#fatherhood
Fatherhood: Carroll V. Dashiell, Jr.
Fatherhood
One might assume that a career in music doesn’t pair naturally with being a parent. Late night shows with early morning school drop-offs; summer vacation during peak tour time; or a babysitter falling through right before curtain call. For the five fathers featured in this weekend’s series, Fatherhood, the challenges provide special opportunities. Join us in celebrating a few of these great musical dads.
Carroll V. Dashiell, Jr.
Greenville, N.C.
Names and ages of your children:
Cameron Naniene Dashiell - actress/vocalist/pianist (34-age)
Carroll Vaughn Dashiell, III, (CV) - drummer/percussion/musical director (32-age)
Christie Nicole Dashiell - vocalist/composer/arranger/educator (30-age)
Christian Valone Dashiell - bassist/percussion/composer/arranger (28-age)
What are your children's favorite songs?
Cam: Dashiell Nursery Rhyme “We Are Going to Have a Happy Day”
Carroll Dashiell (CV): “Steepish Faith” by Kenny Kirkland
Christie: Too many to name one
Christian: “Black Narcissus” by Joe Henderson
What do your children think of your own music?
I think they kinda like it. They are always encouraging me to write. I have at least one song named for each of them and my wife. Many more have been entirely or partially inspired by each of them collectively and individually. I have cabinets and cabinets full of sketches of tunes, full completed tunes for all different types and sizes of instrumental and vocal combinations. During holiday visits or when they are all home, they will check out some of them. CV surprised me and had Cameron sing one of my love ballads for his wedding. I cried like a baby.
What’s the coolest part about being both a musician and a father?
I think the coolest part about being a father is watching our children grow and mature into wonderful, kind and spiritual human beings. The coolest part about being a musician is being blessed to experience interchanging musical and spiritual fellowships with wonderful teachers, students, and other musicians, then passing that knowledge and information on. Watching and experiencing the children take it, shape it, make it their own and pass it on in their own voice.
What challenges have you faced being both a musician and a father?
The biggest challenge for me was being away or separated from the children, (and my wife, Rhonda) while touring and performing for long periods of time when they were young in their formative years. They would all make me things or write little notes and stuff them in my travel cases to take with me on the tours. I’d get to another country, open my instrument cases, and there they’d be. It tore me up. I still have some of those things in my cases today.
How does being a father change the way you approach your music and your career?
I think for me at least it makes me be aware and sensitive. I’m always trying to feel the music from a spiritual place. I want it to be real emotion, even if it’s a wrong note. Some of the best notes are wrong. I learned that from my children. The children have made me become more aware and changed my self-awareness.
What advice would you give to young musicians who would like to one day have a family?
Go for it! It’s not always going to be easy. However, it’s great and the best thing that has ever happened to me!
About the Artist
Bio courtesy of ECU School of Music
M.M., B.M., Howard University. Associate professor of music, director of jazz ensembles, and string/electric bass professor. Native of Washington, D.C. Citations in Who’s Who in Music and Down Beat Magazine. Recognized for excellence in the music industry as a bassist, musical director, and also as a composer/arranger. Performances history include concerts with the Boston Pops, National Symphony, and the Washington Philharmonic Orchestras; performance dates with Dr. Billy Taylor, Ethel Ennis, and the Fifth Dimension; concert/show tours with Maurice Hines, Stephanie Mills, Maceo Parker, Ray Charles, Vanessa Rubin, and Jennifer Holiday. Appears on several CD/album recordings as bassist with Capitol (Blue Note) Records recording artist Bobby Watson and Horizon, Muse Records artist Roger “Buck” Hill. Appears as producer/performer on over thirty-five national and international recordings. 1994-95 recipient of the Robert and Lina Mays and Robert L. Jones Distinguished Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. A D’Addario Jazz Performing Artist. A SWR Sound Corporation Artist.
Fatherhood: Jonathan Byrd
Fatherhood
One might assume that a career in music doesn’t pair naturally with being a parent. Late night shows with early morning school drop-offs; summer vacation during peak tour time; or a babysitter falling through right before curtain call. For the five fathers featured in this weekend’s series, Fatherhood, the challenges provide special opportunities. Join us in celebrating a few of these great musical dads
Jonathan Byrd
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Singer-Songwriter
Name and age of your child:
Rowan, age 9.
What is your child's favorite song?
Lately, it’s “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, but he has diverse interests like his dad.
What does your child think of your own music?
He’s always loved my music. He has a stack of my albums by his bed.
What’s the coolest part about being both a musician and a father?
I like being able to show Rowan that one can be an independent business-person, have a creative life, but still have time for family and community.
What challenges have you faced being both a musician and a father?
Being away is the hardest part of raising a child as a touring musician.
How does being a father change the way you approach your music and your career?
I’m careful about how much I’m gone. My priorities changed as soon as Rowan was born. It’s probably forced me to make healthier decisions.
What advice would you give to young musicians who would like too one day have a family?
I would simply tell them that you can do it. It’s possible. A lot of people will tell you that it’s not because they can’t imagine it. But what about Dolly Parton? What about Tom Waits? They are great examples of working artists who are also dedicated, family people.
About the Artist
Jonathan Byrd is a preacher’s son, Gulf War veteran, and award-winning songwriter from Chapel Hill, N.C. You can catch his band, Jonathan Byrd & The Pickup Cowboys, every Wednesday night at The Kraken on Highway 54, west of Chapel Hill.
Come Hear NC published an artist profile on Jonathan Byrd recently. Watch here.
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Fatherhood: Luis Del Río
Fatherhood
One might assume that a career in music doesn’t pair naturally with being a parent. Late night shows with early morning school drop-offs; summer vacation during peak tour time; or a babysitter falling through right before curtain call. For the five fathers featured in this weekend’s series, Fatherhood, the challenges provide special opportunities. Join us in celebrating a few of these great musical dads.
Luis Del Río
Durham, N.C.
Singer-Songwriter
Name and age of your child:
Mia. Age 17.
What is your child's favorite song?
"idontwanttobeyouanymore” by Billie Eillish. Of my songs: "Come and Go"
What does your child think of your own music?
She likes it. She even has her favorites ("Come and Go"; "Illegal"; "Goodbye, Susan")
What’s the coolest part about being both a musician and a father?
I guess I have good chances of being the cool dad for her and her friends. That is cool. Aging gracefully, we can call it, perhaps. Also, that whenever she wants I am available to teach and share what I know about music, which is per se one of the coolest things that humanity has created.
What challenges have you faced being both a musician and a father?
Taking care of her while having a show the same day. Either finding a babysitter that same day (because babysitter failed) who could stay at home with her; or, worst, keeping an eye on her from the stage (she had come with a babysitter, but I am still the father). It is the worst.
How does being a father change the way you approach your music and your career?
Being a father made me keep up with playing guitar and singing, because I will sing songs to her before going to sleep. I was not a musician then. I was a painter and potter who liked music and playing the guitar. So, that kept me connected with playing guitar and singing in a way that when I became interested in writing a song I was not totally rusty. Then, I like to think that being a father has made me look at issues deeper and that I had gained some important insights from the fatherhood experience.
What advice would you give young musicians who would like to one day have a family?
I was not a young musician that became a father. I was a father that became a musician. And that, at a later age. So, I figure that if I could make three albums of which I am proud of that have made some splash, a young musician that wants to have a family has nothing to fear (he/she is in an even better starting position than me). One experience doesn’t cancel the other. They are mutually enriching. So, go for it with faith and joy, friend.
About the Artist
Luis Del Río is an Argentinian-American singer- songwriter who lives in Durham, N.C. He has recorded three bilingual albums: Not Mine, Del Río, and Migrante. His original and eclectic style is rooted in rock and tango, with colorful influences of South American folklore. He has been called the Hispanic Leonard Cohen for his soulful and poetic lyrics. He has performed in the U.S., Argentina, and Mexico. Migrante, his latest album, focuses on the human migrating experience, both geographically and emotionally. Migrante is a very timely work that reflects upon the malleability and resiliency of the human spirit.
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Fatherhood: John Cloyd Miller
Fatherhood
One might assume that a career in music doesn’t pair naturally with being a parent. Late night shows with early morning school drop-offs; summer vacation during peak tour time; or a babysitter falling through right before curtain call. For the five fathers featured in this weekend’s series, Fatherhood, the challenges provide special opportunities. Join us in celebrating a few of these great musical dads.
John Cloyd Miller
Asheville, N.C.
Singer-Songwriter
Name and age of your child:
Cadence Naomi Miller, age 4 (We call her Cady).
What is your child's favorite song?
Currently "Shady Grove" or anything from Kidz Bop.
What does your child think of your own music?
I think she actually really likes it. We catch her singing our songs all the time. She doesn't like it very much when we practice, unfortunately.
What’s the coolest part about being both a musician and a father?
Being able to spend more time with Cady than I normally would if I was working full time during the day, every day.
What challenges have you faced being both a musician and a father?
It's always challenging for anyone trying to balance the needs of family and career. Since Natalya and I work together in music, childcare logistics are always an issue.
How does being a father change the way you approach your music and your career?
The theme of becoming parents has certainly made it into our songwriting and stage banter. In terms of lifestyle, again, we are always trying to strike a balance between having a somewhat stable home life and a solid traveling/performing schedule.
What advice would you give young musicians who would like to one day have a family?
You can have it both ways but you have to find your balance point in terms of how much do you want to be traveling. If your partner and child(ren) aren't traveling with you, how much are you willing to be away from them? Perhaps you can work closer to home and focus on regional touring and studio work, or be an educator. For example, Natalya and I both supplement performing by teaching music in town during the school year and save the majority of our touring for the summer months. Being a working musician and a parent is certainly a challenge, but we wouldn't trade it for anything.
About the Artist
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist John Cloyd Miller is a first place winner of the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest and a recipient of an Artist Fellowship for songwriting by the North Carolina Arts Council. A twelfth generation North Carolina native and the grandson of pioneering bluegrass fiddler, Jim Shumate, John also teaches applied traditional music and songwriting at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. A longtime member of the Asheville music scene with bands such as Red June and Lo-Fi Breakdown, John currently performs in the acclaimed duo Zoe & Cloyd with his wife, fiddler Natalya Zoe Weinstein. Their third Zoe & Cloyd album will be released in fall 2019 on Organic Records.
Social Media
Facebook: zoeandcloyd
Instagram: @zoeandcloyd
Twitter: @zoeandcloyd
Fatherhood: Joshua Gunn
Fatherhood
One might assume that a career in music doesn’t pair naturally with being a parent. Late night shows with early morning school drop-offs; summer vacation during peak tour time; or a babysitter falling through right before curtain call. For the five fathers featured in this weekend’s series, Fatherhood, the challenges provide special opportunities. Join us in celebrating a few of these great musical dads.
Joshua Gunn aka J. Gunn
Durham, N.C.
Hip Hop
Names and age of your children:
Harlem-Rose Amanda Gunn, 2 and 1/2 years
Seven Baldwin Malcolm Gunn, 16 days
What is your child's favorite song?
Harlem’s favorite song is definitely “Let it Go” but she also loves “Hello” by Adele.
What does your child think of your own music?
She loves my music, especially coming to watch me perform, she likes to stand at the front of the stage and say “look, mommy, my Daddy singing!”
What’s the coolest part about being both a musician and a father?
I’m enjoying the ability to share this creative spirit with my children. My daughter has already seemingly inherited my love for music and performing, as well as a general interest in anything creative. Fatherhood has also created a higher level of inspiration for my art, one that’s really pushed me to levels I never even knew I could achieve.
What challenges have you faced being both a musician and a father?
I think the key challenge for me has simply been the issue of time. [There are] only 24 hours in a day of course, and my first priority is to be present in my child’s life, so [there are] some additional constraints on time to focus on creating music. It took me a while, but I learned to balance the two and prioritize my art and my own happiness as well as the need to be completely present when I’m around my family. It’s an ongoing battle, but finding balance in any life is a daily struggle, in my case, my children make that struggle absolutely worth it.
How does being a father change the way you approach your music and your career?
Well, the first change is financial. I don’t have any time for anything that isn’t paying real money. I can’t exchange time for my kids for any free ventures, and as an independent artist, there are people who truly don’t value the artist’s time, so the requests for “free” performances, appearances, etc. continue to roll in. Before I had children, I might oblige a “free” request for someone that I knew, or even for something that I thought would be fun/worth it... those days are no more. My children need financial stability, and if I’m spending time away from them, it needs to be contributing to that stability. The beauty of it is that it’s made me realize my own value as an artist much more, and I’ve been able to demand that value, which I encourage every artist at any stage to do. Our work is valuable, our time is valuable. It’s really made me an advocate for all artists in that regard.
What advice would you give to young musicians who would like to one day have a family?
Family is everything.
About the Artist
International Recording artist Joshua Gunn, aka J.Gunn, has been a fixture in the Hip Hop scene since he was a pre-teen and has gone on to release the classic album "Perfection Xperiment 2" with his group Thethyrday, 3 critically acclaimed solo albums, produced two world tours, and has performed in over a dozen international countries including Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Korea, Jamaica, and sold out shows throughout the United States. Gunn also starred in the BET series "Music Moguls" last year alongside industry legends Dame Dash, Birdman, Snoop Dogg and Jermaine Dupri; Gunn has also shared stages with The Roots, Kanye West, Ludacris, and many others. Gunn has worked with Grammy Award-winning producers 9th Wonder, Mike City, Warryn Campbell, and Ski-Beatz. Roc-a-fella records Damon Dash describes Gunn as the "dopest rapper he's heard in decades and a business-minded machine." Legendary MC Scarface predicts that Gunn will "most definitely change the face of hip hop, a legend in the making." The founder of his own imprint Red Eye Lifestyle, Gunn and his business partners produce, promote, market and distribute all of their own music as well as their tours. Gunn is featured currently on the NC anthem "North Cack" alongside fellow Durhamites G Yamazawa and Kane which is in rotation throughout the country, and charting in all major NC markets, the video for which, recently won best music video at the Hip Hop Film Festival in Harlem, NYC.
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