“Tracy already had a son, Armand, who was 15, and we had planned to have a child,” explains Tom George, recalling the moment when he discovered that he’d soon become a father for the first time. “She hadn’t been feeling well and took a pregnancy test. When she told me I was extremely happy,” he continues, sharing some thoughts on Fatherhood ahead of Rock Father’s Day 2014. A work-at-home Dad and fellow “Rock Father,” Tom runs the rapidly-growing FiXT Publicity, and has been featured almost weekly here on THE ROCK FATHER, taking part in the 2014 Fitness Challenge.
Quick Profile:
Name: Tom George
Offspring: One daughter, Colette George – 4 years old – and one stepson, Armand Christain, age 19
Musical History (in his own words): I am a music publicist. Some of the notable bands I have worked with include Wayne Static of STATIC-X, TWIZTID, HAVOK, GEMINI SYNDROME, CELLDWELLER, and more.
Favorite Music to Enjoy with the Kids (in his own words): Colette loves GREEN JELLO’s “3 Little Pigs” music video and PRIMUS’ cover of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”
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Obviously things Tracy and I love. We usually try to introduce her to fun upbeat music or cool music videos a kid would like. For instance she loves the BASEketball soundtrack! Tracy and I do too! Armand is a huge fan of rock and industrial, he loves POWERMAN 5000, LORDI, WAYNE STATIC, etc. When we lived in Iowa City and I used to drive him to school, he’d always choose the music and, generally, we agreed.
JAMES (THE ROCK FATHER): Was there any concern that you wouldn’t be able to balance your family life with your musical life?
TOM: No worries. It is just something I adapted to. My wife is also a publicist and works from home. She helps a ton. The first couple years though she worked a different job, and I had Colette during the day. It was a challenge, but it has been amazing to watch her grow up while working for home.
JAMES: Have the kids had exposure to artists that you work with?
TOM: Colette does listen to some of the bands we are working with, and she likes some better than others. One of Tracy’s clients did a music video that was featured on MTV with these cool sock puppets. She has watched that about a million times!
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Armand is a music geek as well, and loves to listen to new music. Whenever I’m working a project I think he’ll be interested in, I introduce him to it. We’ve gone to a lot of shows together, from ATTACK! ATTACK! to WAYNE STATIC, and he’s gotten to meet a lot of the bands with me.
JAMES: Has being a parent changed the way you view your musical life?
TOM: It hasn’t changed who I work with, but I don’t make it out to shows like I used to. I think that will change a bit when Colette gets a bit older. I want her to have some of the same experiences I had growing up in a safe environment.
-WHAT FATHERHOOD MEANS-
JAMES: What do you find to be the hardest about balancing your work with your parenting duties?
TOM: The hardest thing about working from home is concentrating when Colette is making her 4 year old demands. Tracy helps so much. We redirect her into doing things she enjoys during the day, and at night we watch movies together or play video games. She loves to play any kind of games.
WATCH: HAVOK – “Chasing the Edge”
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JAMES: Aside from work, how have you introduced music to your children?
TOM: YouTube has been a great tool to introduce Colette into music. YO GABBA GABBA! was another way. Colette loves fun music you can dance to. The first song pop song I remember her getting really excited about was “Happy” by PHARRELL WILLIAMS. She also LOVES musicals, everything from LABYRINTH to LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY.
WATCH – TWIZTID – “Sickman” featuring KANE HODDER & SID HAIG (NOT kid-friendly!)
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JAMES: What’s the most “rock and roll” thing you’ve done with the kids so far?
TOM: Colette is a little young for concerts yet, but she does love it when I pull out the guitar. I need to do more of that. She likes to watch me play. If she every wants to learn, I will teach her for sure! We love to take Mondo to shows, especially ones that we can get backstage. In ’11 we took him to Crypticon in Minneapolis, Wayne Static was playing the night before and he got to watch from the stage for a lot of the show.
JAMES: Last thing – you know how big on toys we are here at Rock Father HQ, and we’ve spoken a little bit about this in the past. What are the favorites at your house?
TOM: Hahaha! I am such an 80’s nerd. I was the typical HE-MAN, G.I. JOE, TRANSFORMERS, STAR WARS kid. I still have them all. My favorite thing these days is to collect the old WWF LJN and AWA Remco wrestling figures! I have been buying them off of eBay, and I hope to collect them all over time.
Colette has her “blankie” and “frog” (frog pillow) which she takes everywhere. She loves her Barbie dolls, and especially her dress up princess gear. She is a girly girl.
Having a child while working in the music industry is extremely challenging, but I can’t imagine my life without Colette in it. I can’t wait to share things I’ve learned along the way with her and find out what here interests will be. I’m pretty sure she will have good taste in music.
