Last fall, probably around the time of WCYY’s Mark-a-thon, my wife had an idea for a benefit album for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. She sent out an email, met with some folks from the hospital, and suddenly found herself with the go-ahead to put the whole thing together.
THE IDEA
The idea came to her one night while she was putting our kids to bed. She was singing “The Circle Game” by Joni Mitchell to our one-and-a-half year old son at bedtime and thought “Wouldn’t it be cool to have an album of all the songs people sing as lullabies to their kids?” (As I said, our younger one prefers Joni Mitchell. Our older one, 4 years now, can’t sleep without “I’m Going To Go Back There Someday” from The Muppet Movie.) The more she thought about it, she expanded the idea to include songs that people have written for or about their own children. That such an album should benefit the Children’s Hospital only seemed right.
THE PROJECT
With working two jobs and putting time into an internship after the holidays, my lovely wife’s time to work on this has been non-existent. I asked if she would mind if I worked on it and got the okay. I’m a bit more familiar with the local music scene than she is, though not with a lot of the players.
This is a project unlike anything I’ve taken on before, but pulling it together will really be one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done (other than raising the kids, naturally). I’ve spoken with Charlie Gaylord, who produces the Greetings From Area Code 207 CDs, and he gave me a bit of direction on how to start. Right now I’m slowly selecting folks to send a letter to looking for song donations.
HELP ME!
Like I said, while I’m familiar with the local music scene, I certainly don’t know who does and does not have kids. If you know anyone who might have even a vague interest in such a project, please let me know.
I’m not even necessarily looking for your whole band to participate. Maybe this is a chance for you to step out of your normal band role and release something that wouldn’t fit with what you normally play. Maybe it’s you and your son or daughter doing a little duet. I don’t know.
What I do know is that there are a lot of people in Maine making a lot of great music. There are also a lot of children and their families who rely on the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. And I don’t know about you, but I’m comforted just knowing it’s there if my family ever needs it.
CONTACT
Please circulate this post if you can, point people toward this or give them my email address. You can also reach me on Twitter and Facebook.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and consider helping out. Thank you.
Josh
joshua@pumpfirst.com
