Listen To This: Smile - Mike Park

I got an e-mail the other day from Mike Park, who, with some understatement, introduced himself as a "longtime musician in the punk world." This would be somewhat akin to saying Tom Brady is a "longtime player in the football world." Even I, not very tuned into the punk scene, recognized one of the bands he once played in (Skankin' Pickle) and a few of the bands he releases records for on his Asian Man Records label, bands like the Alkaline Trio and Smoking Popes.

So I was pretty interested in hearing his new project, a kids' album called Smile. And you can hear it, too, over at Punk News. It's a short, sharp blast of punk married to preschool-friendly topics and lyrics. If you only have time to check out a track or two, I'd suggest perhaps "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... Drums" or "Everybody Loves to Jump."

And welcome to the kids' punk world, Mike.