I love watching my child rock out.
On Saturday, we got to see kids' rock band Milkshake headline a concert at The Grammy Museum, as part of its Musical Explorations series for families.
CC loved it. She loved running up and down the aisles -- as you can see in the above video -- without being told to sit down. She loved singing along to "We Got a Band" and "Pirates." And she loved just hangin' with the other shorties in the audience.
It was fun being the parent hanger-on (and getting to see Ana from SpanglishBaby.com!), but I also got to chat with the band's lead singer, Lisa Mathews.
Lisa told me a little bit about how she and band member Mikel Gehl started Milkshake in 2002 after they'd performed together in grown-up band Love Riot. After they both had kids -- she a daughter, and he a son -- they had a new focus and a new well from which to draw ideas for songs.
But Milkshake was also an experiment, she said. "It could be reflective of how our children are growing." So they decided to create CDs every few years to reflect the subject matter that most interested their kids.
"We weren't going to dumb down the music or lyrics," Lisa said. "We just made it simpler -- focusing on the simple joys."
Within their rock and pop sounds are tyke-friendly sentiments about "going to my happy place, where everything's okay"; and "I'm a superhero, tryin' to do good; Makin' things a little better, like everybody should."
In fact, Mikel got the idea for "Statue of Me" after going for a walk with his son and niece. She hopped on a boulder and wondered aloud how it would be "if they made a statue of me."
As Lisa said, "Kids don't care about cool -- at least the young ones don't. They want you to play with them and dance with them."
It's so true. And with their music, CC gets up and dances every time. Every. Time. Somersaults are a bonus.
I'm a fan just for that. But their music does rock -- I say that even as an adult.
So, in other words, this Milkshake brings my toddler to the yard ... and I'm OK with that.
The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live
800 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. A245
Los Angeles, CA 90015
4 comments:
Nice Video!!!
Caroline is such a bundle of joy! It was so nice to meet you and her on Thursday and Friday! Keep having so much fun exploring LA and all it has to offer. I have loved reading your blog and will keep looking forward to your posts.
Thank you so much for participating in the RMHC event! Take care!
Lauren Fischer
RMHC
Thanks so much, Lauren! It was great meeting you, too. Look forward to hearing more (and writing about) McHappy Day!
I have to say that flip Caroline does at the end is so rock n roll! Loved how both of them just kept running up and down the hall. That must be the new thing in kiddie rock...who knew?!
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