Lucky Diaz & the Family Jam Band to tour in support of new album

Following the national acclaim that met the EP Luckiest Adventure release last year (the song “Blue Bear” spent several weeks at number one on the Sirius XM Kid's Place Live charts), Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band will release their first full-length album, Oh Lucky Day! on May 10th (Rainy Day Dimes Music). CD release concerts are planned around the country, including the Knitting Factory (May 1) in NYC and the Hotel Café on May 8th. Other shows include the taping of a Rumpus Room family concert at Sirius Satellite Radio in Washington, DC, on April 28th. The one-hour concert will be broadcast four times over the weekend of May 13-15 on channel 116.

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band’s sound blends a splash of Vampire Weekend, a sprinkle of the Death Cab for Cutie and a shaker full of Dan Zanes sing-along style, plus a whole lotta rock and roll. Lucky grew up listening to Buddy Holly and the Beatles, and their influence shines in his music.

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band is comprised of three accomplished musicians. Composer and lead singer Lucky Diaz (a Berklee College of Music alum), songwriter-vocalist Alisha Gaddis and percussionist Theron Derrick (who also tours with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Lenny Kravitz and the Temptations) bring the emotional and imaginative world of childhood to a whole new level.

As Mindy Thomas, program director of Kids Place Live on Sirius XM Satellite radio told USA Today in choosing this band as best new kids’ artist of 2010, "It's contemporary family music all dressed up in the '50s. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard this for the first time. And then I did fall out of my chair when I heard it for the second time."


Parental response to the band’s EP release in 2010 was ecstatic. Coolmompicks said, “This short collection of excellent music has us all eager for what he'll put together next.” Stefan Shepherd, NPR commentator and host of the influential children’s music blog Zooglobble, calls Lucky's voice "very versatile … it can do the big choruses and the falsettos equally well." Lucky has range, and it is amazing to listen to where his voice takes you.

The arrangements and production values for Oh, Lucky Day! are ambitious. Lucky Diaz tells it like it is: "We’re not just offering three chords and a simple melody. We want to bring sophistication to everything we play."

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band don't skimp on their lyrics, either. Lucky calls their songs "loaded with emotion." Get ready for songs about family relationships, whimsical flights of imagination and keenly interpreted slices of life. Most of the songs are dance-able and upbeat, even the sweet original lullaby “Dreamland,” featuring sultry backup vocals from indie star Holly Conlan.

“I write songs inspired by my relationship with my daughter,” explains Lucky. Father-daughter ties are a running theme here. “The song ‘Light Beams’ was actually written for a birthday slide show that I created for Alisha and her dad, but everything in that song applies to my daughter as well. Alisha's a grownup now, and I was thinking of how her dad must be wondering where all the time went.”

Indeed, the original songs on Oh, Lucky Day! capture the bittersweet quality of the parent-child relationship. “I wanted to get at the beauty of those fleeting moments in these songs, encouraging parents and kids to sit back and enjoy these moments,” says Lucky.

Alisha, an accomplished film and stage actress and musician who co-wrote the more imaginative songs on the record, including “Pretty Princess,” adds that even the most childish songs hold a deeper meaning. “It's not just a silly song about playing dress-up. We’ve built in messages about manners and empowerment. In our live shows we always tell the boys that they can be princesses too, if they want. It's all about being in the moment and writing about the things kids like.” The song “Race Car” is another example of how a kid-friendly themed song can deliver messages about competition and fair play, along with pure, unadulterated fun.

To celebrate the release of Oh, Lucky Day!, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band plan several family concerts this spring and summer:

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band Concerts
April 28 --Rumpus Room, Sirius Satellite Radio studios, Washington, DC
May 1 -- The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
May 8 -- Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, CA
May 21-21 - Silverlake Jubilee Festival, Los Angeles
July 14 - Connor's Cove Children's Theater, Tulsa
July 17 - Off Broadway, St. Louis

Oh, Lucky Day!
Rainy Day Dimes MusicRelease: May 10, 2011
SRP: $15
Info: www.luckydiazmusic.com