.Don’t Stop the Music, Baby

Three musician moms in the East Bay show us how it’s done—through pregnancy and beyond

LOUIZA stands behind her keyboard in the spotlight of a searing sun. Dwarfed by the cavernous, 70-foot-high stone alcove of the surrounding Golden Gate Park Bandshell, she takes command of the stage instantly, establishing a presence with her otherworldly vocals and hypnotic beats. After a few songs, she makes an announcement that brings us very quickly back to earth:

“Come see me briefly after the show,” she says, “before I rush home to breastfeed my child.”

For musicians, whose careers often call for late nights and long miles and demand both physical and creative energy, motherhood might seem an unlikely fit. In the East Bay scene, plenty of mothers rock it anyway.

Shaina Evoniuk’s Creative Solutions

Shaina Evoniuk describes breastfeeding as a “full-time job.” That’s no small statement coming from someone who lists, among her many titles, acoustic, electric and LED violinist; string arranger; contractor; producer; and aerial violinist—some of which she returned to just a few months after giving birth to her daughter, Nova. While Evoniuk gave herself space to consider whether she should continue her lifelong pursuit of music, it didn’t take long for her plans to change.

“What ended up happening is I fell back in love with music harder, stronger,” she says. “I loved my job more than ever. Couldn’t wait to get back.”

To make it work with a husband who’s also a full-time musician—Adam Theis, who leads the Jazz Mafia Collective—she tapped into the qualities she says artists have in spades: strong communication, organization and the ability to handle chaotic situations. When they couldn’t trade off gigging, they often brought Nova along. In her first year of existence, Nova has already attended more shows than some of us will in a lifetime—over 50, Evoniuk says, maybe as many as 100, all across the continent—as well as plenty of rehearsal time.

“We’re just like, we’re gonna roll her into our lives until she tells us not to,” she says. “It feels like a really, if not good, [then] interesting education for a young person.”

As for breastfeeding when she’s away from Nova, that’s a little trickier. In a world without lactation rooms—or, she says, HR or common practices—Evoniuk often pumps in her car. She plans every gig around how long she’ll be away, where and when she can have some privacy. It’s not a challenge, she says, but an added layer of logistics—nothing a little creativity can’t solve.

Joyo Velarde’s Purpose and Passion

Singer/songwriter, and recording and performing artist Joyo Velarde made a tough decision just weeks after giving birth to her son. She and her husband, hip-hop artist Lyrics Born, had previously booked a tour in Australia. She felt she could neither leave her newborn behind nor bring him with. But the festival presented a big opportunity, with Velarde the only vocalist. Ultimately they decided to leave their newborn in Velarde’s mother’s care.

“Thank God for her, but the entire time I remember just being so distressed,” she recalls. “Like, am I a horrible mom for leaving my month-old child to go on tour?”

Though the choice exposed Velarde to her first pangs of “motherhood guilt,” she got through it. And in the 14 years that have followed, Velarde’s son has become an inseparable part of her life as a musician. As he’s grown up, he has tagged along to shows, on tour and even become part of her music-making process. Velarde knows she’s got a hit when he calls out a demo as “cool” or “dope.” Just as gratifying is watching his interest in music and production grow.

“It’s an amazing experience to be able to have children and have them exposed to what you do, to be able to show them—mommy and daddy, they’re living out their potential,” she says. “If anything, that’s what we try to emulate for him. It’s like, whatever it is you want to do in life, do it, explore it.”

Velarde still remembers those early days as a new mom. On her and her husband’s first date night after their son’s birth, instead of going out they simply turned the car around and went home for a long nap. Even today Velarde says she still doesn’t get enough sleep between working a 9-to-5, making music and, of course, being a parent.

“Are we exhausted? Yes,” she posits on behalf of moms everywhere. “Some days are just, yeah, how am I doing this?”

The “how” includes maximizing her commute, listening to new music and testing mixes in her car. She also makes time for self-care—therapy and running. But the very question of how is almost irrelevant.

“Being an artist, being a musician, that is obviously such a core part of your identity,” she says. “You’ll find the way. You’ll find what makes the most sense for you.”

LOUIZA’s New Priorities

Rebecca Mimiaga, the musician, vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist behind LOUIZA, thought she’d be itching to get back onstage as soon as her son, Joaquin, was born. Though she felt “psyched” about returning to music, she wanted to come back at a different pace—not the one she sustained until her last performance, at 38 weeks pregnant.

“I don’t need to hustle constantly,” she says. “I’m really content to just be with him.”

Mimiaga’s show at Golden Gate Park was her first since Joaquin’s birth eight months ago and one that fit into her new lifestyle. As he began transitioning to some solid foods and adapting a regular sleep schedule, she’s been able to say yes to more opportunities, like short daytime gigs. House parties, she says, are a particularly good fit if she can bring him along.

Other opportunities—like putting together an album with some of the songs she recorded before she had her son—can wait.

“For me, becoming a mom carved such a deeper well of love that … there is no parallel experience,” she says. “It just felt like this is where my heart and my head needs to be. This is where my creativity needs to be right now.”

Check out the exclusive playlist our interviewees put together for EBX readers: link 

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