Designing What Matters
Shaindee Basch’s Journey of Music, Travel, and Family
Rayle Rubenstein
Shaindee Basch lives life on her own terms. Together with her husband, Avromi, a talented saxophonist, she’s built a life centered around music, family, and exploration, all while completing her architecture degree. Their latest project is nothing short of ambitious: renovating a bus to travel across the country with their three young children in tow. This exciting journey is at the heart of their new reality series on Kosher.com, “A Couple of Baschs,” where they share the highs and lows of their unconventional family road trip.
Until recently, the Baschs called Marine Park, Brooklyn, home, but they’ve since moved to Monsey to continue their adventure. In this interview, Shaindee opens up about their bold decision to hit the road, how they juggle family life with their growing online presence, and the creative ways they navigate the roads of life—literally and figuratively.
What do you miss most about Marine Park?
It was so nice to be able to walk down the block to the pizza shop, pharmacy, bagel store, and park. It’s a lovely neighborhood, but we had to leave because we needed more space. We had a recording studio in our two-and-a-half-bedroom apartment. It worked well when we had one or two kids, but when we had our third, we needed more room—especially for the bus and our music. We used to park on the corner of East 32nd and Avenue P. People would always discuss the bus and if it needed to move. Now it’s in our driveway. We’re not bothering anyone or taking up multiple spots. But Marine Park will always be special to me.
Did you always play music?
I started playing guitar at about 11 and had a band in high school. We played in Camp Simcha and Camp Kaylie, too. When I started dating, I was often set up with musicians, but music wasn’t enough to make me say yes to a guy. When my husband—a professional saxophonist and musician—came along, I was starting to learn the saxophone. I thought, “I’ll just have him teach me,” but I ended up marrying him. After we married, we made a few videos together and posted them on social media, and people loved them. It took off from there.
Once the kids came along, recording music together became harder. It takes a lot of time, and it wasn’t as easy to make videos when the kids needed attention. Our content started to shift, and that’s when the bus idea came in. We bought the bus a little over two years ago.
What prompted that purchase?
During our first year of marriage, my husband and I traveled frequently, with me joining him on his music gigs in places like Mexico City and Los Angeles. We loved it, but flying became trickier and more expensive once we had kids. Still, we wanted to keep traveling, so we started road-tripping and quickly realized how much there is to see in the U.S.
On one trip with friends who had converted a school bus into an RV, we thought, We could totally do that. It was a spontaneous idea, but with the bus only costing $,000 dollars, it seemed like a fun and affordable way to keep exploring.
But then we had to outfit the whole thing. And had many trips to the mechanic…We basically drilled a hole into the bottom of our wallet with our project! But it’s been great. We knew life would only get busier with more expenses later on. If there were ever a time to take this on, it would be now. We can swing it right now and do it slowly. So we bought the bus. It was crazy.
How have your architectural skills influenced your personal life?
Being an architect has definitely come in handy when it comes to building the bus and doing our home renovation. But our favorite project by far was creating our studio. Avrumi is very handy, and we built it together in our new home—it was a dream of ours. When we were house hunting, our first question was always, “Where will the studio be?” Now it’s the focal point of our home. We dedicated a huge portion of our basement to the studio, and we really put our hearts into it. It’s a big, beautiful space with instruments scattered all around and a cozy couch. It’s kind of like our ““man cave,” but for all of us—our space where we can get creative, have fun, and just be ourselves.
Where have you been with the bus?
Our biggest trip from New York was to New Orleans. We went down to Florida and then drove to New Orleans from there. That was the farthest we’ve been. But we also do small trips. We went to the Finger Lakes this past summer. We want to do more. We want to get all the way to the West Coast one day.
How do you manage to travel with kids’ school schedules?
We travel for about three weeks during the summer, and that’s when it works out easily because no one’s in school. We have a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 9-month-old. We struggle to find time for everything! I’m okay pulling my kids out of school for a week or two while they’re at these young ages, but I don’t know what it’ll be like when they’re older. I don’t know what their teachers will say if I try to pull them out the week after Pesach. I hope that wherever we are, we’ll always have fun and find time to enjoy each other, whether we’re home or on the road. That’s how we live. For Chanukah, we decorated our living room and spent the afternoon putting window stickers on and setting it all up. We danced with the kids. We always have dance parties. We want to enjoy the moments we have.
Did you ever expect that your music and journey would connect with so many people?
I just feel like we’re putting something out there, and when somebody finds it and likes it, we appreciate it. I think of what we do as being part of a community. We’re all in this together. If you don’t play music, just turn it on and enjoy it.
You have thousands of followers on social media. How do you decide what you’re sharing and not sharing?
I’m very much against “doing it for the vine.” I don’t want to do something just for content. I would say 80% of what we do is not posted. But sometimes, we do a really big project that we feel can be inspirational, encouraging, or entertaining for people. For example, our music. It’s really awesome for us, as singers and musicians, to share something we’ve created. It makes people happy, and they like to listen to it. I think it inspires others, especially couples, to view relationships in a new way. I love sharing architecture that inspires me. I’ve also posted a few clips of our kids. They love recording in our studio, and it allows me to place those moments in a time capsule, something I’m more motivated to do because I know there’s a platform for it. Our kids are still very young, and it’s so sweet and innocent. I’m not sure it’s something I’d share as they get older.
Is it challenging to document your travels for the Kosher.com series?
Keeping a camera on during a trip is hard—it changes the dynamic. Our camera wasn’t on the entire time, but it was a balancing act trying to enjoy the trip while also filming. We think it might be easier if someone else held the camera, so wewould not be worried about it and can just enjoy ourselves. But being recorded in any way definitely changes the energy. Videoing a good time isn’t the same as just having a good time. You automatically feel a little more inhibited when the camera is there; you’re more aware of what you’re doing and what you’re saying. I try to ignore the camera as much as possible, and it helps to know that everything can be edited. We’re also not videoing the entire time.
Do you and Avrumi still find time to record music together, and how has your creative process evolved over time?
We still make music together, but we don’t record as often as we used to. We mostly jam together for our own enjoyment, which is a bonding experience rather than a professional endeavor. We’d love to be able to record more music together, but there’s just so much going on, and we’re very busy. I’m an architect. We have kids. Avrumi works nights as a musician. So it’s almost a miracle when we find time to work on projects together like the bus, the studio, and our music.
How do you decide which creative projects to prioritize when there’s so much happening in your life?
We invest in things that are good for our relationship and family. The bus is a great example of that. Traveling with kids provides some of the most special moments. You don’t get the same bonding in your daily grind, where you rush your kids out to school, and then they come home, and you’re quickly making dinner while everyone’s hungry and tired. When you’re out and about, and there’s no set time you have to wake up and no place you have to be, you go whenever it’s comfortable and everyone spends time together. We sit together, and there’s no rush. The trips are really bonding and special.
What’s left on your bucket list?
I don’t have a specific list, but whenever I see something cool, I save it on Google Maps. I have a folder called “Earth Travel” with all these cool places people mention or I come across. I would love to go to Africa, the Maldives, and Iceland, but that’s not a priority right now. Our priority last year was to buy a house. We want space for our kids to run around. Maybe we’ll build a treehouse this summer.
What would you say to others who feel unsure about taking the leap toward what they really want in life?
Our studio is a physical representation of the freedom we’ve given ourselves to chase our dreams. It didn’t cost a fortune. We built it ourselves with just a few thousand dollars, and to us, it’s priceless. People often say, “I’ve always wanted to do this or that,” but what I’ve learned is: Go do it. If you want something, go make it happen. It sounds simple, but a lot of people are afraid of giving themselves permission to follow through on their dreams.
What I hope people take away from our journey is that you can make things happen. You just have to be willing to take that first step. And, equally importantly, keep it fun. Life can get bogged down with the day-to-day hustle, especially when you have little kids running around. But it’s so important to remember to inject joy and creativity into everything we do. Life might look chaotic at times, but it’s also vibrant, and that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
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