Full-time musician and full-time dad Lindsay Austin is making the chaos of life work for him. He and his wife, Kate McGinnis, lived down the block from each other as children. After reconnecting as adults, they married and are now the parents to 7-month-old Tyler in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Austin, who has two older daughters from a previous marriage, recently shifted from juggling work as a hairdresser and a musician to being a live musician full-time.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How do you and your wife manage juggling two full-time careers with raising a young child?
I think we are really good partners. There’s not a lot of arguing over fairness. It’s just who is closest to the problem … fixes it. As far as the schedule goes with the little dude, we pretty much knew going this going in [that] basically she works mornings … and I work [at] night.
Can you talk a bit about your switch to being a musician full-time?
I got to quit my other job because I was building this business over the years. About 20 years ago, I got my hairdressing license, so I supplemented my music with many different jobs over the years. … Recently, things kind of escalated as far as residencies, and it allowed me to make the difficult decision and a leap of faith, which has worked out great.
In what ways has being an artist influenced the way you are a parent, and how has switching to being a full-time musician [had an impact?]
First, it’s great to be home with him during the day because it allows me to kind of be there and do musical stuff, like tapping, rhythm or singing to him. He’s really responsive to singing, so I pull the guitar out and I sing and play.
[Being a full-time musician has] helped enormously because we do not need any sort of childcare. We can pass hands. … We sort of take turns, you know, we rotate. We cohabitate with our parents, who are elderly. We grew up a block from each other, and our parents still live a block from each other. They already knew each other when we met and started dating, which was really funny. She actually took piano lessons from my parents, so she was in my house every day when she was 8 years old.
How has having a young child again surprised you?
Having a child at 45 totally hits different. The amount of stress and how you handle it and how everybody handles it, like how [Kate] handles stress is really impressive to me. … By the third one, I’m just like, “Poop does not do anything to me. Throw up does nothing to me.” Not sleeping was a bit of a shock at first, but you get used to it [again].
If everybody had a day off, how would you spend your free time?
We love to fish. Walk along the canal. We’re foodies; we love to sit down and eat. We like to tip waiters. That’s a part of the way to keep our sanity.
Learn more about Austin’s music and upcoming performances at laustinlivemusic.com.
Family Favorites
Favorite Game: Blokus, Boggle or puzzles
Favorite Date Night: Old Town Alexandria
Favorite Vacation Spot: Southern Virginia Mountains
Favorite Home-Cooked Meal: Meat and veggies
