“Milkshake rocks out the entire family.”  Time magazine

“A fizzy contemporary band that really rocks without losing sight of its target audience.”
– Los Angeles Times

“While many of Milkshake’s songs describe the world from a kids’ point of view, others are more like love letters from parent to child.” – The Washington Post

The groundbreaking independent children’s recording group known as Milkshake started in 2002 as a musical experiment. Founding band members Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl vowed to “grow” their music right along with their own young children. Since then, Milkshake and their legion of fans have been living an exciting, real-life, growing up adventure, moving from early childhood through the early elementary years, as the group toured the country and produced three multi-award-winning CDs, a DVD, and a multitude of music videos seen all over the kid-friendly networks. Along the way, as the kids grew and the music grew with them, Milkshake grew from a duo to a six-piece band!

Now Milkshake takes another step forward with the August 25 release of their fourth studio CD, ‘Great Day’ (Milkshake Music, $14.99, run time 37 minutes, for ages 6 – 10). Produced by music veteran Tor Hyams (Joan Osborne, Edwin McCain), the disc – the first new Milkshake CD since 2007 – features a dozen Milkshake originals, plus guest appearances by two-time GRAMMY®-winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer and Rodney Henry (former front man of the legendary kings of the Baltimore hard rock-garage-rockabilly scene, The Glenmont Popes).

Notes Lisa Mathews, “In the last year or so we’ve noticed an amazing thing: the kids who started listening to us as babies are still right there with us today — in effect growing with the band as the band has grown with them! The songs on ‘Great Day’ touch on issues of friendship, inclusion, family, self-esteem, goals, and material desires – issues that really matter to a 6 – 10 year old. Like all Milkshake CDs, the music really transcends age, and we feel that both younger and older fans will enjoy this new release.”

Milkshake is familiar to millions of American households through the band’s colorful, energetic music videos, seen on PBS KIDS, the NOGGIN Channel and DISCOVERY KIDS. Milkshake’s live concerts, described by the Baltimore Sun as “a little like magic,” bring the same happy, rocking energy onstage to fans across the country. Kenny Curtis, Sirius/XM Radio’s Director of Specialty Programming, describes Milkshake as “an amazing band whose songs are conceptual
and fully thought-out pieces of music.”

Born in 2002, Milkshake began as the duo of vocalist Lisa Mathews and guitarist Mikel Gehl, longtime bandmates from Baltimore’s indie rock group Love Riot. In the early years, extra musicians were added when needed for big gigs and recording dates. 2009 finds Milkshake a steady company performing and recording as a full-blown band: The Milkshake Band! ‘Great Day’ demonstrates the rocking energy, true teamwork, and sheer joy of six musicians performing “live to disc” the material that has won them coast-to-coast applause. Tor Hyams called producing ‘Great Day’ “an amazing experience. Milkshake is truly a rock band of the highest caliber. The songs are edgy and meaningful, but also just plain good fun for the whole family.”

‘Great Day’ leads off with a high-energy, Ramones-like rocker, “Shake it Up.” With that, the adventure unfolds, with songs ranging from the Cajun-inspired “Statue of Me” to the alt-country “Enemies” and the fun, summertime “Dance in the Sun.” “When I’m Old,” featuring Cathy Fink on banjo, is part ode to Lisa Mathews’ mom and part “hey, wouldn’t it be fun to have a country song?” “Recipe” was written with former Glenmont Popes front man Rodney Henry in mind. Henry, who owns Dangerously Delicious Pies in Baltimore, plays a Gretsch hollow body guitar on “Recipe” and lays down a gastronomic rap to create an ingredient that defies substitution. Other highlights include some tasty ukulele and mandolin artistry by Marcy Marxer on “Travel Far;” the poignant lullaby, “I Love You,” written for Lisa Mathews’ nine-year-old daughter Jesse; and the title track’s ending jam, containing the band’s thoughts on what a great day should be. There are two different versions of the song, with the CD containing the shorter version. Milkshake’s Facebook and website friends will be able to download an 8-minute version, free of charge.

Baltimore Magazine declared, “Hip parents who like music will absolutely thrill to Milkshake.” Known for their pop-rock style that fairly crackles with energy, Milkshake has a following of all ages. Their original material just happens to be written for kids, yet Milkshake makes a habit of winning over entire families without compromising songcraft, stagecraft or their authentic rock & roll spirit. Parents and grandparents enjoy and appreciate the band’s tuneful, memorable songs that evoke influences from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Lennon/McCartney. Wrote Paste Magazine, “Overflowing with energy and enough stylistic chops to move convincingly from rockabilly to jangle-pop, these tunes will make fans of the whole family.” Cookie Magazine affirmed, “To appeal to their audience, they don’t dumb down the music – they just play it straight. The results are entirely enjoyable.”

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are 2-time GRAMMY winners who write, produce and perform music for families. Known for their spirit of fun and virtuosity, Cathy & Marcy play more than a dozen instruments, including banjo, mandolin ukulele, guitar and percussion.

While touring with The Glenmont Popes, Rodney Henry took pie on the road. Realizing that rock ‘n’ roll wasn’t paying the bills, Henry thought of using his considerable talent as a pie-man to bankroll his rock ‘n’ roll adventures. Now you can find some of the best pie in the country at Henry’s Dangerously Delicious Pies.

‘Great Day’ producer Tor Hyams has 20 years of experience in the music and film industries, from writing and performing his own material to producing world-class recording artists and live music festivals for children, as well as composing dozens of scores for film and television. He conceived and developed Kidzapalooza as a family festival nested within the Lollapalooza Festival and also produces The “Kiddie Limits” stage for Austin City Limits.

Milkshake has previously released three critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning CDs – ‘Happy Songs,’ ‘Bottle of Sunshine,’ and ‘PLAY!’ – in addition to a Parents’ Choice Silver Award-winning DVD, ‘Screen Play!,’ a joyous mix of MTV-like videos, animation, in-concert videos and cool bonus features, including interviews with the band and a pair of videos featured on PBS KIDS. The band even found inspiration and time to create their own comic book, featuring Milkshake as superheroes.

‘Great Day’ will be available at stores nationwide and at milkshakemusic.com, amazon.com, cdbaby.com, itunes, and other online outlets.

‘GREAT DAY’ SONG LIST:
Shake It Up, Happy Place, Statue of Me, You Did It!, Enemies, When I’m Old, I Want It, Travel Far, Recipe, Dance in the Sun, I Love You, Great Day.