Two Doting Dads with Matty J & Ash - #133 KLP Wasn't Prepared For How Different Her Births Would Be

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

KLP, or Kristy Lee Peters, knows exactly how to get your kids to dance silly and make the parents' feet tap.  KLP has been cooking up a tune since she was a kid, from featuring in that iconic Lube Mobil ad, Real Blonds 00s girl group, triple j's House Party, and she now fills out rooms for adults at night and kids by day.  She juggles this alongside her main gig as a mum to Sienna and Monty with her partner Nick.  KLP shares how different her girls' births were, the dilemma of waffle stomping and managing what feels like the inevitable mum guilt.  CHECK OUT DIVER CITY HERE https://www.divercity.com.au/about 2025 Raunchy Ranch Calendar IS STILL ON SALE!  https://budgysmuggler.com.au/products/two-doting-dads-raunchy-ranch  Buy our book, which is now available in-store! https://www.penguin.com.au/books/two-doting-dads-9781761346552  If you need a shoulder to cry on:  Two Doting Dads Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/639833491568735/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTwoDotingDads  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twodotingdads/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@twodotingdads  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ash, can I tell you a band that not only am I obsessed with them, my children are obsessed with them. We play them every time in the car. Korn. Diver City. Close. Do you want to have a listen? Absolutely. Go. Here you go.

Hands silly, hands silly, get your pants silly, pants silly, pants silly. Jump back everybody, get down on the floor. Ah! That sounds nothing like corn. Get your kids on the Diver City. Diver City, right. They are the best. KLP or Kirstie Lee Peters, for short, is one half of Diver City alongside Matt O'Kine. That's right, KLP is one of those musicians who has been in our ears in ways we didn't even realize.

Yes! That's 133032, Matthew. We will get into the lube and be allowed a little bit later in the episode, but let's try something a little bit more current. Hey! Every time it's touching me I'm having a good feeling

and it feels like it's like it's like By night, KOP is filling out the dance floor to incoherent adults and by day stumbling toddlers. Two ends of the spectrum, but similar in so many ways. She juggles this alongside her main gig as mum to Sienna and Monty with her partner Nick. KLP tells us her secret hiding spot when she needs a little bit of alone time, Matthew.

She also talks about how different her girls' births were and her ongoing dilemma that involves waffle stomping. My favorite waffle stomp. Let's get into it. Welcome back to Two Doting Dads and One Doting Mum. I am Matty J. I'm Ash. And I'm KLP. And this is a podcast all about parenting.

It is the good, it is the bad. And the relatable. And we don't give advice, KLP. You can. You legally, you are advice. KLP, you can. You legally you are allowed. Ash and I are not. OK, great. Good to know. We've been warned. We've had a few cease and desist letters by lawyers.

So for legal reasons, we can't give advice. But guess they are they escape any kind of punishment. OK, legally. For sure. Welcome. Thank you for coming. Thank you so much for having me. Where are your kids right now? I thought you had them. This is awkward. My kids, one is in year one and one is in daycare. Yeah. Can I say thank you? Thank you because this time is precious. Yeah, it really is. But I mean, my kids have been in care for a little while now, kind of in daycare from

maybe about one year old. So they love it. They really do. Like we do have those moments where they're like, I don't want to go, et cetera. But whenever they're there, they just have so much fun. And I feel a lot of pressure to provide them that much fun on the weekends. It's, no, they, they, like you said, they go, I don't want to go today. And then you pick them up, they're like, that's the best day ever.

Yeah. You're like, yeah, yeah. Well, we're going to go home and do something boring. Obviously children getting sick at daycare. It's going to happen. Have you had any situations? Yeah, all the time, but very early on with Sienna, we discovered she was getting tonsillitis all the time. And I think we went to a doctor and he said her tonsils are just a stupid size.

Like her resting healthy tonsil size allowed her no space to be like eating, breathing. And if they're not getting enough oxygen, they can, it can stunt their growth, etc. So we had her tonsils out when she was just under three, which was, yeah, just a whole experience. Again, I know in the graded scheme of things, it was just day surgery, but seeing your child go under for the first time. You know, that was very hard. And then with Monty, very soon we realized she was getting the same thing. Turns out Nick and I have also had our tonsils out. Supposedly it's not. Yeah, but I'm like, we've all had it. So we had a totally tonsil free family now.

There's another song. Yeah. Tonsil free. Oh my God. Sorry. Yeah. So, I mean, that was like a really challenging time because even with Monty, we picked it up straight away because we're like, we've been through this before, but they don't want to do it to kids that are too young. And so I remember the ENT just saying, no, we're just going to stick it out for a year. And we're like, oh, she's going to get sick a lot.

And it was like, yeah, that's just what's going to happen. But it was just, it was really rough. She was sick all the time and coughing. No, it wasn't that it would just be coughing to try and clear her airways. Um, and they would just be swollen and red and then they start to get scarred. I think from the buildup. And then what's the recovery post-surgery? It's the worst.

from the buildup. And then what's the recovery post-surgery? It's the worst. Um, the doctor explained it as two weeks of hell and then overnight it suddenly changes. And it is like that. It's two weeks of, it's really rough on the kids because they're just in so much pain. And you just, it's just- This will sound dumb, but what do you feed them? Uh, funnily enough, my daughter wanted all the things she couldn't have like crackers.

Yeah. No, she wanted crackers and things like that. Yeah. But yogurt. How would they understand an internal injury? You know, when you're like, straight away, bandaid. They're like, I'm hurt. They just don't get it.

And yeah, and even going into the surgery and stuff, you know, they go under, but when they wake up from that general anaesthetic, I don't know if you've had to deal with that at all, but they're just so out of it. And that's pretty confronting. Second time around, it was way better because we understood the pain management. You've just got a panadolineurophane, panadolineurophane, like just one after the other, almost before they want it. And so that was a little more bearable. Yeah. So that was really challenging, uh, because it just felt like every month they

were sick and then just not breathing. And it's brutal in the whole household. Touched. It's like, it's just a knock on cause you're up with them. Then they're tired. They go to school. they're grumpy, you're grumpy. You've got to try and get some rest. And it's just this... They would wake up with these little bags under their eyes because they're just not getting enough oxygen at night because they're not sleeping enough.

And then as soon as the tonsils were out, they're like, you know, waking up happy. Holy shit! It changes their speech and everything. No, it totally does. Yeah. Because when they've got those tonsils in their mouth, they can't pronounce things. Yeah. And then when they're removed, their voices change.

A friend of mine's kid was so, they thought he had really bad learning difficulties because he wasn't talking properly at the same age as Oscar. He was so far behind. And then they were like, need tonsils and adenoids out because he can't breathe. He's not sleeping properly. He can't talk properly. I have no idea. This is the thing.

Yeah. And then he had them out. And I remember I was walking with, with Lenny up to the beach and he was like, uncle Wixie. And I was like, yeah, they suddenly can pronounce things. Different kid all together. Yeah. Like, and now he's like leaps and bounds where it was like holding him back.

Cause he was so tired, so cranky all the time. And now he's like leaps and bounds where it was like holding him back because he was so tired, so cranky all the time. And now he's just like hitting goals. Like I kind of wish I had my tonsils taken out. Maybe I'd be more successful. You think they're stunting your learning. Makes a lot of sense now. Instead I just got circumcised.

Yeah, I haven't had mine out. I haven't had mine out either. Explains a lot. But I'm uncircumcised. I haven't had mine out either. It explains a lot. But I'm uncircumcised. We always like to know with our guests what you were like as a child. Were you well behaved?

Were you naughty? You seemed like someone who would be very well behaved. Look, I think it's so boring, but I think I was. But I was very determined. I was a good negotiator. So I was the type of kid that would go to my parents and be like, I'm going to do this thing. I'm going to tell you about it. And I want you to accept it.

But I think I was probably... You're like Donald Trump. Please no. I think I was maybe that way because my parents gave us a lot of autonomy. So they really encouraged us to... Whatever we wanted to do, they would really encourage us to be able to do that. Do you remember any big pitch that you had to go to your parents and be like, we should do this thing? I mean, it was definitely, you know, boyfriend related or I know I went out to a party and had a fake ID, but had told my parents.

Oh, what? And they were... Can I just quickly ask? Yes. Takes all the fun out of that. Everyone always talks about having a fake ID. How did you get yours? I never had one.

There was a... I don't want to name the travel company, but there was a travel company that did these like student travel cards. And it was quite easy to... I'm not naming it. I don't want to get the letter. We don't get to work with the contegue because we're not young enough. We've just talked about the legal problems that we've been facing.

This was also a really long time ago, but it was quite easy to do that. And I think my parents were of the mindset and I think I'll be like this with my kids. It's hard to know where they would say we'd prefer to kind of know. Yeah. And so I was allowed to go, but I had to say who I was going with be back at a certain time. So it was controlled. You know, what's, what's the word? Better the devil, you know.

Yeah. Wow. What's that? Is that, is that a saying? You just come up with that. That's great. I feel like that's the saying. I know. I feel like that's the saying.

I'm going to call, Matty J. But I was also, so I went- I thought that was a trick though when parents were like, we'd much rather know. It's like, you're fucking right. Well, I was always like a performer. My dad was a musician as well. Okay.

And I went to a performing arts high school, found myself in a girl group signed to Sony when I was 13. And so we did a lot of traveling around. So I was by myself traveling around Australia, being away from my parents. So they kind of had no choice, but to either give me that responsibility and trust me in those situations. So I had a lot of responsibility, but I also, yeah, I wasn't going to fuck it up. You know, that kind of governed, I guess, but I also, yeah, I wasn't going to fuck it up.

You know, that kind of governed, I guess, who I was as a kid. What was that group called again? It was called Real Blondes. Terrible name. Look it up. Put in the sound. But it was it was actually prior. It was like, would you prefer to go to school or go to school minimally and tour and play shows and things? Actually we will put a sound bite in. Is there a specific track you would like us to play right now?

Ah, I mean the classic is We Be Cool. Yeah, do you know what? It was prior to the internet, but then one of the parents of one of the other girls has since uploaded the music videos to YouTube. So you can find them, but there was no like official, like YouTube wasn't even really a thing. That's how long ago it was. What was We Be Cool about? What was the premise there? Can we have a bar? You know, oh God, I haven't been asked to sing this in a while.

It was pretty deep. Give us some lyrics. We be cool. We be smart. From our head us some lyrics. We be cool. We be smart. Yes. From our head to our heart. Oh, like that. We be cool.

That is... I know. Have you thought about remixing them? Because you are a DJ. You do high energy stuff. That's a no. I think we should read This Three of Us. Look, I have other songs now and I didn't write that song.

How was that with other kids at school though? Because I feel like sometimes people are jealous of success. Absolutely, and especially teenage girls. So it was this weird thing where people were supportive and it was kind of cool because I was a little famous for a teenager, you know, like sometimes. A little bit, you know, not a very successful one, but like a little bit. But then it ended at six, when I was 16. So we got dropped from our record label and I had to go back and just be a normal kid at school.

Was that just heartbreaking? It was because I thought I was going to be the Spice Girls and I wasn't. Luckily, I had a dad that was in music. So he explained, you know, this is one of the many times that I thought it was a failure. And he was like, it's not a failure. You're going to be in so many bands. You're going to be in so many things. And I think I got a really thick skin and huge resilience because I just had to go back to school.

People would kind of make fun of it. Did they know, they wouldn't know you got dropped or did people kind of? Yeah, it kind of ended. Was it newsworthy dropping like? No, no, cause we weren't that famous. It wasn't that, that successful, but I was just back to being a regular kid. Yeah. But I had the choice of either letting that destroy me or being able to sit there and

laugh at them making fun of the situation. So I actually see that whole period as being like a really big blessing because I think it set me up for being quite tough. Bit of resilience. Yeah. Your dad has been he's been quite wise in your corner, but he's also towed you into a few jobs as well. There's one that I think a lot of people listening would remember. Child star is where that comes to mind.

And I'm just going to say 13, 30, 32. Yes. Yeah. I peaked really young. How old were you? How old were you? Look, I actually remember how old I was and I can't take full credit because it was my brother that had, he was a few years younger than me and he had the,

it wasn't like a list, but you know, the 30, 30. That was my brother. I think I was like, they fixed the car and he had the f-f-f. But yeah, my dad was a songwriter, but then he also wrote TV jingles. So that's why I've always come from like a songwriting point of, you know, background. It's like a cool claim to fame to have here in Australia. Cause it's like, everyone knows that. Everyone knows it.

Yeah. There's a few famous ones, but we would like honestly come home from school and just hang out in the studio. I mean, I don't think it's airing now. And I think I need to ask my dad, but I think the laws were different or the rules were different as to, you know, you just get paid a fee as opposed to being like a writer and getting like, I think it was different back then. I once did a tampon ad and

Buster didn't like that one. And that ran for almost two years. As a child? No, I was... How would that work? I don't know. I'd be like, mom, what's wrong? I don't know. Anyway, we'll think about that later.

We'll think about the logistics later. And I used to get phone calls where they'd say like, oh, it's now gone to New Zealand. Oh, wow. And you would get royalties off that. Yeah. So I was living off this tampon ad for... Was it good money? Yeah, it was great money.

I had a friend who was the Vegemite kid. Get out. Yeah, he's got a tattoo on him that he was the Vegemite kid. Is that how you met Nick then through working in music? Oh, yes, through working in music. Uh, but that was through DJing. And for me, it was actually Cargobar. Famous, famous nightclub in Sydney for those unaware.

But he was a little bit younger than me and I, you know, had some rules of things, you know, people I weren't going to date and DJs was like top on the list. But I think he saw that as a challenge. But yeah, we just met through DJing in clubs. This is even really before I was kind of KLP and he was he DJing or you DJing. We were both DJing. What was his DJ name? Well, just his name.

But then he's in SETMO band as well now, but he's also now in the fitness industry. So he's had a little bit of a pivot away from music. With personal trainers on that list as well of people you wouldn't date. No, that probably would have been higher. So he can stick around. But yeah, we just kind of we knew each other from the DJ scene and then a mutual friend of ours, you know, we're kind of all friends.

And then it just slowly happened. Was there a big first date or was it just, it just. No, it was definitely me even saying to his face, this is not going to happen. And then I think he was obviously, he was trying then for you to say this is not going to happen. Was he? Yeah.

But I think I was also not his type. Um, but I think it was definitely one of those things where neither of us thought it was going to be serious. And then we suddenly found ourselves in a situation where we were like, fuck, we love each other. Yeah. And then I'm going to break my rules. Yeah. Yeah. And now we've been together. It's coming up on 13 years. Wow. Yeah. It's crazy. Oh, congratulations. Yeah. Wild. What's the secret? It's like, this is going to, it's not funny at all, but like repair from issues.

We're really good at discussing issues, recognizing what they are, but they're not just saying, oh, that was shit, let's not do that again. Actually saying, how can we avoid it happening again? Smart. Um, and it's just an ongoing thing. Like it just comes up all the time, especially when you've got kids. I remember my dad once saying having kids is like throwing a

grenade into a relationship. And I was like, ha ha ha ha ha. And then you have it and you're like, oh my god, that's true. Um, yeah. So just that idea of you just constantly having to like work at it and then repair and like work at it and repair. It's funny because Laura and I had a big fight last night. Fun. So we've got, I've got some repairing to do. Yeah. But like repair is the best part and it can actually make things better and stronger. Yeah. Oh, totally. Cause you can be like, Hey, I didn't actually like that. And like, how can we avoid that from happening again? Yeah.

Not just me, but you like together. You've got to find practical ways to do that. Sometimes that's hard to, but yeah, sometimes it's hard to figure out as well. For sure. And if you're tired and you're, you know, overstimulated from kids or whatever, it's just a nightmare. It's a nightmare. For sure. With Nick, I don't want to stereotype him, okay? But he's younger than you. He's a DJ. I imagine that, again, stereotyping, having kids is not top of his list of things to do. Well, here's the thing about Nick. When we first, the first time we kind of saw each other in the light of like,

oh, hello, because we knew each other. In the nightclub. In Cargo Bar. In Cargo Bar. No, I think he said something like, oh, we should hang out. And I was like, I don't get picked up in Cargo Bar. Like, you can call me in the AM. Yeah, he did. He called me the next morning and he said, like, I don't get picked up in cargo by like, you can call me in the AM. Yeah, he did.

He called me the next morning and he said, Hey, I'm just on my way to yoga. Do you want to meet me afterwards? And I was intrigued because he's very much live life to the fullest. So he will run a marathon. He will then stay up all night, DJing or dancing. He'll eat burgers. Then he'll eat really healthily. Like he's just this real, he does things in all extremes,

but the good and the hard parts. So yeah, he really throws these curve balls out there where he's like, I'm gonna do yoga, but then I'm a DJ and I'm younger, but I'm reliable. So- So how did you respond to the yoga statement? Well, I was intrigued. It worked.

Well played. Well played. Well played. I went to meet him for coffee. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So he hadn't slept.

Did I say yoga? Yeah. Yeah. So no, it just, and all through our relationship, like we kind of started seeing each other and I knew he was about to go overseas for a bucks weekend, or week in Ibiza. Wow. That is intense. Exactly. So in my mind, I thought, well, this has an end date because, you know, there's no way we're going to stay together throughout that. And I was fine with it. But then he turned up on my doorstep one day before he was

about to leave and he said something like, I want to lock this shit down with some flowers. – Oh, wow. – And yeah, so that's the thing, but he's not perfect all the time. Let me tell you that. – But he's pretty good. – Let's just preface that. We're painting him in a very beautiful light. Hang on. It's just too much love for Nick. That's very mature.

He's actually doing wonders to repair the image of DJs around the world. Honestly, especially the Aussie ones. We can have a whole other podcast. It's hard to decide when is the right time to have kids. I remember with Laura, we were like, this is going to just, it's the grenade, you know, with work, especially career wise, it's nothing's going to disrupt that more than having kids being in the music industry. It's very difficult.

It's not a conducive industry to raise a family. So when did you decide that it was the right time? of industry to raise a family. So when did you decide that it was the right time? I remember when I turned 31, I suddenly thought, okay, this is something that I want to happen in the next few years. And I knew that he wanted kids too. We had talked about it, but I kind of went to him and said, this is something that is in my next few years trajectory.

Just go away and have a think about that. And he was like, okay, I'm freaking out. But then he came back and he was like, I'm ready now. Let's go. And I was like, I'm not. Um, so it was just a very planned out thing. Like we weren't planning on getting married. It was always have kids.

That was more important to us. Um, yeah. So it was just like a very planned thing. The birth of Sienna, your first, was that very planned? Did you have a birthing plan in place that you had to follow? I mean, I think everyone has a birthing plan, but, uh, yeah, I don't know. Anyone really that the plan has actually been played out. Uh, we went through all the things

and we tried to be in the midwife program, et cetera. And then Sienna had her own little plan. So she was breech. I had low amniotic fluid. What's breech again? Like around the wrong way. So it's meant to be head down. How early did you find that out?

Well, they wait until the 37 week scan. This is also, this could be incorrect now. This is what happened with me. They waited until the 37 week scan. This is also, this could be incorrect now. This is what happened with me. They waited until the 37 week scan because they're then too big to turn around again. Up until that stage, they can flip all the time. So 37 week scan, we went in and they said, she's breech. You've also got low amniotic fluid.

So she's swimming in like a very shallow pool. So they were kind of watching her and they said, even if you go into labor, it's a C section. Like there's just no way. Too high risk. Too high risk. So we knew it was going to be a C section and I definitely felt a little bit ripped off at that choice.

You know, like I almost feel like it's weird saying choice because it's put to you like you have this choice, but I feel like the body just decides for you. But at the time I felt a little bit ripped off. But looking back now, the Plan C section was a dream for me. It was… Why's that? Because you had a time you went in. I had like a little bit of makeup on.

My hair was nice. We had these photos of Nick and I, you know, doing peace signs like in the waiting room. You go in, it's all very controlled. I swear Sienna just would have been snoozing in there and they just pluck her out. Do you have music playing? Do you get to decide on playlists? They definitely. The Lubemobile app.

Yeah, Lubemobile app. It's on repeat. Followed by We Be Cool on repeat. No, I can't even remember that, but it was such a chilled experience. It was very quick. Even the scar, I think, you know, because you're not in labour, the cut was very simple for me. Whereas my second child, I attempted a V-back.

What's a V-back? V vaginal birth after caesarean. A VBAC? Do you know there was a name for it? Yeah. So if you haven't had a caesarean because of complications with going into labor, like for me, we didn't know at the time if my body could go into labor. So I'm allowed to try it, but there's different risks because my uterus is being cut so they can't induce you, et cetera, because it can rupture. And they won't let

you try it after a certain amount of weeks, et cetera. So there were different restrictions to it, but I wanted to give it a go because I wanted to experience labor. Yeah. I did. And after a little bit, I was like, this is... Not for me. How long did you... Look, hours, but then I had complications because my waters didn't break properly. They then had to break the waters and then it was an emergency C-section. And the emergency C-section over a planned one was a whole different experience for me.

And there were just a few little complications. C section over a planned one was a whole different experience for me. And there were just a few little complications in the greatest scheme of things. And just from what I know from my friends and things, it was still fairly chill, but that compared to the planned one, I look back and I'm like, damn, I should have just done planned again. It is like, oh, we've had both as well. And that plan one, it's like checking. Did you guys have a C-section? Is that a joke?

Yeah. That's really funny. But yeah, it's like checking into a hotel. You come out with a baby like four days later. She had to excuse my go-hose. I think this is really funny. You didn't pass out, did you? I'm not talking about it.

I'm not allowed to. They did tell me this story when I was having the epidural. They were like, dad sometimes pass out. So they made me stay outside. I'm not allowed to say anything about it anymore. Because I keep getting in trouble for talking about it. Ah, yes. But yeah.

No, how was your husband during it though? He was fine. I mean, he gets really scared at needles and things. So I think if they didn't keep him out of the room, he maybe would have passed out like you. But he was fine. I mean, it would be such a weird experience for the dads, I think, just seeing their partner

and feeling a little bit helpless, I don't know, not knowing what to do. It's tough for dads. So tough, that seems really uncomfortable. I'm not saying it's tougher than women, but I'm just recognizing that like, I think if I was in that position, I'd be like, what can I do? And especially that planned one where you're like, you both went in, you had B getting photos and stuff like that. And then at some point it's like, all right, guys, we need to be serious here.

We're not supposed to. And then you're kind of in your scrubs and getting prepped for surgery. Yeah. And you're right. I'm sitting there. I'm like, this is a fucking weird morning. Yeah. We just had breakfast.

Does Nick hold your hand or is he? No, because you've got your hands like one arm is strapped down because it's got the drip, right? And I think he was maybe holding that one or the other one. You're hitting obviously. You can move. Yeah, but you're like numb from here down. So you can't move from there down.

Second time when it was the emergency C-section because I had been in labor when they gave me the epidural. Oh, it was horrible. I was then like vomiting all over myself and kind of passing out. And yeah, so that was horrible because I think it's just different again to that controlled environment of having the epidural and not having contractions and things. You have the option of not vomiting on yourself. Yeah.

I'm still a good vlog. Can we see those photos? I've just done a good vlog. Can we see those photos? Yeah, yeah. Oh man. It was... But also, I don't know, looking back on it all, it just seems almost irrelevant to all the other things you face as a parent.

Like that's just the starting line. You get vomited on and then you shat on. It's like you're not shitting and vomiting on yourself. Someone else is shitting and vomiting on you. Yeah. No one talks about the amount of body fluids that you deal with. Yeah. It's relentless.

I know. Like you might as well throw your wardrobe out because you just get covered in like... We know tie dye was really in fashion when I had Sienna and I was just walking around in tie dye shirts because it would disguise the baby vom. Hot tip. That's my advice. New time parents out there. Did you have any set plan on when you would start returning to work and DJing?

Yes. I think for multiple reasons. First being I worked for myself, so I didn't have much Mat leave. Yeah. And I think at the time it was less, it was 12 weeks or something. I think it's more now. Um, so I needed to financially, but then I was really determined to prove myself because you give up so much of your identity when you have kids that I was

just desperate to keep functioning as KLP and, you know, still exist in that way. So it was, yeah, a bit of a combo of the two. How soon was your first gig? I think it was about four months. Yeah. And so I did a tour around Australia where I took Sienna and everywhere I would go, I would take my mom or a different friend. I would feed her in the hotel room, go out, play a club, come back, feed her, go to sleep. It wasn't that far off the shitty sleep schedule of having a few months old anyway. It's kind of the same. You may as well go play a nightclub.

Would you request like an early set? You're like, do I have to play like one? Do you want it at 7 p.m.? No, because you're going to be awake all night anyway having shitty sleep. And for me, going out and doing that for an hour was just like refreshing. But it would have been strange because when you have your first child, you're kind of embracing this new image that you have. You're now a mother, you're a parent.

And I'm assuming you can't go into a club and be like, Hey, everyone, I'm a mom now. Yeah. And I struggled with that a little bit. I feel like Hannah Montana a lot of the time, especially when I'm going into a club and I'm with these young, you know, 18 year olds. I'm like, I could be your mother. But I've also just expressed and fed my child. Yeah. And I always wish I documented it a little bit more,

but again, I was trying to maintain my identity as KLP. So like I started a separate Instagram account that does have the mum side a little bit more. And I could express that a little bit more online and separate it because I didn't want to alienate the ravers. Yeah. You know? Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

So I mean, it's, they think it's cute and they would say, oh, techno mom, et cetera, which is cute, but then after a while you just want to be able to relate. Cause I feel like it's just almost a decision that I have to make constantly of, like, do you look after, like, what comes first? No prioritizing your kids or prioritizing me time. And it's just this constant battle that I think parents, but in particular, mom's face of giving themselves permission to say, no, I need to do this and this comes first. So I guess that's just I mean, at the start, it's such a challenge.

Now I think I'm a little bit better at it. Like even just the other day, Nick was out for a run because he's always running. It's his new thing now. And he kind of got back and we were going to a family thing and there wasn't enough time for me to go and exercise. And I was like, Oh, I really need to do something just for my body, but my sanity. I either do that and I miss out on doing this family thing. Like which one do I do? And in the moment I was like, I need to just go and do this for myself and just

having to kind of make that decision. And I see it all the time with friends where they don't do that. And then it's just so detrimental to their body and mind. And it's just like a constant thing that you have to make that choice. And then the parent guilt afterwards. Yeah. We talk a lot about you want to fill your own cup. Yeah.

Right. We talk about filling their cups so much. And I see with April, like April gets so guilty when she puts herself first. But I'm like, you putting yourself first is actually really helping us. Cause like you're revitalized, you're full of endorphins, you're doing your thing. And the kids, they pick up that energy. Right? Yeah.

Well, yeah, I'm a better parent when I do that, but it's also, I think I heard this somewhere, probably on a podcast setting an example of like, first of all, I like my job. So like I like working and I feel I'm lucky that I do like my job, but that I will put myself first and say to my kids, oh, I know this is really hard, but like I need to do this. And when you're a grown up, I hope that you prioritize the things that you need to do, even if that's like a little hard in the moment, but it's just, it gets a little bit easier, but it's just hard. It's hard to do that all the time.

The parent guilt is just crazy. There's going to be some reason for why we have that in our brains. Like fuck off guilt. Yeah. I think if you didn't, if you could just go and do your thing without any guilt, you kind of dehumanize the whole thing a little bit. There's, you're going to have some sort of, you know, am I doing the right thing? But I think, like I said, if you're at that level, you're setting the example that you

can be, you love your job, you are in, you know, you're happy, your mom, your, your, your energy is really high. They'll pick up on that. And Nick is actually, to his credit, he's always been very encouraging of that. Like when we agreed we were going to have kids, I remember writing it down. We had these little agreements and we had agreements we were going to save up extra money for maternity leave, et cetera, because we didn't have much. And I was very much, it's 50-50 on everything. Down to the hour. And I, he would be very encouraging if he'd gone out and done something or he'd played

a show or he'd been out with his mates, he'd say, you go, like go, do it. And he'd say, I would go. And I remember one time I was like, I had one up my sleeve, you know, I could go do something and I took myself to Broadway Kmart because it was open like really long hours just because I needed to go somewhere. And I was just like, I'm just going to keep making the decision. And I just walked around. It was actually amazing.

Was it like air con and nice and just wandering around. It was kind of cool. Without a kid hanging out. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've just had some, a long period of child free time. Yeah, so Laura's got some of her sleeves. Matt's not allowed to say anything about child free time.

Shout out to Kmart for opening till like 10pm for us parents. It's really a parent sanctuary. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kmart's like, can you guys buy something for the parents just walking around going, oh, it's so nice to have a break. Yeah. Did you take Sienna's gigs? No. something or the parents just walking around going, oh, so nice to have a break. Did you take Sienna to gigs?

No. No, like no big headphones? Oh yes, but when it was a festival and it was at 5pm or something. Yeah, cause it's obviously a very different environment. Yeah, yeah. So she came to a few gigs and then she's been on stage a few times. And then now that I have a kids project as well, she insists on coming on stage. So it's, yeah. It's now a whole thing.

It's funny, like, it was obviously like Fisher, for example, has a, has Bobby, I was at a Fisher concert and he's got a, a big picture of Bobby in front of him. Yeah, yeah. So when he plays and it's like, proud dad. And then he's just got all these 18 year olds in front of him, just like going nuts. And I do love that he talks about that so much.

It's very different for a woman. Totally. Like I would honestly, like when we first had kids, we would turn up somewhere and Nick would be there with me. It'd be my show. And people would say to him, oh, congrats on the new song or congrats on this. And then to me they'd say, who's got the baby? And that would be the question or, you know, there'd be, or there'd be like an interview thing or I remember there was this one panel and I think he was asked

to talk on this panel about his music. And I was asked to talk on it about being a woman and being a mom, etc. So that's the whole thing. It's like, I think women want to lean into it as much as say Fisher does, but we're also trying to maintain that or hold on to our identity away from being a mom. Yeah. Because we don't want to just be defined by that. So yeah, I mean, I love that he does that though.

The double standards. For Fisher, it's like, oh, that's so sweet and endearing. And then for a female performer, they'd be like, you should be at home. Yeah. You should be at home and reading them bedtime stories. Yeah. But it's, I mean, it's also why we started Diver City, because that was an outlet that I could actually involve my kids in and they could come to the shows.

The songs could be to the shows, the songs could be directed at them, written about them, written for them. So it was very different and I guess that's a good thing about music is you can write all styles and there's different audiences for every type of music. So and luckily I now have daycare and school so I have lots of time so I can make different musical projects. I got introduced to Diver City and for any parents out there who haven't listened to Diver City it is fucking amazing.

Matt O'Kine invited me to one of your gigs and I was like oh I'm sure whatever Matt's involved in is going to be good but I was like I hadn't taken Marley this is a few years ago now I hadn't taken her to any gigs before and I was like, I don't know if she'll like it. Played her a few songs beforehand and she kind of enjoyed it. But we went to, I think it was at the comedy club in Sydney and she was obsessed and she is going to be so annoyed that you're here in the house right now and she's not around. With performing gigs to young kids.

Did you love it straight away? Yes. So, I mean, we started Diver City in COVID because Matt and I had kids five days apart and we both weren't working. You're just singing these stupid songs to your kids to try and get them to do things. And I think just through us chatting, because we were good mates, the idea kind of came up and we eventually did an album. And we weren't ever really even planning on doing shows, but then we just thought it would be fun to try out.

And after the first show, we were both hooked because it's like a cleanse of your ego. Any, you know, he's a serious actor now, besides the comedy stuff, you know, in's a serious actor now, besides the comedy stuff, you know, in TV shows, etc. And movies. And I'm, you know, doing this DJ thing where you're trying to write music that's going to get played on the radio.

And then you get up on stage and you just say something like, who loves cows? Like the dumbest stuff and the kids are so hyped. And it's just refreshing because the stupider you are, the better they respond. And it's just, the kids love it. But then you can also throw in these comments. And this is where Matt is so good. Where you, like we do this one bit where we, at the very end of the show, we've got a song called Dance Silly.

And we say, you know, the kids have been dancing really well, but the grownups have been letting the team down. And so we get the kids to go and get their grownup and then we get them to get all of their silliness out of them. And then we're going to say a magic word and go one, two, three, put their silliness into the grownup. And then we dance to Dance Silly. And so we do this bit where I'm like, okay, Matt, we need a magic word.

What's a magic word that's going to get grownups really excited. And he goes, ah, no taxes. Everyone's in bed at seven o'clock. Like you can throw in these things that go over the kids' heads that the parents like, and it's just really fun. So yeah, we just did a run of shows and we did them at bowling clubs. I don't know if you have a local bowling club you go to, but the kids being able to dance and then the parents being able to have a beer is like.

It's the best part about parenting when you can all get together at a pub and the kids can be like, being entertained in some capacity. Yes, you're watching those parents out there going, Oh, just take your kid to a pub and then you're there with your mates. It's just like, yeah. And we do the work for you. Yeah. Very smart.

It's just so fun. Is it when you're writing songs, do you, is it the same hat or do you kind of transition from like remove yourself from KOP and then put your diversity hat on? Cause you're like, well, I'm not writing now for these 18 year old ravers, I'm writing for five year old ravers or is it the same process? It's the same process as far as just trying to make something that feels good because I try and just really tap into that now, the older I get writing songs, but it's totally different because you're writing about,

I mean, we have a song about a sad piece of spaghetti that gets left in the pot. It's a classic. It's kind of like nothing's real. You can make a song about anything with kids really. And our songs start from voice memos, where one of us will voice memo. That's great.

I've got this idea. So if you've ever got ideas. Okay. All right. Pitch it to me. Go. Do we want to get K or P to sign any legal letters before we pitch this song? No, this is fine.

I'm not that worried about it. If you make this song and I have nothing to do with it, I'll be happy. Okay. It's about not drinking the bath water. Oh, yes. So we went to Bali, my kids bath, the whole time over there, we didn't bath them, we washed them down, we showered,

so that they didn't drink the bath water. You know how that ends. And then as soon as we got back, the first bath, I walked back in and Macy's sucking on the washer. Yeah. That's all I could hear. I was like, don't drink the bath water.

And then I'm like, everyone is having that argument to just not drink the bath water. But you can make that funny. Yeah. That's the beauty of writing kids music. Yeah. So it's, and the way it would kind of work is Matt usually comes up with something like that, or I tell him an idea like that. He makes it really funny.

And then I say, maybe not that funny if he's pushing the boundaries and then make the music. Yeah. Cause you drink the bath water, you'd get the shits. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And kids love poo.

I mean, we do, we don't actually talk about poo yet. Maybe this is an untapped song. We do have one about going to the toilet. Yes. And we do have farts. Personal favorite of mine? We have, there's a favorite line of Matt's. He goes, it's like, all my hearty people.

Oh, what is it? All my hearty people, all my arty people, all my farty, something, all my farty people, all my, there's some kind of farty line. One time Macy did, it was kind of like a cough reaction, but with bath water. Yeah. She's in the bathroom. She took a sip of bath water and shat the bath immediately. Like it just got to her and it was like they thought it was fucking hilarious.

I had to clean it up. I'm in there up here in the bath, like getting shit out of the bath. They love that shit. Hey, one thing that you guys are talking about before we started recording was Waffle Stomp. Yeah. I don't know. It's not a Diver City song, but it could be. It's got a good ring to it.

Yeah, but it's disgusting. So here's the setting. Your kid is in the bath or the shower. Yeah. And they do a poo. And it's the first time this has happened. No one teaches you the correct way to remove the poo. And it's the first time this has happened. No one teaches you the correct way to remove the poo. And it's kind of going down the drain a little bit.

And you're like, do I pick it up or do I, if it's kind of going down, do you stomp it down? That's a waffle stomp. So that was my, I just remember kind of laughing, but then also going- Well, you're barefoot. No, no, no, no. I think I- Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, not-

You're in the shower. I'm barefoot. I'm in there. Oh, you did it barefoot? Yeah, get it through the toes. No, I think I maybe just like got a glove and was doing it with a glove or something. But that's the thing. Like what's- you just don't get taught those kind of things.

Well, when Macy did a poo in the bath, I think I took a photo and sent it to you. It was so hard. doing it with a glove or something. But that's the thing. Like what's you just don't get taught those kind of things. Well, when Macy did a poo in the bath, I think I took a photo and sent it to you. It was so hard that it wouldn't waffle. So I had to pick it up. I mean, that's better if you can just pick it up. But I think maybe the first time it happened, it was separating everywhere. And then I was like, I can't pick that up. What do you do? Yeah.

So that was a kind of funny, funny challenge that at the time was stressful. But then after the fact, I was like, that is just such a bizarre thing that you have to deal with. Laura and I were talking about waffle stomping when you're away. And we were just like, how did someone just come up with that word, waffle stomping? Nick told me the word. I didn't know.

I was just explaining what I did. And he was like, oh, you waffle stomped. Yeah. Great song. That could be a song. he was like, oh, you waffle stomped. Yeah. Great song. That could be a song. The waffle stomped. Do the waffle stomped. There you go. What would the drop would be like on that?

It'd be like something. Don't drink the bath water. Don't drink the bath water. Don't drink the bath water. Waffle stomped. Okay. And if you haven't listened to any Diver City, and I'm not just saying this and being polite because KLP is in front of me, it is amazing.

It is so, so good. We've been, there was a while there where I was, I was following you to a lot of gigs. I was like- Groupie. I love groupies. Love me. Marlon and I were both like at the front, it's ass. Sorry about that.

We got a bit- No, I mean, we write the music for grownups and little kids because I think that was the other reason why we started it is just couldn't listen to the same kids music over and over again. And let's face it, a couple of beers, I'll dance to anything. So I recommend Weekend Baby as a starting point for you. Sweet. Perfect. That sounds, that sounds like me, Weekend Baby.

Yeah. I do cry a lot on the weekends. Anyway, moving on. Is anything that Marley, and I know a lot of parents must be like, my child is such a performer, but Marley is such a performer. She- Oh God, you just did that. You just literally shat on parents that do that. And you just did it. I know. But she's really, really talented. Tell us about that. Well, she'll also listen to a song once.

And she just learns the words so quickly. She just gets it. Is there anything that I can do without being like a stage mom slash dad? Too late. That I can do to encourage that musical talent, which I know is there? Oh. What can I do to encourage that musical talent which I know is there? I mean, we were just surrounded by music. Yeah.

I mean, I learned flute when I was a kid. I went to a performing arts high school. I just did like the amount of driving around my parents did to dancing and singing lessons and all of that stuff. Give it a crack. I think she'd love it. See how supportive I am. Come to more diversity shows. Yeah, we'll be there.

I wonder what else we'd be like. Your dance is funny. Such a supportive parent. He dances like my dad. It's, oh my God. KLP, one thing that we ask all our guests to wrap up an interview is what would you like your daughters, Sienna and Monty, to remember about the house that they grew up in?

I would like them to remember it as a safe but really fun place. Is that a boring answer? Not at all. No, that's great. Not at all. That's wholesome. I would have thought you'd be like music fan, of course. Like you want them to remember those things.

Yeah. Just being able to dance silly. Like we do have dance, like we throw on music and we've got a little light that flashes and we often have dance parties where we just dance around the living room. Do the kids prefer your music or Nick's? Oh, it's Nick's, but I'm definitely making more music these days. So they probably hear mine more, but they're harsh. They're really harsh critics.

They don't, yeah. They don't really understand sarcasm and they don't understand what it's really like to be critically mean. Yeah. Yeah. But they do, they like it. I mean, Sienna's really into dance music. She always requests Skrillex Rumble.

Oh, that's a great song. You know, hear the rumble. Yeah. Da da da da da da. Killersex Rumble. Oh, that's a great song. You know, hear the rumble. Yeah. Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh. Gila's in the jungle. Yeah, sorry. Like she requests that all the time.

We went through that phase in the car as well. It's the best in the car. That's where she requests it. Yeah. Maybe it's a vibration. Anything Freddie Gay my kids are all about. Yeah. I listened to Dave Guetta and I was like, oh.

Oh, April's on Avicii at the moment. She watched a documentary now. Oh, my car just sounds like Avicii. Yeah. KLP, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. For spending the morning with us today. Thank you so much for having me. I was like, oh, April's on a beach at the moment. She's watching a documentary now. Oh, it just sounds like a beachy. Yeah. KLP, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.

For spending the morning with us today. Very sharp. And we will put show notes in this episode. So if you do want to come along and check out Diver City or KLP gigs, you can pick and choose. Yes. We'll put it in there. But thank you so much.

Oh, thank you, Patrick. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much. Aw, thank you, Patty. Thank you, yes. I did my favorite part, Ash, of this record with KLP. Go on. A little video.

I made a mistake though. I asked KLP to do a video for Marley. And I was like, yeah, make it for Marley. Lola. You know what, sir, that's what Lola. No, I know. Aw, you're a terrible parent. Hey, if you want to check out Diver City Tour dates and music, they are in the show notes. You might say that's got longer. I know. You're a terrible parent.

Hey, if you want to check out Diver City tour dates and music, they are in the show notes. If you've enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, leave a review. Join us on social media. Please suggest any other parents, mums, dads, grandparents. Oh yeah, a couple of grannies. What's that? What? What? Just the way it came out of your mouth. So it did come out weird, but we'd love to hear from them all. Let's get out of here. Bye. Two Doting Dads podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.

We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.