Me, Motherhood & The Music Industry
My BE story begins way back in 2012-ish. I was studying for my degree and chose to do my dissertation on recording/rehearsal studios. To get my job I had to interview the infamous relic Nigel O’Brien about the whole process. I cheekily asked if I could do some voluntary work to learn more at the end of the interview…. I hoovered a lot of rehearsal rooms, polished and fixed/tuned up a lot of drums, learnt how to fix XLR cables and most importantly how to coil the buggers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MplxAarTYzM&ab_channel=GaryDavies-AudioTTR (here’s a friendly Aussie showing you how it’s done. A must if you ever fancy yourself working at the studio).
After four months I planted myself in the main squad and then spent the next four years working my way through different roles at BE. From the beginning I realised it was a unique place to work, famous people don’t tend to faze me and luckily so as there’s been more than I can count through those doors. For example in one room you can expect to hear Royal Blood playing their bangers and then from the next room hear a band covering them.
I became a supervisor and put on the events. One unforgettable one was to raise money for a charity very close to my heart ‘Sea Shepherd’. We managed to raise £1000 for the cause which was amazing. Others included ‘Shrine’ now ‘Black Peaks’ first gig which looking back was also monumental. I have memories of the now retired Puff Gandalfo and I making giant iceberg sculptures, putting up cargo netting, meticulously sticking glow in the dark stars to the back wall, spending far too much time and money on it but making the events room look pretty swish. From there I became retail manager and admin queen working a weirdly routined 9–5 Monday-Friday (rotas, the boring stuff that I actually find satisfying).
After this, the story gets a little more interesting. I became pregnant with Jimi’s, the funny (looking) guy with the moustache that I’m sure most of you know, child which has changed EVERYTHING.
Felix Aelfonzo was born in August 2016 and as I stepped out of the door for the final time to go on maternity leave, I found myself having a little cry. HOW CAN I LEAVE THIS PLACE. I LOVE MY JOB. THIS IS MY FAMILY. (Heavily pregnant lady with lots of feelings).
Anyway as emotional as leaving was for me I have returned but in a different format. I now work one half day a week, I’m the one counting the money in the foyer on a Monday morning. I’m a smaller cog in the wheels than I once was but a cog none the less and it means a hell of a lot to me to be a part of it. The rest of my time is spent juggling mum life and drum life. I play in two bands, Projector and The Hundredth Anniversary.
My attitude to motherhood is to keep your passions alive and not give up on everything just because you’ve been put into the ‘Mum’ category. That said I am devoted to him and always involve him in said passions. He’ll be going on his first European tour in April with the band and even appears on a Hundredth Anniversary song on guest vocals. You may also see him watching ‘Hey Dugee’ on the main screen and eating from a tiny box of raisins from time to time whilst I frantically work. (when Jimi is on tour).
And this is where my story ends (for the time being). You can expect me to write more in the future about such things as, tour diaries with a baby, balancing work with a baby, Tuning drums in the studio,(with a baby, do you see a theme developing?).
I may also contribute on Laura’s ‘Heart throb of the week’ just to mix it up a bit. Over and out.
