Hallo

This is special research:
I am looking for exchange of experiences concerning the issue growing up children and doing music.

So some questions:
A)

Lebst du (grossteils) vom Musikmachen und hast du Kinder? ja und nein
wenn ja, was machst du musikalisch/beruflich? Informatik und Musik
wie viele Kinder hast du? keine
lebst du mit Partner/In oder als Single bzw Alleinerziehend? als Single

- Zitierten Text anzeigen -

Do you have children/ a child and live mainly from doing music
yes, how many?
are you in a relationship or single mama?
what kind of music are you doing?

i have two kids (2 and 6 ) nd I live from doing music, about 30% from playing gigs with my own music /productions as Lava 303, and  60%  from  music projects  with kids (mainly singing songs and playing guitar, drumming)
i live as asingle in a kind of community (neighbourhoosproject ) in Frankfurt am Main

B)
Beeinflusst das Mamasein bzw dein(e) Kind(er) deine Arbeit als Künstlerin, Musikerin Djane?
Was hat sich seitdem verändert?

Welche Auswirkungen gibt es 
a) inhaltlich /künstlerisch/musikalisch
b ) organisatorisch /finanziell
c) sonstige Auswirkungen
 
Does the fact that you have kids influence your work as an musician/dj..?
What did change in your career as ( female)musician/DJ...

 

Inspiration:
Before I was playing guitar in a all female band at a quite professionel level and in the nineties i started to do techno/psyrock live-act and producer

Now with the kids growing up I found my voice as an interesting instrument for doing music,so i started  singing childrensongs first only for my kids, and then also in kindergardens or for festival children programm.

I also  started  to my voice and own texts for lava 303 productions, which means my music gets more vocal orientated somehow. also I started to play acoustic guitar again and to write songs.

Organisation
gigs and parties
I cant play every weekend at another party and i have to take care that the gigs are o.k. paid, so its worth to leave my kids alone or also to pay a babysitter.
Generally  right now I cannot leave my kids for more then a night. But I hope this will change again in the future...I am not so much travelling anymore, concentrate more on production...

I am more a day person now.
I hate playing gigs so late at night!!! I refuse playing later then 2 oclock at night or prefer to play at noon/at the end of a party.

studio and cooperations:
to have built up my own  little studio at home, cannot hang out in studios somewhere else for weeks,  I m doing  more cooperations with local artists, but its hard to find people to do music projects/band rehearsal at day because most of them need to work then and have time in the evenings where I dont have time... So lucks like I am going to stay a solo act...

studio time:
I dont have so much time for production like before, so i had to limit my studio times to few hours twice a week or at night editing. Generally I dont do music a lot at night, because I am to tired.

BUT the reason why i have less time, is not just the kids, but I also stopped getting Arbeitslosengel(socialwelfare), because I to see how I can earn regular money by myself.

So I started  to do this kindermusic projects to have some money to pay rent  and not to be dependent from state, gigs or from selling my music.

My music also is kind of very personal thing and i dont want to be forced to do it just because of the money. I need time for inspiration too...
Now I am more collecting ideas for a next album or whatever and then maybe next year try to manage to have some studio time or holidays outside of frankfurt to produce it


Financial: Somehow I need to take music  as my job more serious now, as I did before. I need to think about professionality while before I was more interested about underground and freaky stuff.
Sometimes I have doughts and I think I am too crazy, to live as a musician and artists.

I have a diplom as Pädagoge from studiing at university, which is good to get taken more serious and to get more money for the children music. I couldnt imagine to apply for a „normal job“ and to work a regular job everyday somehow.
Sometimes i think also it would be interesting to combine making music with making research about it.
I need the reflection somehow and exchange, because with this profession/ job sometimes i feel like an alien.

 
C)
Wer kümmerst sich um dein Kind/Kinder während du arbeitest? (Proben, Produzieren, Konzerte, Auftritte, Tourneen spielen ect)
 Kannst du dein(e) Kinder manchmal auch zur Arbeit/Musikmachen mitnehmen? Was für Erfahrungen hast du damit gemacht?

Who takes care of your kids while you re working ?
(rehearsing, producing, playing gigs, concerts,tours ect)
Can you take your child/children  with you , when you have to work in  studio, do workshops, play concerts & festivals ...?
 What are the experiences?

For during the week/daytime: For the little one  I have Tagesmutter (nanny) and her father, and for the other kid there is school/Kindergarden(Hort)
For weekend work and evening jobs:
for my little daughter: I have one kids father leaving close to me and his mother who is living more far away but she is taking care too sometimes, I got a local tagesmutter, where also she can stay at night.

for my son:  I have a network of neighbours and his friends , sometimes he is with his father travelling or his father is here to take care.

but there is no stable solution: so  for every gig , there is the BIG question, how to do it???
And I need to check out where to leave the kids this time...

about taking kids to gigs  I wrote this rocknrollmama text
I made the experience, when they are little /babies its easier, because they sleep at night and you can leave them in your bus or tent and give the babyphone to somebody . They also easier staying with a babysitter they dont know.

if they are growing bigger its getting more difficult , because they dont accept people they dont know, and they can run out of the tent at night ( i made this experience at fusion festival)

I prefer, to have my kids not with me because I cannot concentrate so much on music then. music needs full concentration and energy and kids in that age too
and for me its not working to have it together...maybe i am just bad in multi-tasking ...

D)
Was denkst du, was ist wichtig, um das Musikerinnen-Leben und Familienleben miteinander zu vereinbaren.

Probably its believe... Its the believe that its possible.

I think we prove it during the last decades , that girls or women can do music , but that mamas still can do music and have time for that somehow its harder to prove or we are on the way to prove it and for that rolemodels (aside from popstars who can pay a whole staff, to help them babysitting) are important to me!!!

It would be nice not to feel as an alien but that its normal to live as a musican and also have a family or kids.Thats why I want to meet more mamas or also papas (who take care of kids) to see how they are managing it.And I am interested especially also with single mamas and papas how they are managing it.

And also I am interested how many women in music are around ( also in female pressure) who clearly say, I dont have kids because I dont find the right partner for making a family and respecting my lifestyle or my artistic crazyness.Or I dont have kids , because I am afraid, my lifestyle as musician or artist doesnt go along with growing kids and thats why I decided not to get (my own) kids.

I think I just want to start a dicussion, so thanks for any kind of input...

Conni

 

Nepomuk (born June 2003)

Fotosession

Mischen in Steve´s Studio (Nepo mit 3 Wochen /Nepo 3 weeks old)

Album Rückseite

Radio Promotion Prishtina

Bakckstage Mfe Berlin

Soundcheck at Festival Island of Hvar

Musizieren mit dem Hauskollektiv (Music Jam with House Collective)

 

Leoni-Morgana (born August 2007)

 

2009 / Now!

future generation of rave

Musen oder Nervensägen..?!