From the MUSIC SIDE
MEGAN ROLLOFF Megan Rolloff is an interior designer in Mankato, who lives in New Ulm with her doting husband Tom. She loves music, especially of the Minnesota variety, and now she writes about it. Reach her at megankrolloff@gmail.com.
Liz Draper
Photo by Emmet Kowler for MPR
rocks from Southern Minn and beyond
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he plays bass. More specifically, she plays both upright bass and electric bass, and is obviously excellent at both. If you live in Minnesota, and have not been living under a rock for the past couple decades or so, I guarantee you’ve heard her work, whether you know it or not. She has played with Soul Asylum, The Okee Dokee Brothers, The Cactus Blossoms, Davina and the Vagabonds, Orkestar Bez Ime, Joyann Parker and Low. Not to mention performing as a solo artist and in a number of jazz groups and as a classical session player. You don’t get that much musical action unless you are an exceptional artist and know how to work your butt off. One more thing about Liz Draper: she is from Southern Minnesota! She spent much of her formative years in Mankato, and once again calls that her home base. But, oh, the things she has done and seen in between, not to mention the amazing things yet to come. I sat down with the artist, who is currently part of an international tour with one of Minnesota’s most popular active bands, Low. Your dad is a jazz drummer. Is that how you originally got interested in music? I was definitely always surrounded by music and encouraged to play from as long as I have memories. I took violin lessons when I was 4 and piano lessons at the age of 5. Hard to say if
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I would have been interested in music without my dad’s influence, but probably. How old were you when you started playing bass? And why bass? I believe it was technically ninth grade. I really don’t remember exactly, but I took my brother’s electric bass and started playing that in conjunction with guitar which I had already been playing. I wanted to quit the school orchestra, which I had been playing violin in, but my folks encouraged the idea to switch instruments instead, which was a great idea. Bass was in all the genres of music I listened to: punk rock, hip-hop, jazz; it was a natural fit. Now I know that any instrument can pave a path in any genre, but bass was where it was at for me! I loved the rhythmic and foundational role of the instrument. I fell in love with the timbre and pretty much everything about it. You attended three different high schools: Mankato West, Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and Perpich Arts High in Golden Valley. When/how did you know you wanted to go to an arts high school to pursue music? I was very restless. I saw two viable options for myself-dropping out and hopping trains, or auditioning for arts high schools to study music and put my energy into something positive. I was in an art club when I was maybe 13 or so, and we took
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a trip to visit PCAE (Perpich Center for Arts Education). I knew immediately that art school was where I belonged. At the time, I was into visual art, not music, but always had it stuck in the back of my head that I would try to get into an arts high school if I was accepted. I was never much of a fan of classrooms (which is funny because I do a lot of coaching and teaching these days in public schools), and when I became a teenager, even less so. I had an insatiable need to see the world and not let school get in the way of my education. I was playing in the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, doing jazz gigs with my dad, playing in various punk bands, commuting to Minneapolis for private lessons (I wonder what my life would have been like if Zoom was a thing...?) I craved more. You went on to major in double bass performance at the University of Minnesota. Yes, when I was at Perpich, through the PSEO option, I was able to take free classes at the University of Minnesota with Chris Brown, who was the principal of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at the time. I performed in the U’s orchestra so was already working toward my undergrad degree in high school. I was able to get a bit of a scholarship to continue studying with him and complete my degree there. And a full-time professional career begins, whatever that may entail.
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