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Thanks to a thriving all-ages music scene (due in no small part to the repeal of the absurd Teen Dance Ordinance), younger musicians who were once stranded for shows are now finding greater opportunities to showcase their burgeoning talents. There are plenty of kids creating noteworthy music, playing shows, and releasing records with a fearlessness that could only come with age--or, in the case of the following underage bands, a lack of years under their belt.
Seattle's certainly no stranger to this young-musician phenomenon--Mechanical Dolls, the Pranks, Savage Lucy, the Wild Hairs, Smoosh, DEK... they're all local bands whose members are under age 18. And what's even more impressive is that they're all pretty good.

The Wild Hairs, a junior-high-aged duo who sing about graham crackers and pizza, have played the Sunset Tavern with the Catheters, as well as Fallout Records' last show. And Smoosh, a pair of sisters, recently opened for both Death Cab for Cutie and Sleater-Kinney at the Showbox, in addition to appearing on KEXP's Audioasis. And then there's DEK, the quartet of 14-, 15-, and 16-year-olds who just recently signed to Finger Records in California and are slowly infiltrating Seattle's punk rock scene (with a full-length set to be released in June).

It's a pretty typical story, how DEK got their start. Back in April of 2003, a group of bored kids picked up instruments and decided they wanted to be a punk band, plain and simple. They didn't really know how to play, they certainly didn't know how to write a song, but Bret Chernoff, Nick Myette, Mark Vraney, and Thani Suchoknand didn't care. They called themselves the Dead End Kids and began rehearsing at Vraney's house, playing one- to two-minute snotty punk rock anthems with lyrics smacking of attitude and biting lines about frustrating parents and high-school politics.

But, before the band (who have officially shortened their name to DEK) would be able to share their newfound hobby with the masses, they would have to overcome a pretty monumental hurdle: Their guitarist would first have to be allowed out of the house.

"We could never practice because Nick was always grounded," laughs Chernoff, DEK's singer and guitarist who, at 14 years old, is the band's youngest member.

Myette grins and looks at the ground. "Yeah, I was always grounded for something." Then he adds in his defense, "But that turned out to be a good thing. I had nothing else to do, so I learned to play my guitar."
Since the beginning, the four Shorecrest High School students have agreed to maintain A's and B's in trade for being able to practice and play shows. As long as they keep up the grades, they can keep up the rock. The attention to academics has paid off, too--already in their short career, DEK have opened for Social Distortion in front of a sold-out crowd at the Showbox, and they've flown to Santa Barbara to open for T.S.O.L. They've played with the Skulls, the Weirdos, and the Accused, and apparently, members of Queens of the Stone Age heard the band's demo when they were at the Showbox and "freaked out" over it. Talk about credentials.

But even with approval from old-school legends, the boys in DEK, like all self-aware teenager, are still surprised that anyone is interested in their music. "I can't actually imagine anyone listening to our band," admits Vraney. Adds Suchoknand, "If I were at a show and I saw kids get on stage, I don't think I'd take them too seriously. That's why I'm always blown away that people can appreciate us."

DEK are aware that their young age has both positive and negative draws. While it helps them stand out from a crowd and get people's attention, it could result in being taken less seriously.

The girls in Smoosh, 12-year-old Asy and 9-year-old Chlo, agree that the age issue can be both a blessing and a burden.

"I think it works both ways," says Asy, Smoosh's vocalist and keyboardist. "It kind of depends on who it is. A lot of times the musicians we meet look past our age. But sometimes the people coming to shows, they just think, I don't know... that we're just kids."
Onstage, the girls would probably rather you concentrate on their music over their birth years. Writing songs that span across a variety of genres (right now they're really enjoying using local bands like Death Cab, Visqueen, and the Long Winters as influences), the keyboard/drum duo are serious about their music. Offstage, though, just like their peers, they really are kids. It's hard to forget that when you take into consideration their pre-show ritual.

"We make up a lot of games before shows," says Asy.

Chlo adds with a big smile, "Usually we play freeze tag."

"Yeah, it's called Phantom of the Showbox," continues Asy. "We get there early before the show and no one's there, so our dad chases us around."

That's a far cry from the typical rock-and-roll warm-up of Jack Daniel's shots and half a pack of cigarettes--but these are kids out to enjoy themselves a little differently from the norm.

DEK admit to that fact unapologetically--they want people to listen to their music and appreciate how hard they work, but really, they're not too worried about what other people think. I mean, how serious can you take a band with songs like "Captain Pickle," "Killer Gorilla," and "I Hate DEK." And then, of course, there's the stage costumes. Oversized fuzzy coats and hats, vinyl pants, ruffled shirts, and last summer, Chernoff, who doesn't look a day over 12 years old, pranced around the stage in a Peter Pan costume.

These young bands have enthusiasm and the support from parents and peers, and now even the city can't keep them quiet. And why should they keep quiet? The kids, with all the energy in the world, are embracing their opportunities with reckless abandon (and a little attitude), and are giving their forefathers a run for their money. Old-schoolers take note: These kids are moving to the head of the class.