Baby Beats: S.J. family enjoys Andy Z Special to the Mercury News by Yoshi Kato Thursday, February 22nd 2007 The spirit of support and advocacy is alive and thriving in the world of children's music. Young ones are often loyal to a particular artist or even a specific recording with the fervor typically devoted to a stuffed animal or security blanket. Their parents or guardians, in turn, become intimately familiar with every single lyric and chord change of each song after countless daily spins of a given CD. Kristin Burns of San Jose e-mailed to share her family's love of Redwood City-based pop-rocker Andy Z. The mother of Anna, 4 1/2, and Sam, 2 1/2, she wrote: "We first met him at the downtown Palo Alto farmers market about three years ago, when his 'Pockets' CD had just come out. Since then, he's released 'Welcome to Andyland' and 'Return to Andyland.' "He loves kids, and kids love him and his music," she continued. "And we grown-ups enjoy listening to his music too." Andy has a colorful Web site, http://www.andyz.com, which gives a thorough introduction to the musician and his music, By visiting it, one learns that Andreas Zamenes graduated from San Francisco State University with a music degree and worked as a computer technician for eight years before taking up the troubadour's life. Starting with grown-up music (which he had been doing on the side during his high-tech days), Zamenes quickly discovered his more youthful audience when playing at local farmers markets. He performs both solo and with his five piece Andyland Band and is going on his sixth year of involvement with both classic and original kids music. "We have a lot of other great kids music (Ralph's World, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Smithsonian collections, Putamayo kids stuff, Pete Seeger, They Might Be Giants, etc.),"Burns wrote of the children's music library she keeps with her husband, Sean. "But I think about 50 percent of the time, it's one of the two Andy Z Andyland CDs that Anna chooses for her 'going to sleep' music. "His Andyland CDs are concept-based, which is fun," she continued. "He talks on all of his CDs, to introduce the songs on 'Pockets' and to spin the story of the Andyland CDs, which is part of the appeal I think." Andy Z performs solo at 10 and 11a.m. Friday at Pottery Barn Kids at Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose. (It's about mid-mall, upstairs near Nordstrom.) The free show, abundant parking and family-friendly mall setting offer a convenient opportunity to catch Andy Z in action. Call the store at (408) 557-0510 if you have any questions.