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tags: puffy amiyumi | rock + roll | fender guitar | music lessons | kids + music

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