First of all, who is Steve Lee? Secondly, no, we haven't heard it. Lastly, why is everyone so excited about it?

The responses, always accompanied by a smile, reveal a young Arkansan of Asian decent who, with the help of numerous notable Nashvillians, has made a weird and, yes, very wacky children's album that begs for headphones, bubblegum and a Disneyland lava lamp.

As for the exact sound of Steve Lee's whimsical endeavors, nobody has really been able to describe the record. In other words, the themes are kid-centric, but the sound is psychedelic. And not psychedelic like swirling guitars and reverb-coated vocals (although there are plenty of both), but old-school psychedelic, in the overwhelming your senses, umm, sense.

Lee and producers Ian Fitchuk and Justin Loucks (De Novo Dahl, Griffin House) use every imaginable sonic option, from banjos to backward-masking (side note: good second CD title), to tell this tale. Songs segue from '60s-influenced pop into Dixieland jazz reveries with funky disco bass breaks, sometimes within seconds of each other. It's dizzying. It's deranged. But somehow it is still suitable for children.

OK, so a random rapper does announce "This ain't just for kids!" during one of the dramatic breaks, and some of the songs, specifically "Dr. Danis," hint at a life beyond kids' music for Lee, but thematically this is undoubtedly a children's record that sticks to tried-and-true moral themes like sharing and telling the truth.

Also tried-and-true was the original impetus for Lee to pick up a guitar and write these songs: He wanted "to impress a girl." Although the girl was understandably a little confused and ultimately didn't take the bait, Lee found his calling in the same manner as countless other musicians before him.

Far younger than most rockers-turned-kids-music-makers, Lee was admittedly a little concerned about coming out of the gate with a children's record, as much for fear of being pigeonholed as "concerned about being on a moral pedestal." He worries that being labeled a children's artists will raise expectations for his onstage and offstage behavior, but he also doesn't want to deny the fact that he has made a children’s record.