The Sippy Cups have kiddies rockin' this summer

Kid-rockers The Sippy Cups [ tickets ] will be out and about this summer with their jolly band of juggling unicyclists, oversized puppets and sensitive superheroes.The group has scheduled nearly a dozen dates across the US, beginning June 1 in Woodside, CA. In addition to several shows in their home state of California, The Sippy Cups will venture out to the Midwest and East Coast, visiting Chicago; Madison, WI; Northampton, MA; and the New York cities of Albany and Brooklyn. A few of those gigs are free outdoor performances. Details are listed below.The band continues to back its 2006 full-length debut, "Electric Storyland," which was ranked No. 6 by the Fids and Kamily Music Awards that year. The set was followed by last November's concert DVD "Electric Storyland: Live at the Great American Music Hall," which won a 2008 Parents' Choice Award.The Sippy Cups have also been writing and rehearsing new material, with tentative plans to release their sophomore album this year.Since forming in 2004, The Sippy Cups have helped launch the House of Blues' "House of Kids" shows around the country, and have introduced their brand of psychedelic children's music to major concert halls and rock festivals, including Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Festival.The San Francisco-based sextet, led by early-childhood music teacher and stage/film composer Paul Godwin, aims to bring a high-energy, rock-and-roll experience to families with young children. The band got its start when Godwin teamed with fellow neighborhood dads Mark Verlander (a guitarist) and Doug Nolan (a juggler) to raise money for a park, and the concept quickly caught on, according to The Sippy Cups' bio. The following year, established Bay Area singer Alison Faith Levy joined the group, along with bassist Rudy Trubitt and drummer Jozef Becker.