What Can Y2K Tweens from Santa Rosa Teach Us About Childhood Creativity?
In the year 2000, four pre-teen girls in Santa Rosa — three 11-year-olds, and one 9-year-old little sister — wrote and recorded an album inspired by the Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child and Fiona Apple, and even filmed music videos for the album. Then, their band X-Cetra disbanded as the elder members entered junior high and found the entire project — to use the slang of today’s kids — cringe. Decades later, online experimental music nerds discovered the album, with its haunting child vocals and startling low-fi beats, and turned it into a cult hit, garnering X-Cetra a record contract and a 25th anniversary reissue. A new film “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story,” which won the South by Southwest documentary jury award last month, documents the reunion of X-Cetra, many of whose members hadn’t made art since. We’ll talk with the band about what it means to revisit childhood creativity in adulthood, and we’ll hear from you: Were you more creative as a tween than you are now? Have you returned to the art you made?
Guests:
Ayden Mayeri, member, X-Cetra; director, "Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story"
Jessica Hall, member, X-Cetra
Robin O’Brien, musician; producer of X-Cetra’s 2000 album, “Stardust"; mom of X-Cetra members Janet and Mary
Brittany Spanos, music journalist who wrote the Rolling Stone profile, “Four Best Friends Made an Album as Kids. 25 Years Later, It’s a Cult Classic”
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