Meet London's punk rock moms
CBC
Most people wearing Full Throttle t-shirts at the London pop punk band's concert at Palasad Socialbowl last month were teenagers standing in the front three rows. But at the back of the venue, there was a line of adults also wearing the band's merchandise.
In some moments, they acted like Full Throttle super fans, singing along and capturing video on their phones. Other times, they walked around the venue as if they had seen the band every day of their lives – and that's because they have.
These were Full Throttle's punk rock moms.
"It's really the same sort of thing you would do for any extracurricular activity, just with the little bits that have to do with going to a music venue," said Heather Siskind-Levite, mom of Full Throttle's bassist, Evan Siskind-Levite.
Siskind-Levite is one of Full Throttle's punk rock moms, alongside Jennifer McGill, mom of lead singer and guitarist Max McGill, and Melissa Caron, mom of drummer Kaelin Chase.
The trio takes on typical mom duties — making sure the kids are fed, tending to injuries and sharing life advice — but doubles them. They drive their boys to performances, help with the music gear, and work the merch table.
"Hockey moms, swimming moms – they know about the early morning and they probably complain about the early morning practices," said Jennifer McGill. "When you're in our world, we get to complain about the really late nights."
Full Throttle's moms are not the only parents supporting their kids in the London music scene.
"When we first started, I had that funny feeling that [my mom] was going to be a big part of what we do," said Ethan Panagos, lead singer and guitarist of London psych-punk band, StoneFree. "It's still going strong now."
Anastasia Panagos said she remembers being nervous when her then-16-year-old son started performing with the band. StoneFree's first performance was at the now-defunct Dundas & Sons. That night, there was a bar fight, a woman vomiting and a member of the audience who pulled the strings out of Ethan Panagos' guitar while he was interacting with the crowd.
"We went to every one of his shows as bodyguards," said Anastasia Panagos.
Having their moms at their concerts can sometimes be a mix of feelings, according to the band members.
"We wouldn't be able to do what we do without [their help]," said Evan Siskind-Levite. "But there's definitely times where it's like, 'OK, I don't want everyone to think that our moms are just running this for us.'"
"People see our moms first so that's why I appreciate how, during the show, they sit back, take photos and let other people be at the forefront," he continued.
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