Lanny Cordola On Working With Rock Legends For “Miraculous Love Kids” & Living In Afghanistan
Lanny Cordola is an American-born guitarist, songwriter and producer. Beyond being a member of label-signed bands (e.g. Giuffria, House Of Lords, Magdallan), he has written and/or played with other artists (e.g. Doro, Ken Tamplin, Ransom, D_2), helmed solo albums, acted on television, and produced a variety of projects. Simply put, he has spent decades in entertainment, consistently working.
But these days Lanny Cordola is working on what is arguably his most ambitious and impactful project: The Miraculous Love Kids. Collaborating with musicians on a peace-through-music project, he spends most of his time based in Afghanistan, having formed his own non-profit 501(c) organization. Inspired by the tragic killing of sisters Parwana and Korshid in Kabul, Afghanistan by a suicide bomber, Cordola teachers guitar, English and other life skills to hundreds of children — mostly girls — at the Miraculous Love Kids Studio with Parwana and Korshid’s sister Mursal.
The work of Lanny Cordola goes beyond his efforts in Afghanistan, however. In 2018, Cordola released a music video for “Love And Mercy,” featuring a collaborative effort between Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson and some of his students. 2 years later in 2020, the Miraculous Love Kids have released a music video for a cover of The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” as not only featuring some of his students, but also Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, Foo Fighters’ Rami Jaffee, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s, The Bangles’ Vicki Peterson, The Runaways’ Cherie Currie, The MC5’s Wayne Kramer, Umphrey’s McGee’s Kris Myers, and The Bird & The Bees’ Inara George and Greg Kurstin.
On November 18, 2020, I had the pleasure of speaking with Lanny Cordola via Zoom, as embedded below. We spoke about “Sweet Dreams,” his professional and philosophical journeys, The Beach Boys, John Stamos, Gene Simmons of KISS, and plenty more. Additional information on Cordola and The Miraculous Love Kids can be found online via www.miraculouslovekids.org, youtube.com/channel/UCCMEfJqdsHjBtvaD5w37DLg and facebook.com/Themiraculouslovekids.
