The Record

by Raphael Lewis

Like most parents, Evan Seltzer wants to share his daughter's interests. For the past year or so, that meant listening to the music of Hanson- over and over and over.

Their relationship hit its limits Monday night when Seltzer accompanied the youngster to the kiddie group's concert at Continental Arena. "All you have is thousands of 12 year-old girls screaming their lungs out, said Seltzer, 39, of Clark, moments after the Tulsa based trio took stage at the East Rutherford arena. "It cuts through you like a knife. There's no sound like it. You need earplugs."

Enter the "Quiet Room," an oasis created by the arena officials for those parents who'd rather have some peace and clam than sit amid thousands of shrieking adolescents girls. Set up in a restaurant on the arena's ground floor, the "Quiet Room" offers parents refuge form the high-decibel entertainment and pre-pubescent hysteria. They can chaperon their children without having to buy a $40 ticket for themselves or swelter in the parking lot for hours. They also can munch free pretzels and chips, drink coffee or soda, or simply relax.

"Its like Las Vegas in reverse," said one of the room';s creators, Bob Castronovo, senior executive vice president for the Meadowlands Sports Complex. "In Vegas, the parents drag the kids. So we set up a room for them. It certainly sounded good to us, especially the demographics of a show like Hanson."
Parental safe havens have come a staple at concert venues, Castronovo said. But in recent years-as grunge and gangsta rap ruled-they drew few, if any parents.

Hanson - with saccharine-sweet lyrics, hand-holding harmonies, and a goody-two shoes image- has led a trend of kiddie bands producing child safe music. Quiet rooms, in turn, have grown more popular.
"I thinks it's real good music, considering it's written and performed by kids," said Larry Ladisheff, 38, who brought his 16 year old daughter to Monday's show. "But it's a little too sweet for my taste."

As the show began Monday, parents began arriving in the quiet room. Many were surprised at the free admission: They had expected to pay for the privilege f waiting for their children in an air-conditioned room equipped with 20 televisions and food.

By 7:30 p.m., more that 100 parents and chaperones filled the room, forcing arena security staff to lug in more tables and chairs. "This is the busiest it's been since New Kids on the Block," said Helen
Straus, a Meadowlands spokeswoman.

For Tracy Williams of Milltown in Middlesex County, the quiet room gave him his first breather since the Hanson summer tour began. His 14 year-old daughter, Nicole, has attended 6 shows so far. Monday's was the first one he got to skip. "The screaming is getting to me," said Williams, who held a copy of Martin Caidin's "Prison Ship" in his lap.

For Susan Campbell and her sister Cathy Merritt, who brought three daughters to the concert, the Quiet Room was the second choice. "We wanted to go to the show, but they wouldn't let us," said Campbell, 38, of Westfield, Union County. "We asked if we could sit on the other side of the arena, but [her daughter] said that was too close, too. This is nice having a place to hide. I was expecting to sit in the parking lot."