Meet Jay Marz of Procreative Podcast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Marz.

Jay, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started the Procreative Podcast because I felt isolated as a parent. I felt social pressure to give my dreams of being an artist. I felt my family concerned about the nontraditional way I was living life. There seemed to be two separate worlds in my life. There were those who saw me as a parent and the way I lived at home with my daughter. Then I would go out to play a show and I would see my music scene friends. I felt like there were very few people who were able to see me for the full spectrum of my identity. I realized I had some pretty negative internalized beliefs about myself and that I could only access creativity through depression, anxiety, boredom, isolation. These were subconsciously things that I expected out of a good artist. I was hitting a wall because I realized these things were making it hard to be a parent. I couldn’t be emotionally available to my daughter if I were depressed enough to write a good song. So I set up a microphone and I interviewed my first guest Erin Roberts at the Music District in Fort Collins. We talked for hours. It was so easy. That’s how every episode has been. It’s an area of life that parents don’t ever get to talk about. How do you balance your dreams with having a family? Can you really have it all? I think so. I learn so much from every episode. There are many different perspectives but a lot of common threads between musician parents. I realized I had to look for inspiration and creativity in other ways. I have found these in simply writing about exploring the innate mysterious of life. I write about my own struggle candidly. I thought I had to hide being a parent at first in order to be taken seriously. Now I realize that embracing both artistry and parenthood has given me peace and humility I could’ve never imagined. I had to return to art as fun and take it less seriously and then poof – things started to happen. It’s like the less I try and the more I explore, the more the mystery unfolds and I feel happy standing in my own skin.

Please tell us about Procreative Podcast.
I am the host and producer of the Procreative Podcast. I record the episodes at Moon Magnet Studios in Denver. I’m most proud of the stories we’ve told. In only eight episodes I’ve learned so much from other parents and musicians. I hope to build a community of artists and parents who support each other. The podcast acknowledges all those less than flattering aspects of our day – the messiness, the crazy house, the loneliness, the small joys that lead up to the big show or performance.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memories are traveling with my grandparents in their RV around the country. Those were my first trips out west and I always will remember camping, fires, open roads and being around my favorite people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.procreativepodcast.co
• Email: procreativepodcast@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/procreativepodcast
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/procreativepodcast/?ref=br_rs

Image Credit:
Julianna Photography

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