Parenting as a rock star family

Keeping it real

Kelly isn't just an awesome mom to two beautiful kids — she also co-parents with her husband, Ben Orum of the California-based metal band All Shall Perish.

We chatted with her to find out what unique challenges a closely-knit rock star family has to face.

Kelly is like many moms — she has two happy and healthy children and enjoys a wide variety of activities in her California home. One aspect of their lives is a bit different from most of us, however. Her husband has a unique job — he’s a guitarist for the deathcore metal band, All Shall Perish. How do their lives differ from the rest of us, and how do they make time for family.

Growing up Kelly

SK: Where were you born and raised?

Kelly: I was born in the Bay Area and raised in a little town called Danville, which is an affluent suburb about 35 minutes east of San Francisco. I mention "affluent" because my family was not. I wouldn't say we were poor, but we weren't crazy wealthy like many of the people around us, and I feel like this really shaped who I was as a teenager. Of course, looking back I can see how much we benefited from being in a town that was safe, and had excellent schools. Staying in Danville, despite the cost of living, is something my mom really fought for, and I thank her for that.

SK: What is one of your favorite childhood memories?

Kelly: My maternal grandmother only lived about five minutes away from us, so we spent a lot of time at her house. My cousin lived with her. Summers were filled with playing in the backyard; swimming, gardening, pushing each other around on dollies. It was a very happy time and place.

SK: What sort of music did you like as a youngster?

Kelly: I liked a lot of typical kid's stuff, like New Kids on the Block. However, I was also really into Cyndi Lauper. I thought she was the coolest, and loved her style. My love of Cyndi was kind of the first indication that I was going to be on the more alternative side. I was 8 years old when the Guns N’ Roses album Appetite for Destruction came out. I was really into all of the late ’80s hair metal like Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row and Motley Crue.

SK: And as a teenager?

Kelly: In my early teens I was really into grunge. I had a boyfriend who was in an industrial band, so we listened to a lot of Skinny Puppy, Babyland, Pigface. A lot of obscure stuff. Around 15 is when I started going to shows a lot in Berkeley, California. We went because that was where our friends were. Thinking back, a lot of the bands were awful, but they were our friends so it didn't matter.