Neil Sattin.com

So I’m making progress on my own personal dream, which has been evolving into existence ever since the Reveal Your Dream challenge I posted some months ago.  I’ve been writing lots of music for children, and getting ready to go into the studio to record a full-length album – which will happen sometime in the next several months.  In the meantime, while I was getting lots of positive feedback from the adults in my life, I decided that it was time to start playing for the audience that really matters:  the KIDS!

Fortunately Portland (Maine) has a great community radio station, WMPG, and Saturday mornings, from 8 to 9 am EST, they broadcast “Chickens R People 2″, a show geared towards children ages 0-10.  One of the hosts of the show, Carmine, has invited me to play live on the air TOMORROW (June 26th).  If you live in the Portland area, you can tune in the station on either 90.9 or 104.1 FM.  Or you can stream the broadcast over the internets (you’ll need RealPlayer or Shoutcast).  I’ll probably be playing 3 or 4 tunes (sometime within the hour), and talking a little bit about the upcoming album, the songwriting process, and following one’s dream.

Between that and a few other concerts that I’ve played recently, it feels like the children’s music project is starting to gain some momentum.  I’ll gradually be adjusting this site, and while the blogging will still be here the rest of the site will probably be more geared towards the music that we’re making.  We’ll probably even have some free kids’ music giveaways, to add to the excitement! 

You might also notice that I’ve added a “Join my mailing list” section at the top of the sidebar (over on the left of the screen).  If you’d like to be notified of upcoming shows/events where I’ll be playing, please sign up for the mailing list.  I promise not to overwhelm your inbox.

I’ll let you all know how it goes.  In the meantime, you can still check out a couple early recordings of mine on the music page.  Have a great weekend, and let me know if you made it to the radio show!

Last year, during these very hours (January 23rd), my wife went full-on into labor.  We visited the midwife, did some last-minute grocery shopping, and came home to chill out (as best as our Hypnobirthing techniques enabled us to do).  By three in the morning on January 24th, our son Dashiell had taken his first breath of air on our lovely little planet.  As I write this, he’s asleep on our bed, more than midway through his afternoon nap.  My wife and I blog, enjoying our brief moments of daytime respite.  Then, I think, there are some dishes to do.  We have to get ready for this weekend’s guests.

So the Birthday Celebration is going to be on Saturday, a couple days after the “actual” day of Dash’s birth.  I don’t think he’ll mind.  It occured to me that today and tomorrow are really, at this point, more significant for Tonya and me – recognizing how much our lives have changed, how much we’ve grown, how much we’ve had to adapt whatever we thought about life pre-baby to the reality of life with baby.  Over the course of the next twelve-ish hours, the whole world disappeared, narrowed to this tiny little point of focus, until Dash came onto the scene to forever alter the landscape of our lives.  Every day I’m reminded of how miraculous it is.  Every day I marvel at his sense of playfulness and discovery in the world.  Every day I thank the universe that Tonya and I are sharing this miracle together.

You know, if I had known that the night of January 22, 2007 was going to be my last full night’s sleep for at least a year, I probably would have gone to bed much, much earlier.  At this point, I’ve gotten used to waking up every few hours (granted it’s a bit easier for me than it is for Tonya, on whom Dash’s middle-of-the-night comfort seems to be dependent for the moment).  That’s not the only change, of course.  Not a day goes by that isn’t impacted in some way by this little being.  My whole current path, of playing music for kids, was inspired by his arrival, and his spirit continually helps me connect with the kid inside of me, with my own sense of joy at being here in the world.  So while I often talk about the impact of the “little things” on our lives, allow me, today, to honor a “big” thing – the miracle of a new life and the woman who brought him into being.  And then ate him up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DASH!