Laughing Pizza
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Laughing Pizza was an American family band that wrote and performed pop music for children, based in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a trio consisting of Lisa Michaelis, Billy Schlosser, and their daughter Emily. In 2006, they signed a multi-year deal with Epic Records and Sony Wonder, after recording two self-released CDs and two DVDs.[1] Their G-rated music videos were played between children's shows on PBS stations.[2] By 2011, the band had won six Parents' Choice awards.[3] By August 2012, the ban had performed at the White House twice, including once with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.[4][2] That year, they released their first film, Laughing Pizza: The Concert Movie.[5]
Background
[edit]Originally from New York, songwriters Lisa Michaelis and Billy Schlosser were both involved in the music business from a young age, performing together in a band on Star Search.[3] Michaelis was the vocalist on Frankie Knuckles' "Rainfalls", a Billboard No. 1 dance track in 1992.[3][6] Schlosser worked with Steely Dan for ten years and managed a recording studio in New York.[7]
They were inspired to start Laughing Pizza after the events of September 11, 2001, when Schlosser was stranded in Boston for a week on a business trip and separated from his family, who lived in Atlanta.[3] Michaelis said that as a parent, she had also struggled with seeing her young daughter lip-syncing to songs with inappropriate lyrics, and that the band was trying to produce music that both children and their parents could enjoy.[7]
All three members of Laughing Pizza were involved in songwriting.[3] Their daughter Emily also played multiple instruments including the piano, drums, guitar, bass, and flute.[3]
Projects
[edit]Laughing Pizza started as a self-funded project on their homegrown label called “Little Bean Family Entertainment” and released two CDs and two DVDs (every one of which earned them Parents’ Choice Awards).
In 2006, Sony entered into a joint venture to release and distribute Laughing Pizza on Epic Records and Sony Wonder,[2] their kids' music label. Unfortunately, 6 months after the deal was signed, Sony Wonder folded and Laughing Pizza was left on a rock label with the likes of Good Charlotte, J-Lo, Shakira, Sean Kingston, and Celine Dion. Both parties decided to end the joint venture in 2008 so that Laughing Pizza could continue on their musical journey under their kids' label, which was reincarnated as Little Bean. The next year was spent performing, writing, and doing the leg work to get their music videos onto many PBS stations nationwide including GPB (all of Georgia); Columbus, OH; New York, San Diego, CA; Idaho; Louisiana; and Philadelphia, PA.
The family trio traveled across the United States performing at theaters, museums, music festivals, nightclubs, schools, and other venues. Laughing Pizza has also been featured on the Today Show, CNN, and Fox stations, as well as in Money Magazine,[1] The New York Times, Atlanta Magazine, Star Magazine, and the Huffington Post among others. They were the proud recipients of 7 Parents' Choice Awards, and their new one-hour docu-concert, "Laughing Pizza LIVE" had won a NAPPA award, as well as 5 Dove Awards and rave reviews from the Parents' Television Council.
Laughing Pizza has released two DVDs and 5 CDs on their label “Little Bean Family Entertainment” and is the recipient of seven Parents’ Choice Awards. Their song “On My Way” was chosen by Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton (who co-wrote the lyrics) to be featured in the book “Julie Andrews Collection of Songs, Poems, and Lullabies” (Little/Brown).
In 2011, Laughing Pizza filmed a one-hour concert, which was made to be a TV special and aired as a pledge special in June 2012 on PBS. It got one of the highest ratings ever recorded for the family portion of Pledge - second only to Sesame Street. In keeping with the family feeling of the event, shot at the Scholastic Theatre in New York City, the band was joined by hosts, celebrity Chef Todd English and his teenage son, Simon. The show also features dancers from the kid and teen program at the acclaimed Broadway Dance Center and a string trio from Juilliard.
Music
[edit]Laughing Pizza's self-released CDs include:[1]
- Meet the Pizzas
- Pizza Party!
The band's self-released DVDs include:[1]
- Feelin' Good
- Share a Smile!
The two CDs won the iParenting Media Award in 2004 for back-to-school season. 2010 brought the release of their new CD “Let’s Go Play!”, a DVD “It’s Pizza Time!” and a new tour, which was supported by Little Bean.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Walsh, Chris M. (June 17, 2006). "SONY TARGETS KIDS WITH PIZZA". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Kloer, Phil (August 28, 2008). "COVER STORY: Storybook weekend: FEST COURTS KIDS WITH POTTER TRIVIA, LAUGHING PIZZA AND MORE FAMILY FUN". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e f Shirley, Laura (October 14, 2011). "Laughing Pizza fun music for kids, parents". The Macon Telegraph. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Heyman, Marshall (August 15, 2012). "Heard & Scene: By The Bean-Shaped Pool". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "About these pages: The weekend in pictures". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 6, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Dance Trax". Billboard. November 14, 1992. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Beautiful music made family-style". The Atlanta Constitution. January 27, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.