Today's guests: John Walsh and Edo Van Breeman (Brasstronaut), Melahnie Moodie (4REAL

My son Maxwell has just learned to say "help." When he says it, it sound more like "hup" but I know what he means, and having the ability to ask for assistance has made his young life much easier.

As a new mom, I find myself thinking about kids all the time. Like Reverend Lovejoy's wife when she constantly exclaims, "Won't somebody please think of the children!!!"

Well, I've noticed a couple of great projects recently that are helping the children, and I'll be talking about both of them in the show today.

There is a benefit coming up on June 6 in Vancouver put together by the non-profit group Rock and Roll is Good For Kids. They are raising money for after-school programs that have an emphasis on the arts. Shad, Twin Crystals, Expendable Youth and Brasstronaut are all performing. Today Johnny and Edo from Brasstronaut join me to talk about why Rock and Roll is good for kids.



More Canadian musicians might be showing up inside classrooms as well, because the television series 4REAL has created an educational tool called 4REAL School. A "dynamic set of teaching guides and DVDs ... [engaging] students in grades 6-12 on issues such as poverty, human rights, and the environment." Melahnie Moodie, 4REAL School developer and teacher, is also on the show today to talk about using art and culture to bring about social change.



Did you play music as a kid?
Do you think it helped you become a better person?
Do you have kids? Are they involved in making music?

posted by Lauren Burrows on May 29, 2009