"Playing for children is a lot
like playing for drunk people," McDermott said from
his home in Austin. "They both tend to be pretty happy
and accepting." McDermott, 41, said he stumbled into
a career as a children's musician after he graduated from
college. In addition to playing night gigs with his rock
bands, he became a preschool art teacher in order to support
his growing family. He eventually began weaving music into
his teaching and another career began. "I've known
since I was 3 years old that I wanted to be a musician,"
he said. "I never imagined I would be a musician for
3-year-olds." During the past decade, McDermott has
parlayed his rock 'n' roll music talent into fun loving
tunes geared toward children.
After releasing a series of children's tapes in the early
1990s, he began composing music for video games and CD-ROMS.
His music was featured on a game for the Berenstain Bears,
inspired by the series of children's books. He also worked
with the creators of the Berenstain Bears, Jan and Stan
Berenstain, to set 10 of their books to song. McDermott
has released five children's albums in Texas. His first
nationally distributed album, I am Baby, featuring the popular
song Don't Drop a Brick on Your Foot (It Will Hurt), won
a Parent's Choice award in 1998. His most recent release,
Great Big World, was awarded with the 2001 Parent's Choice
Silver Award. He is currently working on an adult album
and another children's album and video. Next week, McDermott
will kick off the Bryan and College Station Public Library's
annual summer reading program for kids. He will perform
free concerts outside at 10 a.m. Tuesday at College Station
and on Wednesday at the Palace Theatre in Downtown Bryan.
