Parenting Panel with Eric Selby
Eric Selby has spent a lifetime immersed in music - writing, performing, and producing songs that blend Americana, psychedelic folk, and rock.
His career has taken him from small-town Maryland to world-renowned studios like Abbey Road, collaborating with some of the industry's most respected musicians. But beyond the stage and the studio, Eric takes on another equally demanding and rewarding role: being a father.
Parenting is a journey filled with late nights, early mornings, and moments of joy, frustration, and deep reflection. Much like the creative process itself. For Eric, these two worlds are closely intertwined. The same patience, dedication, and ability to adapt that make him a great musician also inform his approach to fatherhood.
Whether it’s finding the right balance between touring and family time, passing down his love of music to his children or simply navigating the everyday challenges of raising a family, Eric has embraced the role with the same passion that fuels his art.
In this conversation, Eric opens up about the lessons he's learned along the way, the values he hopes to pass on to his children and the ways in which fatherhood has influenced his music.
From the struggles of balancing a creative career with family life to the small but meaningful moments that make it all worthwhile, he reflects on the harmony between being an artist and being a parent. And why, for him, the two will always go hand in hand.
How many children do you have? And what are their names and ages?
I have four daughters, and their names are Lainey (27), Annie (25), Ally (20) and Emma (20).
Did you have fears or concerns about how becoming a parent would interfere with your artistic endeavors?
Maybe a little initially but I always approached it with the perspective and understanding that my kids would need to adapt to my life as much as I would adapt to their lives. With that in mind, they got to go to many great concerts while they were still in diapers. They’ve never known me when I wasn’t working on some sort of a recording project or gigging.
In what ways has parenthood helped your creativity, if any?
For me, being a part of their lives and experiencing the simpler pleasures in life like, when they were younger, we would always be singing silly songs, making up stories, playing pretend or coloring together and it was quite enlightening. Understanding that “the creative” didn’t need to necessarily be complex to be enjoyable. Often times, the simple things are the important and creative ones.
What has parenthood taught you about yourself, your music, or your creative process?
It has taught me to simply enjoy the process. The old adage about raising kids that “the days are long, but the years are short” is so true and true with one’s process in life. With that in mind, it’s not just about releasing the record. It’s about writing the song, working on the craft, recording it properly and then releasing it. It is about enjoying the process…of it all.
What’s one thing you wish someone had told you before you became a parent? Any advice for others?
Enjoy every moment because even during the tough times, they are just moments. In no time, they are tweens, then teens, then adults, so to savor that time with your kids whenever you can is as important to them as it can be for you.
Have you ever written a song for or about your kids? If so please share a description and a link.
I have a song called “Old Way” on my first record, “Do, Baby.” and it’s about realizing what is important in life and that is my children.
Listen in here:
Sometimes I will start from silly little songs with my kids and they evolve. I started writing songs simply to entertain myself at home and, often times, when the kids are in the room or walking through, I would sing silly little songs to them to tease and make them laugh.
On my second record, “Where You Born At?,” I wrote a song called “More Than I Care To,” and it is a song about the relationship between me and my father and how I miss him.
Not every artist parent incorporates their children into their music -if you do not is this a conscious decision?
I really never plan or not plan to incorporate my kids. I think I try to write about what I’m thinking about at the time, what my feels are at the time and/or about what’s happening in life, etc. If my kids are top of mind during the writing process, then I may write about them. If my mind is elsewhere then that’s where I go. Writing, for me, is quite personal so it’s wherever my etch-a-sketch creativity takes me.
About Eric Selby
Eric Selby is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist born and raised in a small town in Maryland. His current home in Virginia, not far from the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, provides an inspirational backdrop for Eric's original music, often described as a unique blend of Americana, Psychedelic Folk and thought-provoking lyrics.
Eric’s new release on Soul Stew Records, entitled “Starting To Sync In,” was recorded in both Arlington, VA, with his band and in Nashville, TN, working with Seth Rausch: drums (Sheryl Crow, Don Felder, Keith Urban, Little Big Town), Luis Espaillat: bass (Lee Ann Womack, The Guess Who, Trace Adkins, Jim Messina) and Justin Ostrander: guitar (Luke Bryan, Josh Groban, Kenny Chesney, Steven Tyler).
“Starting To Sync In” was mastered at London’s world-renowned Abbey Road Studios by Andy Walter (The Beatles, David Bowie, Radiohead, The Who, Coldplay, The Cure).
Eric's last release, “Dang Fool,” was named "TOP 10 NATIONAL ALTERNATIVE FOLK ALBUM OF THE YEAR" ~Roots Music Report (RMR), 2024.
RMR has also listed both of Eric’s previous releases, "Do, Baby." and "Where You Born At?" as their NATIONAL TOP CONTEMPORARY FOLK ALBUMS OF THE YEAR and Eric’s release, "Do, Baby." in their NATIONAL TOP CONTEMPORARY FOLK ALBUM OF THE YEAR.
Listen to “Issues” here: