The four members of
Wide Mouth Grin --
Mark Brummer (bass),
Steve Dicesare (guitar),
Greg Ehrnstrom (keyboards) and
Todd Weiner (drums) have something big in common besides music. They're all dads with young kids -- including a couple of brand-new infants.
I asked the band how they make it all work.
Greg said: "Caffeine, Caffeine, and Caffeine. Yerba Mate is a staple every day, and on the roughest of mornings, I throw in a double shot dry cap. Even with all of the stimulants, none of this would be possible without a supportive spouse. She holds down the fort while I am off rehearsing or gigging.
"Because gigging is quickly becoming our top priority, rehearsing and writing new material takes a back seat. And because family is a priority when we are not gigging, rehearsing and writing new material again takes a back seat. Long gone are the days of staying up all night after a gig and writing, and being able to rehearse whenever. The mere task of scheduling a rehearsal now has to take in to account four dads with four spouses, four jobs, and seven kids!"
Steve agrees: "Couldn't do this with support from THE MOMMY- no way, no how. We shouldhave an extra Mother's Day this year. ...Playing in the band is the only 'me time' I get right now. I spend all the rest of my time working and being there for my family. I save everything else up to be able to play."
What do the kids think? Says Greg: "I am lucky enough to have rehearsals in my home, so my daughter gets an earful of WMG music. She knows everyone in the band, and knows what instruments they play. She has yet to see us gig, although that will change with some of our upcoming, earlier gigs. She has adopted some of our music as hers, as she fondly refers to 'Everyone's Song' as 'Kate's Song'. She knows most of the lyrics to the music, and knows how we hand signal for 'Bison' on stage."
Steve's toddler daughter
Amma says: "Flerpity- glosh...... drippie drooling grosh..... glerple-gloppedooooobah dat, bah-bah"