There is only one way I can take my Disney songs on repeat and that is with tons of shredding guitar solos and a healthy dose of double kicks. Thanks to our friends in Punk Rock Factory (PRF), I found it.

To say our family is big fans is an understatement. According to Spotify last year, we listened to them so much we were in their top .5 percent of listeners and six of their songs were in my top 10 songs of 2023. They mix covers of Disney hits from Frozen, Moana and others, along with TV show theme songs like The Office, Parks & Recreation and Ted Lasso.

They're from the UK, and when I saw they were coming to Columbus, I jumped on the opportunity to take our son who is four. Dressed in high top Spiderman kicks similar to high top Chucks and with a perfectly placed mohawk by Dad, the two of us set off for his first concert.

He talked about the show for days leading up and sang at the top of his lungs all the hits on our drive to A&R Music Bar. He was stoked as we entered and quickly overwhelmed as the reality of a concert venue hit him. Fast forward 20 minutes, we hit the merch stand, had our drinks and ordered a Mikey's Late Night Slice (classic pepperoni) and were out on the porch for the opener. He had a blast though, as we heard the music from inside, because "it's way to loud!" Although he had hearing protection, he said he'd only listen to the loud music if it was PRF.

It was cool though, because everyone else on the patio were parents of youngsters, too. I met so many dads, who like me, attempted every trick in the playbook to let out energy and avoid crashing as bedtime quickly came and passed. While we did, we got to take in an outdoor performance of Say Anything playing the main stage at KEMBA Live. Between games of tag and hide and seek, the little guy and I would poke our heads in to see if PRF was hitting the stage.

As the time came for them to start their set, the little punk rocker wanted to get close to the stage and get up on my shoulders. With each song he knew, I'd hear him yelling and see his hands tapping his knees. In the first 20 minutes of their set, I got five hugs, 20 punk rock hands and saw the joys of being at a first concert.

The show and venue were all very kid friendly. It was a night that I will always remember (I'm actually tearing up while writing this), and I know he will, too. Because of how excited he was on the way home and throughout the night, this automatically became my favorite concert of all time. 

I hope every dad, whatever genre you're a fan of, gets to experience a first concert with their kids.

-Matt Lofy, The Dadass

As host of The Dadass Podcast and president of a local chamber of commerce, I believe there is an important conversation we as parents need to be having at home and we’re not. That conversation is related to parenting the future workforce.
 
On the news, we see countless industries in decline like our trades, appraisers, insurance, and more as baby boomers retire. According to a recent Business Insider article, The Forever Labor Shortage, the Congressional Budget Office projects the potential labor force to expand by a mere 3.6 percent between 2022 and 2031 — one-eighth of the pace in the 1970s. This will continue in the decades that follow.
 
Outside of workforce issues, it’s seen in our national security efforts as well. Most of our U.S. military missed its 2023 recruitment goals, making our military the smallest size it’s been since pre-WWII. According to an Army Times article, the U.S. Army had 485,000 in late 2021 to around 452,000 active-duty soldiers today. Now the Army, who has had the largest decrease, is announcing recruiting reforms.
 
As parents, let’s focus on topics like central Ohio being one of the fastest growing regions in the country while also having one of the lowest ratios of houses per job created nationally. This means if you’re an entry level worker, good luck finding something you can afford or a place you actually want to live.
 
A Forbes article from July 2023 says the average student loan debt in America is $28,950 owed per borrower and that about 92 percent of all student debt are federal student loans; the remaining amount is private student loans. So not only does this greatly impact the financial burden when entering the workforce, this is another glaring national issue impacting our country. I’ll stop here. I’m not bold enough (or educated enough) on this topic to go further.
 
The point I’m trying to make is that as parents, we are faced with two decisions that directly impact the future for our children and indirectly shape our future work force and economy:
 

1. The lessons we teach our children help them develop skills needed to be a contributing member of our workforce and communities
2. We need to guide, not dictate, the interests of our children and encourage more than “go to college” as the only option

As parents we have an opportunity to shape the future by the way we choose to parent, but we don’t always think about the impact we can have. The way we raise our children can be what helps to drive regional community building, impact future industries that solve major issues we face (or will face) and it starts with teaching skills that matter like communicating, empathy and curiosity. As we don’t ever want to limit opportunities for our children, let us not limit their future interests that could lead to business ideas and passions that shape the future of our communities, businesses and country.
 
We owe it to our children and to our future workforce.

-Matt Lofy, The Dadass

Last month, we surprised our four-and-a-half-year-old son that I was taking him to Monster Jam. For about 48 hours he told everyone about his surprise, even the front desk ladies at school. He was so excited he even woke us up on the day of the event, which was a Saturday, at 3 a.m. to ask, “is it time to go to Monster Jam?” To say he was pumped, was the understatement of the year.

Every two minutes on the drive to The Schott he would ask if we were there, where I would kindly inform him that “we are now XX episodes of Bluey away.” (Fun fact, our household tells time and distance in the estimated length of a Bluey episode, which is typically 5-6 minutes per episode. You get it!)

This was both of our first times attending Monster Jam. From the easy parking experience to hopping on to an OSU shuttle to the stadium, it was super kid friendly and easy to navigate as a solo parent. The most challenging part was trying to walk past every vendor and paid experience available.

Prior to leaving, my wife gave the executive order that I was approved to purchase a monster truck of some sort for him. As we waited in line to scope out the bounty, I succumbed to the urge of purchasing a light-up Grave Digger mug with a rainbow snow cone bursting through the top of it. Pro Tip: ask how much it is before handing your credit card. Those bad boys were $25 a pop. At least we now have a kick-ass plastic mug at home.

The most impressive part of the entire experience was how interactive it was. There were two emcees that would be in the stands or on the dirt course to talk between competitions. There were fun, entertaining videos on the jumbotron, along with the occasional audience participation activity.

After each round, you could scan a QR code on the screen to score the tricks. Even from the third level, we felt close and apart of the action down below.

I did learn a few lessons that I hope may help you if you're considering a Monster Jam experience in the future:

• As mentioned earlier, ask how much before buying anything, especially snow cone light-up mugs
• Bring a light layer to wear. The fans and extra ventilation for combating the exhaust does make it colder in the arena.
• Everyone needs hearing protection. I left with my ears pounding. As a retired punk rocker, nothing is as loud as eight monsters trucking out at the same time.
• Get ready for nonstop stories and recaps. It’s nearly a week after and I’m still hearing about it…and I freakin’ love it!

-Matt Lofy, The Dadass