Standing in the shadow of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O. in the Lollapalooza media tent on Saturday afternoon, Care Bears On Fire are relatively giggly and notoriously shy as the punk rock youngsters declare their admiration for the flamboyant front woman. “We haven’t said hi to her yet, but we will,” announces Sophie, the braces-sporting 13-year-old guitarist and lead singer for the Brooklyn-based Care Bears On Fire. “She is my absolute role model.” The rest of the girls — 15-year-old bassist Jena, 13-year-old drummer Izzy — quickly agree, coolly glancing over to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s as they endure their own interview a few feet away.

The trio of teenage girls are certainly mature for their age, have collaborated with Fountains Of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger (“Freakishly talented,” declares Jena) and quite self-aware of the concept of novelty that follows the band around, but as Sophie points out, there is little novelty attached to the band besides the occasional accusation of being punk rock midgets. “Occasionally, people will think we are dwarves,” laughs Izzy, who openly admits to being nervous about taking “science class” this fall. Adds Sophie, “Just because we’re kids, people think it’s a novelty … but just the fact that we are kids doesn’t make it a novelty. Sure, kid acts are sometimes novelties … but so are adult bands (laughs).” Fountains of Wayne, anybody?

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper, photos by Dustin Downing