The energy from the kids is so immediate and so sincere. Play a song for them, and if they're into it, they're jumping up and down. They're so happy they're screaming for the song. Playing in cover bands, it takes a couple hours for everyone to get drunk enough to get into it and respond.

I was around kids and kids' music. Maybe I started doing my own for selfish reasons. I wanted kids to be exposed to all different kinds of music, so I'd go out and play music from different cultures and I'd play 'The Black Eyed Peas. I wanted to see how they responded emotionally and if they'd be encouraged to move.

I was so hurt. I was like, 'Why did you have to make a crack like that?' It just reminded me a lot of years of Barney jokes ? that because it had the word 'kid' attached to it, that I wasn't actually playing real music. It's real, and it's not manufactured by some corporation, and it's not some big dinosaur singing.

I've been telling the kids all season about my two 'E' words — energy and enthusiasm. When we play with energy and enthusiasm, this is what's going to happen.

I've been telling the kids all season about my two 'E' words — energy and enthusiasm. When we play with energy and enthusiasm, this is what's going to happen.

That's what we start with from day one. The kids play with a high energy level, and that allows us to do a lot of different things on defense. Our defense is our staple.