The Cupertino Library hosted a family music event featuring Grammy-winning duo Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis’s band, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band on Saturday, May 24 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The husband and wife duo led children and families through interactive songs such as “Jelly” and “Taco Tuesday,” dances and bilingual entertainment in Spanish including a reading of their children’s book “Paletero Man,” centered around a young child exploring his neighborhood, connecting with family and friends.
The Santa Clara County Libraries had invited the duo to perform at multiple libraries after getting in touch with Authors Unbound, an agency that books the duo for appearances across the country and globally, according to Diaz. He says that beyond the logistics, he was glad to see the event bring together families through music and dance.
“We’re just trying to connect,” Diaz said. “I think that I guess the irony of technology in the modern world is we’re so disconnected, so I think part of our cause is just connecting with people. It’s impacted me in a profound way to experience a life that I didn’t know existed.”
According to Diaz and Gaddis, who have been winners of several Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, the duo combined their creative experiences to form a band with Gaddis’ background in acting and Diaz’s background as a session musician. Diaz explains their music developed from raising a family together while traveling and performing globally. Specifically, Gaddis remembers a band tour of China in 2016, which shaped the couple’s perception of culture.
“You can see a community light up when there’s similarities within the differences, or differences within the similarities,” Gaddis said. “The more we’re in the world, the more we see both of those things, which is really uniting. Lucky and I love traveling in general, so it is just everything that we love coming together.”
The couple add that their main goal when creating music isn’t to win awards and gain recognition but rather to produce melodies that are universal to both children and adults alike. Diaz points to the Beatles as a major source of inspiration when writing songs, hoping audiences members of all ages feel satisfied with their performance.
“My favorite band is the Beatles, and everyone, whether you’re nine or 90, loves the Beatles, or can find something to enjoy,” Diaz said. “I just try to write with that mindset that connects to adults more universally, and they can then have that experience with their kids.”
Beyond writing entertaining songs for all ages, the duo also incorporates educational elements into their performances. For Gaddis, this balance allows both children and adults to leave with comfort and something meaningful.
“The world is so serious, and we take what we do seriously, but how to take it seriously is by inherently tapping into joy and everyone needs more joy in this moment,” Gaddis said. “I think that is something we try to bring, and people may not know they’re getting a bilingual education, or they’re getting the things that are implemented into performances that we’ve worked so hard to seamlessly do. At the end of the day, we want families and children to feel happiness, and that’s what we hope to give to people in the community.”
