03.04.2010 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Chicago, IL, March 4, 2010 – Two Grammy-award winners, Ricco Lumpkins (TLC’s Fanmail) and Matt Shane (Flight of the Conchords), are featured on the upcoming release of edgy children’s music project, ToyBlock Music (TBM). The project’s EP, Eats Paste, will be released digitally on April 1st.

ToyBlock Music is an ongoing collection of real artists’ interpretations of their favorite childhood songs. Eats Paste will feature a surf punk “The Cat Came Back,” a funk “The Wheels on the Bus,” a dark singer-songwriter take on “There Was an Old Woman,” and four other unique renditions of classic kids’ tunes.

“This is such a cool collection!” says Lumpkins, the project’s mixing engineer. Lumpkins is also producing several songs; Shane is mastering the tracks for the initial release.

TBM’s founder and president, Joanna Quargnali-Linsley, used the collection to bring together diverse artists and encourage collaboration. “Everyone on the album chose the song they wanted to do and was challenged to bring their own voice to its interpretation. It’s an unbelievable group of artists, and Ricco [Lumpkins] and Matt [Shane] are really making them shine,” she explains.

“Doing this song brought back memories of my adolescent days, and all that went with it,” says Austin Collins, a Texas musician who contributed a country-whiskey version of the traditional Southern kids’ song, “The Crawdad Song.” “I couldn’t fight my brain on this one…I’ve always wanted to get into it and twist it into something a bit darker.”

TBM is based on the premise that children understand, and deserve, real music. The songs featured are expected to be just as interesting and complex as what adults are offered. “There’s no reason to dumb it down,” argues Quargnali-Linsley. “Kids get it, just on a different level. With ToyBlock, the songs are familiar and fun, and the music is real.”

For more information on ToyBlock Music and the April 1st release, Eats Paste, contact Joanna Quargnali-Linsley at mgmt@misery-loves.com.