SoCal punks The Bombpops formed back in 2007 and released just two EPs in their first decade as a band. As cofounders Jen Razavi and Poli van Dam juggled the lineup, they were finally on track to record an LP in 2012 when van Dam became pregnant and the band took a hiatus.
Now that her son is four years-old, The Bombpops are back in action. They released Fear Of Missing Out on Fat Wreck Chords at the start of this year and are hitting the road in support of their 10-years-in-the-making debut full-length.
With the band finally establishing a routine, SPB turned the typewriter over to van Dam to talk about how she balances motherhood and playing in a band.
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A few weeks after I discovered I was pregnant I found myself sober in a green room at Punk Rock Bowling for the first time ever. We had just played a show with No Use for a Name, Good Riddance and Dead to Me. The show was great and the response was awesome, and I think it really hit me then. I was scared. It was all still a secret, it was all still so new, and it was hard for people very close to me to accept and fully understand. With that being said, time flew by while I was preg: we played a couple more shows, the rest of The Bombpops started a side project, and I got fat and wrote songs. I put my head down and realized life ain’t no joke and, ya know, it was one of those now-or-never kinda deals. Without being cheesy, my kid was already motivating me from the womb.
I wanted to prove to others, but mostly myself, that I could be successful in whatever I put my mind to, which is true, but now there is this baby, this life that is 100% relying on me! It changed my perspective in so many ways. Touring would absolutely not be possible without my team of family and friends back home -- my husband, grandmas, and grandpas hold it down when I’m out on the road. But even with my son in the most loving, capable hands, being away from Adler is just about the worst thing in the world. He’s four now, in preschool, and is my best buddy. Being so far away for weeks at a time can be miserable. He grows up so fast and I want to be there tucking him in every night and making his school lunches -- I love mom shit! On the flip side, Adler is way into the whole live music thing -- he makes a ton of appearances at shows and even flew out and met us on the East Coast to jump in the van for a 5-day stretch. I mean, you’re not punk until you have a car seat in the van on tour, right? Thankfully the band has embraced their roles as the punk rock aunts and uncles. Adler soaks up every bit of the music and performing, I love that he loves it and I love to see him so proud of me.
"I mean, you’re not punk until you have a car seat in the van on tour, right?"
Even though my leaving can affect the family sometimes, when I am home, I am home. I’m a total homebody which is sometimes hard to reconcile with a life spent partially on the road, but I am so appreciative of what I have and even make crazy decisions like volunteering to coach my son’s tee ball team (Go Pirates!) Being a mom has changed my world for the better, motivated me and made me a better human being (if a little crazier and more neurotic).
A serious shout out from the bottom of my heart to the little dude who calls me “Mom.” - Poli van Dam
