Neil Sattin.com

Hello everyone! I just thought I’d take a break from a fantabulous birthday to check in with you all. It won’t be a long post, because I still haven’t written in my Birthday Book, and I still have dinner out at a local Korean restaurant (I heart kim chi) and the newest episode of Lost to look forward to. And some candlepin bowling w/amigos this weekend (pop quiz: do you know what candlepin bowling is?).

Seriously, though, it’s been a great day. There were about 5 inches of heavy snow to contend with (curses, out-of-commission snowblower!) - but I took advantage of the time to contemplate birthdays past, trying to remember as many as I possibly could. There are surprisingly few gaps in my memory of the 33 birthdays gone by. Most conspicuous among the gaps are all of my high school years - guess I’m still blocking them out for some reason. I never understood that “best years of your life” b.s. about high school - let me tell you, the years just keep getting better and better as far as I’m concerned.

Like today, for instance - my lovely wife bestowed upon me a portrait of “our dog Nola trying to steal spaghetti from Dash”, painted by Rachel Rifat (done in the style of her commisions for Rob Williams). What could be better!!?!?!?

Children’s Music Giveaway

I also wanted to announce the winner of the Birthday Children’s Music Giveaway. Congratulations to Angela the Cajun Mama, who won a copy of the Dan Zanes CD Catch that Train. Thanks to all who stopped by and entered the giveaway, and please keep your eyes peeled for upcoming Children’s Music giveaways (some cool stuff on tap - like Gustafer Yellowgold DVDs). Now back to the celebration!

In honor of the birthday that is quickly approaching (I’ll be 34 on February 7th), I’d like to kick off the Children’s Music giveaway that I keep mentioning. While I have been writing lots of music for children, I’ve also been trying to listen to a lot more kids’ music along the way. That means that I’ve come across some pretty cool albums, and I’d love to share them with you.

This prize for this giveaway is a new copy of Dan Zanes’s Grammy-award Winning album Catch that Train:

It was seeing Dan Zanes perform this past summer that made me realize “Hey, I could do this too”. At the time I had only written one or two songs that you might call kids’ tunes, but now I have nearly an entire album’s worth (coming out sometime in mid-2008).

Catch That Train is full of catchy classics and originals, has a multi-cultural flair, and also features guest appearances from other musicians you might recognize (e.g. Natalie Merchant from 10,000 Maniacs) . Dan would also (rightfully) call the genre of the album “Family Music” - as he believes that good music for kids should be enjoyed by the whole family. I agree completely!

Contest Rules:

1. Leave a comment - this will be a chance for those of you who are shy to come out of the woodwork. Make sure that you give me your real e-mail address, since that’s the only way that I can get in touch with you to let you know that you won!
2. Link Love - the only *requirement* for entering the giveaway is to leave a comment. However, if you want to increase your chances of winning by a factor of 2(!), put up a post on your blog/site telling people about this Children’s Music giveaway, and linking back to this post (I should get an automatic ping, but if you want to let me know you did this, that’s fine too). That’s right - if you link back to this post, then I’ll enter your name twice into the random winner generator (a hat with some slips of paper).

I will draw an entry at random on February 7th - and let you know promptly that you’ve won! A little something from me to you on my birthday.

That’s it! There will be more giveaways here over the coming months, so stay tuned. In the meantime, a little more link love:

My wife is ALSO having a giveaway - some really cool vintage stuff from The HappyDashery. She’s going to choose her winner on Sunday (February 3rd), so head over there pronto and enter the contest!

Why the sudden giveaway? We were inspired by the giveaway extravaganza happening over at RocksinMyDryer - seriously, you should go check it out. There are over 590 sites participating with FREE STUFF to give away. I think that all of them also have a Sunday (Feb 3rd) deadline, so you should check them out pronto. If you’re so inclined, let them know that you heard about their giveaway here.

Final Bit of Link Love

There are a few sites out there that are devoted to reviewing Children’s/Family music - sorting out the good from the less-good so that you don’t have to! Plus they’re also a great way to find out about what’s happening in the world of Family-centered entertainment. The first site that I stumbled on was Zooglobble (kids music worth sharing). The most recent Zooglobble article is, ironically enough, an interview with Dan Zanes - so you can find out more about the dude before you win his CD here at NeilSattin.com. I definitely recommend Zooglobble for keeping a finger on the pulse of Children’s Music.

And finally, just a reminder for those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, I still have a couple of the “early” tunes available for your listening pleasure on my music page. Thanks in advance for entering the giveaway, and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!