Punk Rock Rabbi
For over 10 years, Louisa Rachel Solomon has been the front-woman for the rock band, The Shondes. She hasn't let pregnancy or parenthood slow her down. But she's now staring down a big existential question: How do you continue to have a creative and fulfilling professional life after you have a kid?
To see additional photos of Louisa, go to our Instagram page.
Music
The Shondes’ songs in this episode were used with permission. They include the following:
- “Nothing More Whole Than A Broken Heart” (from The Garden)
- “The Garden” (from The Garden)
- “True North” (from Brighton)
- “Everything Good” (from Brighton)
- “Nights Like These” (from The Garden)
- “Extraordinary” (recorded live at The Pinhook in Durham, NC on Aug. 10, 2018)
quotes
“I’m much more concerned about what happens to this fetus if I’m depressed than I am about what happens to the fetus if I go down a water slide.”
“People didn’t know I was pregnant until I took off my bass (guitar), and then they were like, ‘What the fuck?’”
“It's really hard to know what your next move is career-wise when there's sort of nowhere to go.”
“Being on stage for me feels very alive and having a living thing inside your body while doing that is you know an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.”
“‘Some people would say, ‘You're such a hero’ — but I found it almost as off-putting as the people telling me I was like killing my baby by touring. Not quite as off-putting as that. But I'm not a hero. I'm doing what I want to do.”
Thanks
Special thanks to The Pinhook in Durham, North Carolina, Lewis Wallace, Katie Ross, The Shondes and the Southern Documentary Fund. This show is made possible in part through the generous support of the Ford Foundation.
If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.