Listen:
I’ve wanted to have Tanya Candler on the show for a long time. She launched the 21st Century Rocker Mom podcast just about two years ago, and I’ve since watched with fascination (and no little envy) as it’s grown and begun to find an audience. I like Tanya’s show. If you listen to my program, you know I enjoy solocasts hosted by compelling people. She is that and her show is that. And she is very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of personality (quite literally – you can watch her video podcasts on YouTube for yourself). Her shows are uncensored, unfiltered, and unapologetically her. Not everybody has that kind of confidence or the charisma to pull it off the way she does.
But there is so much more to Tanya than the podcast. She’s been ambitiously creative from the beginning and remains so today. As a teenager, she was the original bass player in the famed heavy metal band Kittie, and played on their legendary Spit record. She has played in many other bands as well. These days, apart from producing her podcast, she is getting ready to premiere an online cooking show called The Heavy Metal Hippie Kitchen, working with a new musical project, and announced on this episode that she’s in the process of launching a company that makes beard and hair oils.
All this in addition to being a mom and a voiceover artist.
I talk a lot on my show about taking action and letting things evolve into what they want to be. Tanya is the evidence of what can happen when you take those first steps (even if they’re hesitant) into a creative project. I described her on the episode as a “cottage industry” and she really is. It’s impressive and inspiring to see her taking chances, going for it, and yes, putting herself out there. She has the same insecurities and doubts that anyone else has, but she doesn’t let them stop her from taking a shot. I really appreciate that about her and her story.
This was a wild conversation. It was ostensibly about the origin and development of 21st Century Rocker Mom, but went to all kinds of fun places, from burial rituals and beard oils to cults, the media, and barefoot hiking. That’s the thing about interesting people: they have interesting experiences and talk about interesting things. I think we only scratched the surface in terms of our conversation, which I suspect means we’ll have another one down the road. If you can’t wait for that to happen to get more Tanya, definitely listen to her podcast and check out the Heavy Metal Hippie Kitchen show. Be sure to subscribe to all of her channels so you don’t miss whatever exciting new thing she decides to try next!
Thank you as ever for listening, and for your feedback on my recent episodes. Feel free to contact me here with your thoughts, comments, episode ideas, and questions. And remember: good things happen when you put yourself out there!
Follow Tanya:
Let’s close with some vintage Kittie, shall we?