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