Kid Kazooey entertains children at Max’s Place

Kevin MacDowell is a performer with no shame.
 
His stage name is “Kid Kazooey,” and “lively, well adjusted, Bloomingtonian kids” are his target audience. He’s been performing at schools and other venues for 17 years.

“I make as much of a living as I can at this,” he said. “My favorite thing is to get up in front of people. I can’t not do it.”

He’s an IU alum with a master’s degree in library sciences, but a former youth minister. MacDowell said he’s always loved working with kids.

He commutes to preschools and kindergartens around town to teach music once a week.

Brian Moeller, who has two daughters that attend the Bloomington Developmental Learning Center where MacDowell visits, brought his family to watch one of his sets at Max’s Place Sunday.

Moeller said MacDowell never gets boring.

“He’s so funny, and he makes smart references for the adults,” he said.

Despite a small audience of 14 people, Sunday’s set ran over an hour. MacDowell kept the momentum going with a neon green plastic kazoo and matching electric guitar.

As kids knocked over plates of pizza and ran circles in the “preschool mosh pit,” he joked about “how hard it really is” to be Kid Kazooey.

“Come on guys, pay a little attention,” he said into the microphone. “This is my job!”

Brimming with energy and good humor, he’s a well-seasoned musician with a lot to offer Bloomington youth.

When he’s not visiting schools or playing on stage, he teaches private lessons for a small mess of instruments, from typical ones like piano to rarer ones like the accordion.

Phoebe Wolfskill, an IU art history professor whose son has taken an interest in ukulele, said he’s a great presence in local kids’ lives.

“My kids have grown up with him,” she said. “He remembers everyone’s names and takes a real interest in them. And they all love him back.”

Kid Kazooey will perform again at Max’s Place Oct. 13.

“Performance is just so rewarding, but I just don’t make a lot,” he said. “So I like to teach.”

Follow reporter Ashley Jenkins on Twitter @ashmorganj.