Jason Trachtenburg
The Trachtenburg Family SlideShow
Name and age of your kid:
Rachel Trachtenburg, age 17.
How does having a child and being a father change the way you approach your career?
Having a child and being a father, et. al, has influenced my overall approach
to, and impact on, entertainment as a whole,and my artistic output in particular, meaning
that there is a greater importance to create useful and meaningful art, poetry, and performance. In other words, make the most of your time instead of your time making the most of you. Parenting is a boatload of work everyday—I’m not complaining, I’m just lettin’ you know what time it is!
What’s the best part about being both a musician and a dad?
Don’t be presumptions! There is no separation between church and state here!
The holistic system of balance teaches us that all is one, and for optimal functionality it is of the utmost importance to combine all elements for the complete experience. Here’s the deal…I am not ‘a musician and a dad’ as if these were two separate entities.
We have combined the experience into a lifestyle that is a complete reality extending into every aspect of our existence. So it’s not a question of “good or bad, best or worst”—I choose not to define my reality in those terms. I like to look at the nuances between the cracks and create my own sense of the perceived ‘good or bad.’
What’s the most difficult part about being both a musician and a dad?
What? This question again? O.K. Let’s reassess. I’ll give you what you are looking for.
People say that I’m impossible to work with. (Google ;Jason Trachtenburg is impossible to work with’…see what comes up!) The most difficult part of being both a musician and a Dad is 1. My daughter likes to listen to music and usually I like the quiet times. 2. Extra laundry and dishes—those can seem like a chore sometimes. Pun intended.
What does your kid think of your music?
A ‘kid’ is a baby goat. My daughter, on the other hand, appreciates my take on popular song and jazz interpretation. I taught her piano chords and a couple of tricks that involve manipulation of melody, drone, and musical movement. She uses those techniques to her compositional advantage. In other words, she knows her way around a song structure.
What kind of music does your kid currently enjoy? Do you approve of her current tastes?
Did you just use ‘enjoy’ and ‘music’ in the same sentence. I’m just being cantankerous now. OK—I’ll try and give you regular answers for this point forward. My daughter likes ‘classic’ rock—(Led Zep, Queen, Beatles.) She also listens to a lot of Quasi, Cat Stevens, and the White Stripes. And, yes, I do approve of her current tastes. (These were the same as her past tastes, as if you were implying that children only listen to ‘children’s’ music as youth.) There wasn’t always separate ‘children’s’ and ‘adult’s’ musics. Everyone could appreciate the current tastes and flavors and entire generations didn’t need to be dumbed down in order to create more disposable product and artistic waste.
Have you attempted to immerse your kid in music? How has she responded?
This is a very one-tracked and singularly dimensional outlook on art! Trying to immerse anyone in anything will only backfire, and as a parent, I learn this one the hard way every day. Just live by example and keep growing, learning and sharing. So, let me answer the rest of the question. My daughter performs on ukulele, electric bass and piano. She also rocks the musical saw, but that instrument can make a father a little nervous. Her earliest musical attempts involve a song she wrote called “Water Dishes and Soap,” and are much more true to form than my earliest musical works. Question 7b also presumes that someone is either a “musician” or “something else.” Let’s change the paradigm. Rachel is involved in acting, political activism, modeling, children’s television (see “Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World” on YouTube), and she currently hosts a weekly Internet radio show on the Progressive Radio Network called “Pure Imagination.” I know she would also want me to mention her all teen-girl bubblegum pop band called SUPERCUTE! They have toured North America and Europe and will be recording a new album with Kate Nash in London this summer.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention our family band—The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. (Rachel performs on drums). We have a new album out on Tummy Touch records, and it is profound! Thank you for reading this, and remember, as they say, they don’t give you a pamphlet on parenting when you leave the shop.
Tim Foreman
Switchfoot
