At 12 years old, Kaye Gill has more “music cred” than most musicians twice her age. In the three years since she started to play bass, Gill has played on just about every stage in Seattle including The Crocodile, Chop Suey, The Showbox, The Triple Door and Bumbershoot.

As the bass player for the fast rising Seattle indie alt-pop band, Verlee for Ransom, she is getting ready to release her debut CD on May 20th at Q Cafe along with The Oh Wells and The Warm Hardies.

A product of The School of Rock, Gill was still an elementary school student when she auditioned for the band.

After she impressed the band during the audition they asked which school she attended. "They were very surprised thatt she was still in elementary school," said Aaron Gill, Kaye Gill's father.

The band's oldest member is 20 year-old keyboard player Rio Chanae and the band is led by singer songwriter Keira Verlee, 17. Together, the band produces songs well beyond their age.

"It's been really fun playing with them," said Kaye Gill, a sixth grader at Whitman Middle School. "The maturity levels range but we fit really well together."

Titled "Happy like monkey that climb". the record was recorded by Glenn Lorbecki and Gwen Jones.

"We've put so much work into it and we just want people to like it," Gill said.

Building from the standard electric guitar/bass/drums formula, the five members of Verlee for Ransom incorporate acoustic guitar and cello as well as piano, horns, organ, strings and synthesizers to create a sound categorized as indie alt-pop.

The band writes all their own songs. Singer Keira Verlee writes the songs and lyrics and the other members put their ideas into the songs.

Inspired by a wide range of music, from Tegan and Sara to Paul McCartney, Gill writes all her own bass lines.

Verlee for Ransom is currently number 9 on the ReverbNation Alternative Music Chart for Seattle www.reverbnation.com/verlee4ransom and Skope Magazine praised the band as "Julliard-bound wunderlings".

Gill said her goal for the band is "to play lots of festivals."

"Seattle has some great festivals that showcase different styles of music," she said. "There are tons of younger musicians and these festivals give us a chance to show what we've got."

Aaron Gill said his daughter has always interacted with older people. "She never was a toy kind. She always liked hanging out with people of other age groups," he said.

Aaron Gill, himself a Ukulele player, said she has long surpassed him in musical talent and said he doesn't mind driving her around for band practices to concerts.

"At least we [the parents] get to go to the Crocodile on a Saturday night instead of some sports field in the early morning," he said.

"It's my role to make sure that it's appropriate but it's been such a positive experience for her. It is certainly not something she'll regret when she's older."

For now, Gill said she likes to keep her school life and music life separate. At school she's the rather quiet kid who plays standup bass, yet on stage she's rocking a crowd that's easily twice her age.

"If I told [my classmates] that I'm rocking The Crocodile they wouldn't even know what that is," she said.

But at the rate that her star is rising it won't stay that way for long.

Join Kaye Gill, Keira Verlee (singer), Nathan Keiffer (drums), Kyle Morrison (guitar & cello), and Rio Chanae (keyboard) as they celebrate the release of their debut album at Q Cafe (3223 15th Avenue West) on Friday, May 20th at 7:30 p.m.

To learn more about Verlee for Ransom and listen to their tracks, please visit their website at www.verlee4ransom.com.