F
ormer Superchick vocalist Tricia Brock has been very busy since the band retired from the road. When she hasn’t been writing and recording for her new solo album, Radiate, she’s been busy adjusting to her new life as a mother. Jesusfreakhideout.com’s Roger Gelwicks recently addressed the musical side of Tricia’s solo career, while John DiBiase talked to the young mother about raising little Ava.
We’ve included part of the JFH interview below as well as exclusive questions regarding her experiences with a miscarriage before having little Ava.
This interview took place on: 7/29/13.
- JFH (Roger Gelwicks): Songs like “Good to Be a Girl” and “Mirror Mirror” remind me of past Superchick songs like “One Girl Revolution” and “Barlow Girls.” What prompted going back to these sorts of themes for Radiate?
Tricia:
I think the 15 year old, tall and way too skinny, zits-on-my-face Tricia is still in there. I just feel the way we view ourselves shapes us so much and it affects us way beyond our teen years. We are being shaped and changed throughout our entire lives, so I think we can always use these reminders. I now have a little girl, Ava, and I think some of these songs like “Daughter of the King” came out because of how I see her, want to love her and show her how to really love herself. They are songs I would want her to hear when she’s 12 and when things are getting tough to be a girl.
- JFH (Roger): Which song from this new record do you connect with the most personally?
Tricia:
I would say my song called “What I Know.” It’s a song about the places in life where maybe things aren’t turning out the way we want. We might not have the answers we’re seeking, but we know His ways are higher. That He is good. He never lets us go. So we choose to hold to what we know and not just what we feel or see in circumstances around us. Some days, we don’t even have the words to pray to ask for His help. The words of this song feel so real and raw. I know that every person who hears it will say, “Yep, I’ve had those days.” Laying there worrying about our tomorrows because the weight of our unanswered questions are so heavy, sleep just escapes us. It is a beautiful song about real, honest faith moments when we choose to believe what we know and not what we feel. I’m leaning on that truth more and more as a woman and a wife and a mom.
- JFH (John DiBiase): How has parenthood affected the way you make music/ write songs?
Tricia:
Well, most of our session writings have included Ava playing in the room, so it affects us quite a bit!! Parenthood changes you so much. The minute it happens and then gradually for the rest of our lives, I think. So, I guess it’s changing me all the time and the way I see the world, the way I love, the way I forgive and understand discipline and so many things, so of course my writing is affected. I think I have some songs on this record that might not have been written if I hadn’t become a mom… and a mom of a girl – phew! Where are the manuals to take home when you have babies?! =)
- JFH (John): Do you have any advice for young parents?
Tricia:
Breathe. Sleep every chance you get. Leave the dishes for later. Let people help — especially family. They want to help and sometimes new moms have a hard time letting go. (Raising my hand.)
- JFH (John): I know you and your husband suffered a miscarriage before the birth of your beautiful little baby girl. What do you feel God may have taught you through that experience? (My wife and I had a miscarriage before our son Will was born on October 1st, 2010 – so we can relate…)
Tricia:
Yes, it was our first pregnancy and that made it so scary. When we went in to hear the baby’s heartbeat at eight weeks, they saw that the baby wasn’t growing at the right rate and something was wrong. That was still a couple weeks before we knew we lost the baby, and then even a couple more weeks until I had to have surgery because I never miscarried.It was so hard for me emotionally accepting it. Then, dealing with fears about the next baby and wondering if I could go through that again.
I think I learned to accept some things without all the answers. And God definitely provided healing for me through worship. We were traveling that year leading worship and those songs on my record The Road became a lot of healing for me. Especially the song “The Altar.” I look back now, and since having Ava…God makes sense of things. He brings us through things for a reason and He walks through it with us. Somehow when you look back you can see His hand and His purposes, and it can make sense without having every one of our ‘Why’ questions answered.
- JFH (John): A lot of people don’t talk about miscarriages. What would you like to say to anyone struggling with a loss like that?
Tricia:
I noticed that and I felt like it was something I was supposed to share. Communicating can be really healing for me, but I know it is very personal and some couples need it to be their thing to deal with and not share.I think that men need to understand as hard as it can be for you, that your wife needs a lot of love and support. Women – [you need to] know that it isn’t your fault, and going down that road is so hard on you. I had days out of nowhere that it would hit me again and it was sometimes hard for my husband to understand, thinking we had moved on, but I needed his patience and love more than ever.
It’s one of the hard things we can never understand about life and about God. So, Nick and I chose to think that there was a reason that baby isn’t with us and is in Heaven. We choose to trust that there are reasons we don’t always understand and try to leave it there.
- JFH (John): Care to share a funny parents story about parenting Ava? 🙂
Tricia:
This story is the first of many that popped into my head! So, Ava was just a few months old when my sister [Melissa] got married. My sister owns a flower shop called Rosebuds East in Nashville and she had one of the most beautiful DIY weddings I’ve ever seen!The wedding was in their beautiful backyard, which they designed. She made all the bouquets and made Ava a little headband (Ava doesn’t have much hair yet, so we use accessories to keep her looking like a girl). So, I saw Ava’s headband and put it on her before we did family pictures…and it wasn’t until later in the day that Melissa told me that I had put the garter on Ava’s head, not her headband. We laughed so hard, but the funniest part is, it looked so cute that we had her wear it all night and Melissa didn’t even throw it out. Oh, babies change everything!!
Tricia Brock’s new solo album Radiate is available August 13, 2013 wherever music is sold!