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Star Magazine

Pizza in Star Magazine!

Macaronikid.com

Sag Harbor Express

New York Times – watch carefully during the video for the “stylish” Pizzas!

Marietta Daily Journal

Beneath the colorful pop exterior is a multi-layered musical family of real-life mom (Lisa), dad (Billy), and daughter (Emily), whose combined talent makes up the nationally known, TV friendly family band called “Laughing Pizza”. Their music videos, or “Pizza Breaks”, are seen daily on PBS in millions of homes around the country.

Lisa and Billy are award winning song-writers and are both classically trained musicians, having attended Juilliard and Berklee.  They are also both former music teachers.  Their fourteen year old daughter, Emily, is a multi-instrumentalist who plays bass, drums, guitar, piano and flute. Together they create fun, inspiring (and educational) music for the whole family!  Laughing Pizza has appeared on the Today Show and performed at the White House three consecutive years (most recently with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers).  Laughing Pizza was featured in Money Magazine, The New York Times, Family Energy Magazine, and The School Library Journal.  Additionally, they have appeared on CNN, CBS Showbuzz, NY1, CN8, Fox Morning Atlanta and CBS Better Mornings.  Laughing Pizza has released two DVDs and 4 CDs on their label “Little Bean Family Entertainment” and are the proud recipients of six 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 beautiful new book “Julie Andrews Collection of Songs, Poems, and Lullabies” (Little/Brown). Their live performances are energetic, interactive, dance-filled shows that get kids and parents up and moving, and have created a loyal following across the country.

BACKGROUND:

Before Laughing Pizza, Billy and Lisa both started performing in indie bands such as Strap d’etr0, Hot Boxes of Truth, Shade, and later advanced a #1 Dance single in 1992 (Rainfalls, produced by Frankie Knuckles on Virgin records). Four years of being songwriters with Warner/Chappell and songs for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the TV show “Big Bag”, plus a math CD that is used in schools in several states steered them toward writing for kids. In 1998 shortly after daughter Emily was born, Billy and Lisa quit the music business and moved from their native New York to Atlanta and Billy became an Executive at IBM and went on to manage global accounts at the tech consulting company, Sapient.

On Tuesday morning September 11, 2001, Billy was on a flight to Boston for one of his frequent business trips.  This experience changed their perspective as Billy was trapped in Boston for a week and finally was able to drive the 25 hours back to Atlanta to be with his family. Billy and Lisa decided they should find a way to be together as a family while doing what they enjoyed most –making music- and thus Laughing Pizza was created.

Laughing Pizza started as an indie band on a home grown 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, their kids label. Unfortunately, 6 months after the deal was signed, Sony Wonder folded and Laughing Pizza was left on a rock label. 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.

2010 has brought the release of their new CD “Let’s Go Play!”, a DVD “It’s Pizza Time!” and a new tour, which is supported by Little Bean. This March, Laughing Pizza kicks off their “Let’s Go Play!” tour with dates nationwide including Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Jose, Raleigh, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Columbus, OH. Check www.laughingpizza.com for updated tour info!

Laughing Pizza created their foundation TogetherFund.org to provide free arts programs for schools including access to songs that would educate, inspire and teach kids to give back to their community.  They print all their CDs and DVDs on recycled board and paper – working toward a plastic and toxin free product line!