The Parenting Panel with Mike Annese from The R Train
1. How many children do you have? And what are their names and ages? (only if you are comfortable with naming names)
I have 2 children a boy and a girl. Their names are Zach 20 and Ashley is 17, God help me!!!
2. Did you have fears or concerns about how becoming a parent would interfere with your artistic endeavors?
When they were first born there was barely anytime to get involved, I was lucky to practice on my own. As time went on it became a little easier but only the last few years has afforded me the ability to really focus on the music again. With that said, sharing my life and time with them was very worth it and something that I cherish as I look back. Today, I’m much more appreciative having time to spend on my band and that makes it all the more enjoyable.
3. In what ways has parenthood helped your creativity, if any?
Thinking of my kids and times I shared has allowed some lyrical expression and emotions to come forward. We write more about living the life you have to the fullest more than we did in the early years.
4. What has parenthood taught you about yourself, your music, or your creative process?
Parenthood, has taught me you never know what can happen on a given day, and life is short so make the most of every moment. Put your all into whatever you choose and you’ll find time for what’s most important. Now that I have dug back into music and developing songs it’s just that much more enjoyable because I know I did my best with my family and it’s time for creative process to emerge again in full force. I have a lot of experiences and emotions to release within the music now.
5. How do you juggle your family and your career? Who’s your support system?
At this stage my kids are a little older and it allows me the space to devote to music. My support system is my wife who has always been by side before kids, during kids and now as they get older. She has always supported my musical endeavors. My other support system is my amazing band mates, Jeffery is my best friend and we spend a great deal of time working on the band from songwriting to promoting “The R Train.” Denny came a long and fit right in with all of his years of experience and has become a great friend as well. The three of us all have children and we talk about them frequently.
6. Has the pandemic taken away or added to your creative flow? Are you taking good care of yourself these days?
The pandemic has actually forced us to take a good look at what we’re doing and really dig into our sound. We have continued to practice through the pandemic and also put up some “live streams” in support of “The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation” and a “Save Our Stages” show for Arlene’s Grocery in NYC. We also released some creative music videos for all our songs which was a great outlet for creativity.
Yes, we are all using masks, and exercising to stay fit and safe. Being a firefighter in south Florida, I was lucky to receive the first dose of the vaccine and will get the next one in three weeks. As the rest of the county gets vaccinated we are looking forward to playing live soon!!!
7. How have you been managing parenting during the pandemic? What has been the hardest part and what is the silver lining?
It’s been challenging, with teenagers they don’t always want to listen to the parents, go figure, but overall they have been pretty good. My son actually did get Coronavirus a few weeks back. That of course hit home for all of us. The fact is, we all have been watching this unfold throughout the world and suddenly this dreadful illness is inside my own flesh and blood sleeping in the next room. We were frightened at first and then convinced ourselves he was young and strong and would likely be ok. We took all the necessary steps to protect our daughter and ourselves, all got tested and then buckled in for the unknown. Sure enough my son had flu like symptoms for 24 hours and then seemed to recoup and was ok, lost his smell and taste for a while but that was that. Fortunately the rest of us managed to get away with not contracting it,,we considered it a miracle.
The silver lining is we are alive and well and we are getting closer to the end of this crazy time, there is certainly a long way to go but there is light at the end of the tunnel. As we move forward with our next music releases we will continue to enjoy each one and put as much heart and soul into them as we can. We hope to see you all soon and please climb about “The R Train” for some power trio rock!!!!
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