- The Kids of Widney High
The Kids of Widney High is a music group composed of mentally disabled students from the
special education J. P. Widney High School inLos Angeles, California . The band consists of several (typically mentally) disabled students on vocals, with the instruments usually being played by non-handicapped teachers and session musicians. The group originally began as a song-writing class in 1988 taught byMichael Monagan , and has evolved since into two groups, one made up of graduates that performs in local clubs and the other a group of current Widney students in the songwriting class.The group gained a cult following, primarily thanks to their frequent live performances at such "hip"
Los Angeles venues likeThe Knitting Factory andAmoeba Music , as well as smaller veunues likeChain Reaction in Anaheim andThe Smell in downtown LA. As a result, the group often plays (seemingly mismatched) at a number ofska andpop punk shows, including a stint on theVans Warped Tour . The group has also opened forThe Melvins andMr. Bungle , and have been included on several editions of theKevin and Bean 'sKROQ Christmas Albums. Such notable musicians asSmokey Robinson ,Jackson Browne , Marilyn Manson andAdam Horovitz have all cited themselves as fans of the band. [http://www.kidsofwidneyhigh.com/press.php?show=ocweekly]In
2005 , The Kids of Widney High were featured in the "The Ringer ", a comedy whereinJohnny Knoxville 's character pretends to be mentally disabled in order to fix theSpecial Olympics and gain financially through betting on it. The group is seen performing "Pretty Girls" (which was also written by several members of the group) at a dance, and again towards the end of the film singing a version of the popular 1960s song, "Respect" in which the lyrics have been rewritten so that it becomes an anthem for those with disabilities.Their songs have been covered by such groups as
The Aquabats singingThrow Away the Trash andOsaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk singingInsects .Discography
* "Special Music from Special Kids" (1989) Rounder Records
* "Let's Get Busy" (1999) Ipecac Records
* "Act Your Age" (2003) Sossity MusicExternal links
* [http://www.kidsofwidneyhigh.com/ Kids of Widney High Official Site]
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Widney_HS/kowhframeset.html Widney High's page for the group]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1878949/ Kids of Widney High IMDB entry]
* [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/widneyhigh Review of their first CD]
* [http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/66r27.html Review of "Act Your Age"]
* [http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewid=2025 Another review of "Act Your Age"]
* [http://uutest.blogspot.com/2006/01/kids-of-widney-high-mr-ts-bowl.html Concert review]
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