JamaRama Live!   Vol. 1

If you’re old enough to WALK, you’re old enough to ROCK!

Join the Laurie Berkner Group, The Ohmies and Milkshake for an aftenoon of singing, dancing, activities and fun… live and in your living room, it’s JAMARAMA!

This first volume of  JamaRama Live! features The Laurie Berkner Band, singer and guitarist Laurie Berkner, bassist (and husband) Brian Mueller, and keyboardist Susie Lampert, who have performed in sold-out concerts, complete with kiddie mosh pits, across the country. Child magazine recently hailed Laurie as “one of the biggest names in alternative children’s music—the kind of kids' singer whose songs parents sheepishly play even when their children aren’t around.”  Other critical raves include Time magazine (“a kind of sippy-cup Sheryl Crow… melodies that bear repeated – very repeated – listenings”); Entertainment Weekly  (“Laurie Berkner’s ‘Victor Vito’ video rocks hard. Minivan hard”); the Today Show (“Pretty much the hottest thing in children’s music”) and Good Morning America (“If you think the Beatles made a splash in ’63, wait ‘till you see the mayhem caused by this woman.”) Laurie has a special talent for connecting with children on their own level (even if it means singing while lying down on the floor), and engaging adults who might normally rather be at a rock concert than a kid’s concert.

What kind of children’s musicians list influences ranging from Rodgers and Hammerstein to The White Stripes? Milkshake! Headed by vocalist Lisa Mathews and acoustic guitar player Mikel Gehl, the band evolved from its beginnings in the ‘80s as the new wave band Beyond Words, through the melodic adult rock of the popular Baltimore-based group Love Riot in the ‘90s, to the natural evolution, after becoming parents, of making great rock music for kids. Said Parenting magazine, “Think of what would happen if the B-52s and Cowboy Junkies visited your child’s preschool, and you’ll get an idea of the dreamy music this rocking duet makes… luscious harmonies and witty, merry-go-round spins. If kids don’t beg to hit the replay button, parents will.” Milkshake’s videos also appear on NOGGIN’s “Jack’s Big Music Show.”  

The Ohmies! is an interactive theatrical production that encourages children to center their minds and strengthen their bodies through world music and yoga.  Each character represents a basic yoga pose, such as the butterfly or downward facing dog.  An open musical jam includes audience participation in singing, stomping, clapping and creating a new original song. The musical score, performed by the Ohmland Bug Band, is comprised of original music in world styles from African percussion to traditional American music with an East-Indian flair.  The production has received critical acclaim from media outlets ranging from the Los Angeles Times to Yoga Journal.  The Ohmies! enjoyed an off-Broadway, sold-out run at New York’s Bleecker Theatre, and another sold-out run at L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse.

Click here to download and view trailer (Windows Media Player format)