It became clear through our chats that Danny and I had a lot more in common than we had suspected. We both had unusual childhoods for people in children’s music. Danny was raised in gang culture, saw many friends die, and was regularly in and out of prison in his youth. When I was a kid, my only sibling died of cancer, and that same year, in desperation, my father died by suicide. Danny and I both decided, at some point, that our lives were not going to be defined by the misfortunes that had occurred in our youth. After much reading, reflection, and planning, we very purposefully and proactively took roads that led in a very different direction. We arrived at children’s music as a creative outlet for similar reasons: We’re trying to relive — and perhaps re-invent — our childhoods a bit and give kids a “things are gonna be okay” feeling — something we probably wish we had a little more of.