LEMONADE SCHOOL is the second album by children's singer-songwriter David Tobocman, whose breakout Very Helpful Songs album helped establish him as a standout in the expanding field of independent music artists for families. On Lemonade School, David continues his "all styles" approach with 12 fun, engaging songs that touch on folk and bluegrass, triumphant rock, Count Basie-style swing, ballet music, ballads, a halloween song, and the centerpiece, an audaciously funky rap on the power of positivity called "Yeasayers." There's a cozy folk-rock cover of the classic Mr. Rogers song, "It's You I Like" and a spirited bluegrass-hiphop twist on The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye," as well as 10 original songs that serve as a musical tour for young ears. "My favorite Beatles album is the White Album because it's so stylistically diverse and that's the way I show music to my own kids, folk music next to hard rock next to bluegrass and funk and classical and on and on." Variety is the engine that drives David’s ultra-musical live shows and the strong response of multi-age audiences reflects the undeniable kid appeal of his genre-hopping approach to children’s music. With the release of his first album, David was actually advised by a few industry people that it would be much better from a marketing standpoint for him to focus on a single style of music and stick with it. "That was the inspiration for Yeasayers," says David, "all the naysayers that 'categorize, criticize, and must cut everyone down to their size' -- I had to give them a song and it's beautiful because it's the one song on the album with the strongest message of positivity and affirmation." Positive messaging for kids is the hallmark of David's very helpful songs. The new album’s title song, "Lemonade School" is a converted original bedtime story for his daughter about Horatio the boy with a lemonade stand who achieves, perseveres, and attains far-reaching goals of creating and sharing within the culinary beverage arts. "Mom is a Rockstar" is an ode to multitasking Moms, "No Time Like the Present" shows how living in the moment has its own reward, and "Ice Cream on a Hot Dog" validates how a child's opinion can never really be wrong. Lemonade School is packed tightly with a wealth of musical and lyrical ideas, but has a light touch and a lot of kid appeal. There's even a comforting song co-written with his 6 year old daughter Zoe, "Spooky Stuff" which offers that "... there's always spooky stuff, but we don't have to be afraid." "Zoe is constantly making up songs -- just sitting there with her is like going to the opera. I don't know where she gets it." David started in the music industry as an arranger and producer-engineer, gradually working his way into film and TV music, where he now makes his living as a composer. He started writing songs for children when Zoe just started becoming facile with language and he has not stopped. “It's very fitting that a film and TV composer like me would latch onto variety as a songwriting hook because I'm called upon to write and play so many different styles of music depending on which show I'm working on. Musical globetrotting has always worked well for me -- it keeps things challenging and always interesting." Not only does David move between musical styles easily, he also plays an array of different instruments -- piano, guitars, ukulele, mandolin, trombone, and his new favorite instrument, lap steel, which is a type of electric guitar that is played flat on one's lap, using a metal slide to "fret" the notes. "It's got a vibey sound that can be played in a number of different styles, from country, blues and bluegrass to lush romantic textures. It's all over the new album. I love to learn new instruments -- I'm just picking up the accordion now." A focal point of a David Tobocman in concert is his constant instrument switching, which is always entertaining for kids -- “especially when I grab the trombone.” What resonates through all of David's music and his live show as well is an enthusiasm and excitement about music. It's an effect that David hopes is contagious for families that hear the new album. "I hope families have as much fun listening to this record as I had making it."