Sketches

Welcome to the new website! We've tried to make it easy to
get around and filled with music and info. Here at sketches,
I'll be writing notes to let you know what's been going on.
I'll keep you posted. From time to time, I'll also be posting
drawings and sketches from my travels. Thanks for stopping by and see you on the road. Laura

Very busy launching the new website and new kid’s CD. There is a lot of love in these songs because I wrote them for real kids in my life. I can’t tell you how much fun it was working with my co-producer, brilliant George Wurzbach, in his NYC studio, recording these tracks in the most musically inventive way we could think of. It was one of the most pleasurable musical experiences I have ever had in the studio. We had lots of laughs, particularly over choosing the sound effects. I played acoustic guitar, George covered keyboards and many other instruments (genius musician- that’s George playing real banjo and sax on the keyboard, and so much more.) The fabulous Jim Armenti & Jim Matus helped us out on mandolin and electric guitars, and Jason Moses did a little fiddle touch on Ruby. Alexis Neubart worked with me on the overall CD design, with help from Madelaine Zadik.

Annette Rubino- Buckley is our cover artist and her beautiful dancing geese share just the feeling I was looking for. See her more of her art and cards at her website.

Although I started teaching kids when I was 15, most of my audiences today are adults. This is my first “family” CD. My goal was to make something more interesting than I was hearing in the children’s music world. I wanted songs that parents and grandparents could get into and sing with the kids in the car. That was my goal anyway.

When I was a kid, I learned every word to the songs I liked in musicals, old movies and TV: Frank Loesser’s Hans Christian Anderson, the patter songs of Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and especially, the Beatles. I wanted to write lyrics that help kids have fun with the English language through playing with rhymes, set in melodies with strong hooks in the chorus for the little ones to sing, and interesting story verses for the older ones to get into. Without my realizing it when I wrote them, I guess all the songs affirm unconditional love. Poopa Doopa Doo Doo is about loving yourself and your body without shame. Huckleberry says: be who you are. Miryam Capella fights for her rights with support of her mom and goes out and creates the world she wants to live in.

My dream is to do children’s books from the songs someday. We are exploring music video and animation, at least for Youtube, perhaps including my cartoons. Please write me and let me know how you like Again! Again! and the new website navigation. I leave for Uganda in January and I am back touring in February.

Thanks for all your support! Love, Laura