Extensive interview with Sally & Götz aka Beauty And The Beat

Sally: Our son is an amazing little being. Kian is a very smart and cute child and he loves music and people!

Roberdo: Sally, you are Djing really a lot. And that also means you are traveling around a lot. Which consequencies did the knowledge about your pregnany have on your job as a musician?

Sally: Not too many consequences as I continued to play and to fly on planes until I was 6 months pregnant, although my time in clubs was very limited, only arriving a short time before I would play and then getting out of there as soon as possible, mainly because of the smoke.

Roberdo: What about tabaco and alcohol – did you quit it when you learned that you are pregnant, Sally? What about you Götz: Did you change any of your habits like smoking or drinking when you learned that you will become a father?

Sally: I dont smoke anyway and I stopped drinking alcohol as soon as I realised I was pregnant which was very early in my pregnancy.

Roberdo: Clubs are usually places with pretty bad air and especially a lot of cigarette smoke. Did this fact bother you during your pregnancy? How did you react?

Sally: I hate smokey clubs at the best of time, so I am all for non-smoking clubs. Like I said, my time in clubs became very minimal when I was pregnant, because of the cigarette smoke in th clubs.

Sally: We wanted to continue with our lifestyle after starting with our family, just as long as our son was happy with it. That was very important for us. If things had turned out differently and Kian was for example a bad flyer suffering with ear pressure or some other problem, then we would have of course had to rethink our life, or at least I would have. Luckily for us Kian is very outgoing and social and enjoying very much his life experiences of seeing the world with Mum & Dad.

Götz: I have a professional Job as a media designer, so from this side is quite constantly money coming in. Earning just from the musical side wouldn’t be enough yet.

Sally: I started playing again when Kian was 3 months old and during his first year everywhere that I played as Sally Doolally in the world, Götz and Kian would come with me. Now I have started to go and play alone again, leaving Kian at home with his Dad for the night. Support from Götz is an absolute blessing for me; I couldn’t do it without him. When we play together as Beauty & the Beat most of the time our good friend Gela (Kiddo) comes with us to look after Kian, she is kind of his Nanny, for want of a better word, although we haven’t been able to take her everywhere with us. This has meant sometimes playing sets as Sally Doolally & Götzlich rather than Beauty & the Beat, but if this has been the case, the organiser has been more than happy to compromise for us.

Roberdo: One of the major points of our scene: Festivals. Some regard it to be the best place to party for families with children because it’s more like camping holiday. Some others think it’s just as worse as a club for a child. Lets talk about some particular facets of festivals. There are some drugged people on trance festivals and sometimes drug consumption can be watched. What do you think: Will it have a bad influence on your son when he watches people going crazy or taking drugs? What are your consequences? How would you react if he sees somebody sniffing some powder and asks “What is this man doing?”

Sally: Our son will not be in a situation for a very long time where he will see someone behaving like that I hope, and when he is old enough we will explain to him what goes on. Festivals can be great places to bring your family; it can be a lot of fun I think. It’s all about being responsible.

Götz: I think it can be really good for a kid to learn from their parents what’s going on around the festivals instead of learning it from a wrong circle.

Roberdo: Some regard Trance parties and especially festivals to be “adult playgrounds”. There is a mix of an Andre Absolut track called: “No more kids and dogs on the dance floor” – What is your opinion about this?

Sally: This is where it starts to get tricky and is really something which is for everyone their own decision. I certainly don’t agree with people bringing kids to festivals/parties and letting them run around unsupervised, it’s not a playground for kids and there are dangerous situations that can occur. I personally think that if someone is willing to be responsible for their child and not to 'make party' so to speak, then it’s ok, but if you want to go crazy and let your hair down, then please leave your children at home. It also varies so much from festival to festival as some have great areas for kids to meet and play with each other, like Rainbow Serpent Festival in Australia, which incidentally is very pro family and children. In contrast we have other festivals like Wonderland, where we have taken the stance for saying 'No Children allowed' due to seeing various children distressed and unsupervised in the past and we at Waldfrieden do not want to take responsibility for that, its really not nice to see, its very disturbing for everyone involved.

Götz: I can understand both sides of that story. We had a lot positive reactions from people about bringing Kian with us to the Festivals, because they could see how responsible we are. Sometimes we are getting also negative response of people. By some of them I reckon it’s just because they feel uncomfortable in their druggy journey. Others saw or had maybe bad experiences before. In first Line our boy is the most important. So, if he wouldn’t feel comfortable, at least one of us has to leave the festival with him. Luckily it hasn’t happened yet. We see and feel how interesting it is for him to see all that colourful and happy circus. He meets a lot of highly interesting people around the world. We think it makes him rich in experiences.

Roberdo: The sound systems at festivals are really huge. They are definitely a big source of harm for the ears of people- not only for children but especially for them because they will hear much more in their coming life than a 30-year old. How do you react to this fact?

Götz: Kian has great ear protectors from Peltor. He has already learnt from us at a very young age that if he will be anywhere near what we think is too loud, then he must have those on and that’s it, those are the rules. If he won’t wear them for whatever reason, then he will not be near the sound, that means Sally or I will have to be away from the loudness with him. This rule will stand for a long time.

Roberdo: Children become elder and more independent but they are still with their parents. What is your opinion: Would it be ok if parents take drugs at festivals in this situation? What do you think is the effect on the child if he / she realize that the parents are stoned?

Sally & Götz: For us this is something that is totally unable. It’s not about seeing Mummy or Daddy stoned, it’s about whether you are in a fit state to be responsible for your child and we believe that at least one of you must be clear headed. I mean 1 beer or 2 are totally OK, but getting drunk when you are looking after your child is not on at all.

Roberdo: Do you think there could be even legal trouble if for example a primary school teacher gets to know that the parents of a young child attend festivals and parties?

Sally: This is our life, it’s not about having a party every weekend, its about being creative artists, earning our living and making our own choices. Kian will not be put into a school where teachers do not understand what background he is coming from.

Roberdo: Anything important left to talk about? What are your advices for parents taking their children to trance parties?

Sally & Götz: Be responsible, don’t just say that you are... or please just leave your kids at home :)

Roberdo: Thank you so much for this interview!