Introducing The Cool Chips, A New Family Band

This spring brings The Cool Chips, a new project from Grammy winning Luke Laird, and his latest collaborators, wife Beth and sons Jake (6) and Mack (4). The Nashville based family’s debut is a pop, country and hip-hop infused album, written and recorded at home during the recent quarantine.

As one of country’s top songwriters and producers, Laird found inspiration for this new collection of songs away from the action of Music Row, in spending time with his kids, doing what they enjoy as a family and reflecting on his own childhood. He leaned into his love of country music and 90’s hip hop and went with his gut writing songs about life at home and the day to day of parenting. From playing basketball in the driveway and taking nature walks outside to getting the kids to brush their teeth, it’s a window into their personal family life. Playing around with simple catchy choruses and beats, giving each child a voice, and then piecing it altogether after bedtime, Laird ended up with this fresh, relatable and playful collection.

Laird is excited to share the release with other families who are also home going through similar experiences. “The goal is really to make my wife and kids smile and hopefully it will make others smile as well. This project is a great time stamp of the ages of our children and the quarantine, but it also represents the creativity and hope that we can find in everyday life if we just look for it.”

The upbeat six song collection includes “Rocks, Worms, Dirt” which came from a family nature walk and will remind listeners of what waits for them in the outside world in the brightness of spring. This is the song that got the family excited about making music together and planted the concept for the rest of the album. The bouncy “Shootin’ Hoops” was inspired by Mack and Jake’s game of choice but also from the nostalgia of Luke and Beth’s own childhoods as both share fond memories of playing driveway ball with friends growing up. “I Don’t Wanna Brush My Teeth” is a laid back groove that raps about the daily battle every parent knows well and the endearing and mellow “Don’t Be Mean, Be Nice” delivers a simple but timeless message we all need to be reminded of sometimes. “Night Night” was a chorus the family had been singing in the house for a while so they turned the hook into a complete day ending mantra. Closing out the album is 4 year old Mack with a beatbox backed performance of the folk classic “You are My Sunshine”, his favorite bedtime song.

The Cool Chips is an all star Nashville production, with all the instrumentation and production by Luke Laird, mixed by Mike Stankieweicz (Kesha, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Avicii), mastered by Andrew Mendelson at Georgetown Masters, production coordination by Kelsey Granda and managed by Beth Laird.

The Cool Chips will be released on CN Records, the record division of Creative Nation which is a publishing, management and record company based in Nashville and co-owned by Luke and Beth. The Cool Chips will be available everywhere digitally on May 29.

Listen to “Rock, Worms, Dirt”  here.

1. Rocks, Worms, Dirt (Laird)
2. Shootin’ Hoops (Laird)
3. I Don’t Wanna Brush My Teeth (Laird)
4. Don’t Be Mean, Be Nice (Laird)
5. Night, Night (Laird)
6. You are My Sunshine (Davis)

ABOUT THE COOL CHIPS: At four years old, Mack Laird’s instrument of choice is beatboxing. He enjoys making beats while playing, eating and taking a bath. He has a fish named “Bluey Bluey” and a snail named “Goldie”. Six year old Jake Laird is a drummer at heart, however his role within the band is that of a hype man, best at gang vocals. Jake has a pet tortoise named “Lettuce Mister T Laird”. The brothers both love basketball, swimming and jumping on the trampoline and thrive on a well-balanced diet of pizza, grilled cheese, and ice cream cones. Beth Laird is a vital member of The Cool Chips. While she did add background vocals, her most important role is visionary and kid wrangler. Every band has that one member who is the steady and carries the project through to the end, that is Beth. Dad and Grammy winner Luke Laird is one of country’s top songwriters and producers. With 50 radio singles, 23 of which were Billboard No. 1 hits and 4 of which were in the Top 5 he has more than 125 released cuts filling his catalog. He earned ACM Songwriter of the Year honors in 2015, and was named BMI Songwriter of the Year in 2012. Luke is honored to join with up-and-comers on the Nashville scene, Jake and Mack, on their debut release.