Talking about kids publicly for the first time in fourteen years, playing rock and roll while nine months pregnant, not allowing having kids to change who you are or what you can accomplish, finding authenticity and faith in your self from motherhood, switching between road life and mom life, questioning choices, and pumping breast milk between rock and roll concert sets. Steph Paynes, lead guitarist and founder of tribute band Lez Zeppelin, shares her mom journey with hosts Stacy Igel and Michelle Park.
(Steph's Instagram: @lezzeppelin and @stephpaynes)
In this episode:
Stacy on signing Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to her son nightly, and he asked why we can’t return back
Do something the same, but different every day
Becoming the founder and lead guitarist of the tribute band Lez Zeppelin
Steph never before talked about her kids publicly
The mystery of Rock and Roll, and sharing less is more
Having a band named Lez Zeppelin (Lez) don’t answer that question
Being a private person, and not always a great idea to discuss kids in public
Steph played her first gigs while nine months pregnant, and had to side-saddle wear her guitar
Her first is 18 year-old Max, second is Harrison who is 14
Steph toured with Ronnie Spector prior to Max
Why an all-girl band
Playing Led Zeppelin music is ambitious, and as women the band had to be twice ad good as others for credibility
Steph did it for fun, and realized she was pregnant around 4 months into the band
Being nauseous during both pregnancies, and the only time she felt better was when rehearsing and playing
Steph took 3 years off from music, worked on a novel
Being determined not to let having children interfere with who she is and what she can accomplish
A side effect of having kids was “cutting out all the crap that didn’t matter”, becoming a mega efficient person
Steph was a journalist before, never thought she’d be a big rock star, just wanted to have fun
Finding balance, discovering authenticity and courage and faith in herself to go out and play what she wanted because of becoming a mother
Then – the band took off
Road-life is like a bubble, like having an alter ego -- -when in band mode, she’s not mom mode
Bouncing back and forth between those two worlds was very difficult
Steph had a great nanny and could not have done it without her
As leader of the band she has found herself mothering them in a way
Questioning choices at times, and she never met a single woman on the road in her position
Was she doing harm to kids or being a role model?
Steph’s incredible #MOMSGOTGTHIS moment incolved playing a set of a concert, needing to pump breast milk in a bathroom during the break, then going out and playing another set
Steph realized you can do virtually anything in the world if you have the will to do it, no one can stop you