Hayes students’ song is on new CD by The Great Unknown

Last November I told you about the kids from MPS’ Hayes Bilingual School, 2431 S. 10th St., who wrote and recorded a song in a Downtown Milwaukee recording studio with visiting Philadelphia rock band The Great Unknown.

The ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES project that paired the band with local kids around the country, including here, took place during the group’s U.S. tour, and was sponsored by America SCORES and ASCAP music publishing company.

Spending a couple days with the kids here, The Great Unknown then brought those kids to Tanner Monagle Studio to record their collaboration, “The Ballad of David Hayes Hammer.”

Now, that track, along with other such collaboration recorded with kids in Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Boston and New York City, are on the band’s latest CD, “Other Voices, Other Rooms.”

“We believe these kids have important voices that need to be heard and we wanted to tell them that,” said The Great Unknown’s Todd Henkin.

“With all of the cuts in arts programs at schools across the country we felt it was great timing to get involved. These songs, and the work and excitement these kids readily offered us, is proof of how important it is for them to have this kind of creative outlet. We had an incredibly enriching experience with the kids in each community.”

The disc will be released on July 19 and buyers can name their own price, but know that all online sales benefit the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES program, so it’s fine to err on the side of overpaying rather than underpaying.

You can hear the Hayes’ kids track at the link above. Another song, “Decomposers and Producers,” is available for download here.

Pre-order the CD at The Great Unknown’s website.