Tom Tom Magazine Issue 11: The Drum Corps Issue

A MAGAZINE ABOUT FEMALE DRUMMERS

TOM TOM MAGAZINE

THE DRUM CORPS ISSUE

BATALA THE DRUM CORPS ISSUE

IS S U E 1 1 | FALL 2 0 1 2 | US D $6

WELCOME TO TOM TOM ISSUE ELEVEN, THE DRUM CORPS ISSUE. HAVE A SEAT, REL A X, AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

CONTRIBUTORS FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mindy Abovitz (info@tomtommag.com) DESIGN Lauren Stec MANAGING EDITOR Colleen Siviter WEB MASTER Harlo Holmes WEB EDITOR Joanna Gutierrez

A RT BY KA R I N S OD ER QU I S T

LA CORRESPONDENTS Liv Marsico, Kiran Gandhi NORTHWEST CORRESPONDENT Lisa Schonberg NORTHWEST STAFF Katherine Paul, Janie Faison, Fiona Campbell, Misti Miller REVIEWS EDITOR Rebecca DeRosa

TOM TOM EVENTS We threw parties at Pianos NYC, Le Bain at The Standard Hotel, Le Poisson Rouge, LadyFest Berlin, Valentines (PDX), XPO 929 and more. Some of the performers included ESG, Wojick, Maluca, P.L.A.I.D.E.D., DJ Kathy Foster and DJ Lindsey. We party and we can’t stop.

EVENTS Thermos Unigrade DISTRIBUTION Segrid Barr COPY EDITORS Elisabeth Wilson, Joanna Gutierrez, Rebecca DeRosa PHOTOGRAPHERS Bex Wade, Stefano Galli, David Shults, Elizabeth Venable, Anthony Buhay ILLUSTRATORS Karen Codd, Caroline Wilson, Rachel Day, Nas Chompas, Kelly Abeln, Iris Porter WRITERS Emily Rems, Natalie Peart, Joanna Gutierrez, Colleen Siviter, Elisabeth Wilson, Jen Ruano, Rebecca DeRosa, Anika Sabin, Liouxsie Doyle, Kristen Fisher, Melody Cooper, Jade Fair TECHNIQUE WRITERS Megan Moede, Jeanette Kangas, Morgan Doctor, Steph Barker, Dawn Richardson, Fernanda Terra, Kristen GleesonPrata, Aimee Norwich, Jose Medeles REVIEW TEAM Anika Sabin, Stephanie Barker, Candace Hansen, Robert Rubsam, Jamie Varriale Velez, Matthew D’Abate, Jo Schornikow, Meghan Baker, Attia Taylor, Lola Johnson, Amy Oden TOM TOM TV Tamar Glezerman, Elizabeth Venable, Jodi Darby, Anthony Lozano, Anthony Buhay, JoVia Armstrong INTERNS Artemis Lionheart THANK YOU All of you, Ima, Aba, Rony, Shani, Stephanie LaVigne (my fireball), baby LaVigne (the newest addition to the fam), The Participation Agency, LOXM

P H O T O S BY B EX WA D E

CONTACT Address: 302 Bedford Ave PMB #85 Brooklyn, NY 11249 Email: info@tomtommag.com CORRECTIONS FROM ISSUE 10 DJ Lindsey’s name was misspelled Liv Marsico interviewed Nite Jewel Intro to Ayumi’s piece in Superheroes was incorrect Caitlin Moe and Mia Moretti’s corrected piece will run online ON THE COVER FRONT: Batala NYC by Bex Wade BACK: Shonen Knife by Bex Wade

4 THE PACK

INSIDE

ISSUE 11

Welcome to Issue 11 of Tom Tom Magazine A lot has happened since the last issue of Tom Tom Magazine. In the interim we have watched three young women in the Russian feminist punk-rock collective, Pussy Riot, get arrested for and convicted of hooliganism. Despite our efforts of support and thousands of other influential media outlets, musicians, and politicians speaking out in their defense, they were sentenced to two years in prison. We cannot express our grief and allegiance with them enough. The group stands for the freedoms that many of us are lucky enough to have taken for granted. FREE PUSSY RIOT is an ongoing movement which we are following closely and encourage you to get involved in.

On another note, we were elated to see Dame Evelyn Glennie (our cover drummer for Issue #4) leading the spectacle of drummers that was the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. Her distinctive long silvery hair and commanding presence was a welcome sight, as were the female drummers scattered throughout en masse. Following her appearance, she came to NYC to perform. We caught up with her and asked her to talk about the process of leading so many drummers. Log onto our website to see our exclusive video interview with the Dame. Her answers, and her presence in general, continue to be fascinating.

For this issue, we chose the theme ‘Drum Corps’ to highlight the sometimesoverlooked women who harness the power of collective drumming. From traditional marching bands to samba reggae bands, we reported on the gamut of ladies out there making beats in unison. Welcome to Issue 11: The Drum Corps Issue.

CHAIN LETTER 06

MARCHING BAND TIPS 10

RECIPES FROM THE ROAD 12

DRUM CORPS DAPPER 14

DRUMS CORPS 16

SHONEN KNIFE 32

CROCODILES 36

VERONICA BELLINO

In love and drums,

39

ALEXEY POBLETE

Mindy Seegal Abovitz Editor-in-Chief

41

TECHNIQUE 44

PHOTO BY BEX WA DE F R OM BATA L A NYC ST ORY

DIY DRUM WRAP 56

B O UZA

J HE D I AN D MAQ U INA SU PE RVI U M

SW EET SH IRT

BEL ÉN A G U ST INA SÁ NC H E Z ’ S C OMPU T ER

WE ARE FANS OF THESE HEAVY HITTERS

THE BEAT AND THE PULSE

W OR DS BY J OA NNA G U T IER R EZ

THE STEREOFIDELICS P H O T OS AND W O RDS BY DAVI D SHU LTS

Not since the White Stripes have two people generated so much sound.

Melissa McGinley and Chris Padgett are The StereoFidelics – an indierock band based in Asheville, NC that delivers twice the sound of an average band, with half the personnel and the precision and tightness to make a Swiss watchmaker jealous. Favoring a more organic (and multiinstrumental) approach, the band eschews the use of computers, loops, and other digital devices. Chris displays a technical prowess on the guitar with equal flash and substance, while stomping out groovin’ bass lines on a Moog Taurus floor keyboard. Melissa sits behind the drum kit and provides the funky, synchronistic beats, along with being able to shred on a five-string electric violin. Oh yeah, and they both sing really well too. The StereoFidelics deliver a live show (around 200) that could be summed up as “total satisfaction.”

stereof.com

PAMELA MANGANARO PH OT O C OU RT ESY OF A RT IST

Last issue, we ran an illustrated homage to drummers on film, where we swooned over Mary Stuart Masterson’s opening drum montage in Some Kind of Wonderful. Well, meet the woman behind the magic: Pamela Manganaro, Masterson’s drumming double in the classic Paramount film. She is currently a professional drummer and drum teacher in Los Angeles, CA. Manganaro has been playing for more than 25 years and is endorsed by companies such as DW Drums, Sabian and Pro-Mark.

She does everything from touring with various artists to TV appearances. Always embarking on exciting new projects, Manganaro should definitely be on your radar.

myspace.com/pammanganaro

BIG BUGS P H O T O BY ANNA F UNK

“There was once a pair of little bugs, separately beat up by thugs, while the days were long, they would sing many songs, until one day we became big bugs!” Bandmates Amelia Radtke and Jesse Marie DJ Carlo-Wagner started playing together in March 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Radtke wrote most of the songs on their debut album Crystals and Cashmere, which they just finished recording in LA with the help of Riley Rainspell. She claims that her songs “basically flirt around nature objects, the wild places, Jesse provides the sci-fi tangents and sexy intern regalia.” Big Bugs just finished consecutive tours with Jeepneys and Fever Witch. They will be back on the road again in November with Aqua(Marina) and Dreamboat Crusaderz.

bigbugsbigbugs.com

MAGIC MOUTH PH OT O BY NA R K MA G A ZINE.C OM

Portland-based band Magic Mouth is on the brink of something big. Initially a duo composed of drummer Ana Briseño and guitarist and singer Peter Condra, the band has evolved into a powerful quartet taking the Portland music scene by storm. To make matters even better, Magic Mouth is about to embark on a fall tour with Gossip! Their sound is self-described as post-phunk real jams, but can also be described as just plain awesome. Their current EP Believer is available on bandcamp and is well worth your time and money! Be on the look out for Magic Mouth and The Gossip; they go on the road at the end of September.

magicmouth.tumblr.com

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD WINTER PERCUSSION R ES EAR C H BY K RIS T EN F IS HE R

Featured in Nicole Gomez’s documentary Drums are for Girls, the Santa Clara Vanguard Winter Percussion’s all-female bass line is powerful in sound and spirit. The VWP is a co-ed indoor marching percussion ensemble that travels and competes during the winter months. The drum corps is composed of snare drums, tenor drums, cymbals and (the biggest and boldest) bass drums. All of the instruments are meant to be played while moving during tightly choreographed moves. This means each drum, or set of drums, is attached to the drummer with a special harness or rack. Unlike tenors or snares, bass drums are mounted so the player can drum on both heads. Each bass player carries a different sized drum ranging from 14 to 36 inches in diameter. With many groups trying to harness the biggest players with the largest drum, an all-female line is something of a phenomenon.

scvanguard.org/programs/winter_percussion

MEGAN MOEDE PH OT O BY J OL ESC H PH OT OG R A PH Y

Megan Moede is an outstanding drummer from Texas; she performs on mallet percussion and marched Capital Regiment in 2005, Carolina Crown in 2006 and Crossmen in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She was also in the Texas State University PASIC Ensemble in 2006 and participated in Winter Guard International while at Pflugerville High School and with Austin Independent in 2008. Moede has been teaching middle school to college-aged students since 2007 from Dallas to San Antonio. She is now working for Lone Star Percussion in Dallas, TX and will hopefully be teaching in the fall.

r e t t e l n i a h c r e m m dru

KH UN T S UN IG AR DE OF SN AY MO ER TH .

VS O AJ AB YU CH EN LIN OF TR

Drummer Chain Letter is the newest feature of Tom Tom. We ask a drummer to find another drummer she loves and have a conversation with her. The chain will go on and on and on and on for eternity. One day we’ll come calling for you!

Yuchen Lin makes up half of the Brooklyn-based duo Trabajo with TJ Richards. Thermos Unigarde created Snaykhunt, a sample-based, teethrattling electronic noise project using field recordings, layered vocal samples and rearranged drum corps beats.

YU CH EN TO TH ER MO S YUCHEN LIN: TALK ABOUT WHY YOU WENT FROM BEING A KIT DRUMMER TO BECOMING SNAYKHUNT - AN EXPERIMENTAL MUSICIAN WITHOUT A LIVE DRUM KIT. WHAT GEAR ARE YOU USING NOW AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE FROM USING THE REAL KIT? Thermos Unigarde: I

had only ever played drums up until about a year ago and messed around a little with keyboards. I really wanted to start writing my own pieces. I was tired of being trapped behind the kit, even though I really love drumming. When I decided to do Snaykhunt I knew I would have to get comfortable with electronics. It was kind of terrifying. When I first started playing drums in SQuamous Os I would only play behind a projector screen.

I never wanted to be out front on stage, or deal with being plugged in, sound issues, etc. Had to get over all that. Originally when I started Snaykhunt, I thought I would still have a full kit on stage and trigger from a sampler, but I never made it work when practicing. I decided I didn’t want to be onstage looking like I was trying to put together an Ikea desk. So for the last year I’ve just used a 404 (sampler), a Crittar and Guitari slide synth, Boss RC20 loop pedal and more recently I’ve been incorporating a Magic Echo Gem Theremin.

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In the beginning I was using a kids’ drum machine to sample beats, and putting effects on it, slowing down or speeding it up, then looping. Then I started sampling my own beats, voice and other vocal samples— I especially love samples of women ululating. In the last few months I’ve been way into drum corps beats. I’ll take a section from a live performance, then cut it up digitally, rearrange parts or reverse them and sample it. I love the sound— the resonance of that many drums playing that style gives me shivers.

Lazurite (Megan Moncrief) called K0Ks, and a new one with Camilla Ha (Magic is Kuntmaster, Vinka Varna) called NUD. I have a Snaykhunt EP coming out in the fall called Ghost in the Jeans. And my partner, Champagne Sequins, is also working with me to create beat-sensitive LED light pieces for shows.

YL: WHAT IS YOUR CONCEPT OF YOUR MUSIC?

women to start a new project with about a year and a half ago. At the time I’d been playing with the same people for several years and had become pretty insular, so I put it out there online and had zero response from women, despite lots of ads. So I started looking for forums and groups where I could find other women interested in making the same type of music as me, and again didn’t really find anything very active online, which shocked me – before LOXM I thought it wasn’t really necessary to specifically spotlight female artists anymore, but I think I was naïve to how marginalized female artists in many spheres still are.

TU: When I made my first EP, Guarantee Damage Muscle Sack, I wanted people to have a feeling of their senses being consumed, of forward motion— kind of how you feel when you are on a plane taking off, a feeling of momentum and ferociousness. And percussion is always my starting point. It’s the only way I know how to generate ideas, through percussive sounds. I hit a wall trying to write in any other way. I’m still figuring out what the concept is, and I’m sure it’ll change.

YL: WHO OR WHAT ARE THE MAJOR INFLUENCES ON YOUR MUSIC? TU: Before I started playing

in bands I loved bands with off-kilter noise and vox, like Pere Ubu, heavy noisy bands.

[I] loved Unwound and the Dead C., Sonic Youth, of course, and later on bands like Boredoms, Arab on Radar, Erase Errata, ooioo, Black Dice, too many to name. I grew up in Louisville, KY, and was really influenced by bands like Rodan in the beginning, and I had my mind opened up a lot at a young age by experimental electronic music in the 90s like Autechre and Aphex Twin.

It wasn’t so much that I wanted to sound exactly like that, but there was a feeling of essential wildness and pure energy in that music, and I knew that I would be working toward evoking that feeling in some form as a performer.

YL: WHO HAVE YOU WORKED WITH SO FAR. ANY RELEASES, OR FUTURE RELEASES? TU: Before

Snaykhunt I was drumming for SQuamous Os and Glass Lamborghini, and now I have two ongoing collaborations— the first with

YL: YOU FORMED THE LOXM (LADIES OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC NYC) GROUP ON FACEBOOK, COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO DO THAT? TU: I was looking for other

YL: TALK ABOUT YOUR LABEL TIGER ASYLUM RECORDS. WHAT HAVE YOU RELEASED? ANY RELEASES COMING SOON? TU: Tiger Asylum was

started by my friend Jordon Schranz as a bedroom label, and in the last year me and my partner, Champagne Sequins, joined him to put out our own releases and LOXM projects that we wanted to promote. My EP was released on TA in April. We’re starting an offshoot label called BooTapes that will just be cassette releases that we record on reel to reel. I hope to put out some K0Ks, NUD, Lazurite and Trabajo (nudge) and other LOXM releases in the coming year.

THERMO

S

YU CH EN

I started sampling my own beats, voice and other vocal samples.

I especially love samples of women ululating.

TU: WHAT KINDS OF MUSIC WERE YOU EXPOSED TO AS A KID? YL: There was one group that

TH ER MO S TO YU CH EN TU:WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING? WHAT BANDS WERE YOU IN BEFORE TRABAJO?

YL: I was in an indie/emo band in 2003 in Taiwan. That was my first band as a drummer. Then I recorded a 7” with an Australia blues punk band. We got some good press from Wire and Vice but I started feeling like I wanted a change so I formed a band XOXOXO in my last few months in Taiwan and that is the first band where I began to use world music elements.

TU: TELL ME HOW TRABAJO STARTED. YL: One

month after I moved to NY I met TJ at the Rubulad party. When we started jamming, we tried to find a drummer, but very luckily nothing worked out and we became multiinstrumental players.

deeply changed my life, Labor Exchange Band. They were unconventional folk music and they was a big part of the social movement and protests. That pure idea had a big impact on me and changed my life. I was also exposed to tons of pop music as a teenager and I used to be a singing champion (pop singer) in school. I have given up all that “technique” because I feel it lacks soul and I still have some hesitance to use my voice now.

TU: WHAT GEAR ARE YOU USING RIGHT NOW?

YL: Now I am using a synth drum pad, a keyboard synth, a small mbira, and a looping pedal. We had some songs where I play a full drum kit and Chinese flute and guitar, but we don’t include those in our set anymore. The fact is, it’s just too much gear to bring. Another reason that we don’t use live drum kit now is the synth drum provides more world music sounds.

TU: YOUR MUSIC HAS A LOT OF WORLD INFLUENCE AND INTERESTING RHYTHMS WOVEN TOGETHER BETWEEN YOU AND TJ. WHAT INFLUENCED YOU? WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS? YL: I have been playing a lot

more Chinese scales in songs now. One of Trabajo’s songs, “Black Practice”, was deeply influenced by Iraqi folk pop songs released by Sublime Frequencies. Mostly what I listen to now is just some random stuff I found on YouTube, the video title might be “Turkish drum master”, or “Amazing mouth harp guy” - that kind of stuff. Lots of Gamelan music, Chinese lion drumming, flute songs, and temple parade music. There is a group called Amadinda Percussion Group, they had one Indonesian Gamelan medley from Java, Sunda and Bali, that was one favorite song recently. I should also mention the Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the group who made the sound track of Akira. And the album Dr. No’s Oxperiment by Oh No which is an amazing mix of hip-hop and world music.

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D E AT H A N D D R U M S / A H R A M J E O N G . C O M

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AHRAM STAYING ALIVE T EXT A ND PH OT OS C OU RT ESY OF T H E A H R A M J EONG

Staying Alive, 2010, Multi-channel video and sound installation For Staying Alive, Ahram Jeong dug her own grave and recorded her heartbeat using her own invented recording device and computer MIDI software to generate musical notation. In the installation, the real-time heartbeat score is paired with two other videos showing the artist digging her own grave and a drummer playing solo improvisation inside the grave using the heartbeat recording as rhythm and tempo.

Jeong’s bodily rhythms serve as the inspiration for a chain of action and reaction: the heartbeat translated into notation, that notation translated by the drummer into sound and action, that sound and action captured by the camera and translated into video, and the final transformation being that of the installation itself.

Something as essential and personal as a heartbeat is reduced to its most pragmatic reality. Nothing more than a faint sound generated by an automatic electric signal.

Simultaneously personal and anonymous, the final product provides a score for the audience’s experience that reverts the music to its hypothetical origin—the heartbeat, the first music heard in the mother’s womb.

Ahram Jeong’s interdisciplinary projects explore performative aspects of media by creating scenarios where subjects interact via the transformation of technology.

Using bodily rhythms to trigger photographic apparatus, create music notation, and stimulate improvised music, the work transforms humanity’s conscious control over machines into something akin to collaboration. The continuous negotiations with the object, the action, and the other implied participants, become important as a kind of performance. Through the process of public engagement— meeting the artist, meeting one another, and agreeing to participate—Jeong, in essence, reverses the traditional roles of spectator and performer.

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, and currently living and working in New York, Jeong was recently awarded a MacDowell Colony Fellowship for her work.

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By Megan Moede / Cut out by Rachel Day

M

ake friends with people before tour starts.

Establishing relationships early is important, especially if you’re a rookie. It’s also very smart to be as polite as possible to the food staff, volunteers and admins. They control every aspect of your day! And anyway, it’s just a general life rule to never piss off the cook.

G

atorade is drum corps currency. Stock up early, stock up often, have it mailed as frequently as possible. It improves the taste of even the worst hose water.

As an extremely D on’t expect to be friends with everyone. lesson I learned on tour.

social person, this is the hardest Drum corps can be a harsh place if you’re used to people loving you unconditionally. People are homesick, tired, hot and hungry. Sometimes you might hear things you don’t want to hear. However, you become such a close family on tour that you can often quickly resolve a conflict with someone. It’s not only a tour lesson, but a life lesson.

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egan Moede marched Capital Regiment in 2005, Carolina Crown in 2006 and Crossmen in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She was also in the Texas State University PASIC Ensemble in 2006 and participated in Winter Guard International while at Pflugerville High School and with Austin Independent in 2008. She has been teaching middle school to college-aged students since 2007, from Dallas to San Antonio. She now works for Lone Star Percussion in Dallas, TX. CU T OU T ILLUS T RAT IO N BY RACHE L DAY

within my have dated dum corps. I dr ur yo io in ct n. Depen ate with the same se in ith w ith en w nd, ev u are to go marching ba w willing yo ow tient and ho pa w perience. I kn ho ex on ing ly rewarding al ed re ri a ar m be d n an the flow, it ca drum corps who met in of le re op tu pe na w nse quite a fe se of the inte st date later. Becau st the silly fir pa a few years ip sk to ed rc fo st re fir u’ st yo 100; the be drum corps, ht from 0 to ig talkra or st ld go or d w in the real nuances an y da ee fr a d). have is s to go to be date you will the corps ha n he (w la t re ou hts ate type of ing before lig to let a delic e ac , pl l es fu tim ss re drama at It can be a st g source of ings m and is a bi nship beginn tio la re tionship bloo s its share of ha s rp co y but ever and endings.

D

T here is no such thing as a base tan.habit of

Getting tan should happen by your being in the sun, and doesn’t have to happen by the end of spring training (your first couple of weeks). It’s really not worth the burn and could lead to skin cancer. I know, I’m a Debbie Downer, but better that you hear it now than look back and regret not wearing sunscreen while you’re peeling off the layers of your burn.

L Y

ou can’t br ing too man y pairs of so on tour. It se cks ems like on e pack of so for a threecks month tour would be su ficient. But fI promise yo u, as five-to season vete ur ran, it isn’t.

ast, but not least: Don’t drink the water in Missouri and take every bathroom stop on the road that you can!

YOU’RE MY CHICKPEA

RECIPES FROM THE ROAD SPICY CRUNCHY CHICKPEAS

BY E MILY R EMS I LLU STRATI ON BY KA R EN C ODD

SPICY CRUNCHY CHICKPEAS INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of dried chickpeas • 1 1/2 tsp salt • 3 fresh or dried curry leaves (optional) • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes • 1 1/2 tsp smokey paprika • 1/2 tsp dried turmeric • 1/4 cup oil • 2 cloves of freshly smashed up garlic • 3 grinds of fresh black pepper • 1/4 minced red onion (optional) • A few sprigs of parsley or cilantro, chopped

THIS PAST SUMMER, MY BAND THE GRASSHOPPERS played an awesome gig at an

underground, Orthodox Jewish supper club in Brooklyn called The Hester.

The audience that night was dining on all kinds of amazing, kosher food and booze, but these roasted chickpea snacks that graced every table were a total band fave. If you’re ever in the NYC area, I highly recommend hitting up thehester. com for info on when they’ll be serving up eats and beats next. But thanks to this recipe from The Hester’s chef and mastermind Itta Werdiger Roth, you can whip up a taste from her 21st-century speakeasy any time.

1. Take 2 cups of dried chickpeas and soak

5. Lay the chickpeas out evenly in one layer

in 4 cups of water for at least 8 hours. Rinse well and drain. Put chickpeas in a pot, cover well with water, and add a good pinch of salt and 1 bay leaf.

on the tray. If you pile them up, they will steam rather than crisp. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring once. You can take them out earlier if you want them chewier or later if you want them drier.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let sim-

mer until soft, about 25 minutes. (If you want to skip this step, you can also use 28 ounces of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed.)

TIP 1: Definitely use the onion and fresh

4. Once the chickpeas are soft, put them in

herbs if you’re going to serve the chickpeas with couscous, rice, or bread. If you want to eat them as finger food, don’t bother with the onion. You can also add dried cumin seeds, coriander seeds, freshly grated ginger, or chili peppers. Too much powder will make them dry, but seeds and fresh stuff give the chickpeas flavor without caking them with spice powder.

a mixing bowl and add all of the ingredients listed above.

TIP 2: These chickpeas are begging to be

3. While the chickpeas are simmering, pre-

heat oven to 420 degrees and line one large baking tray with parchment paper.

eaten alongside a nice dark or amber beer.

BATTLE IT OUT:

LIOUXSIE DOYLE’S TAKE ON WOMEN IN MILITARY BANDS I LLU STR AT ION BY G EOR G E F ER R A NDI

The herstory of females in military bands is one often overlooked by history books, and tuned out in contemporary discussions. This apparent silence, however, is hardly reflective of the ruckus these women raise on their battle drums. From the Bible to the suffrage movement, and decorative drum-pieces to soldier-musicians, women have been marching to the beat of their own drumming for centuries. And in World War II, America and the Western world began to listen.

Until the 1920s, the United States had a policy on female military bands: they could serve as mentors to the next generation of male musical performers, but their skills were mostly transferable.

Women participated in a wide array of bands during the height of big bands from 1870-1920, but their participation remained taboo (particularly with so-called unfeminine, unpretty instruments like brass and percussion) until the school band movement of the ‘20s produced larger quantities of female musicians. By WWII, Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, finally called upon women to join the labor force with his eventual epiphany that “the largest and potentially... finest single force of labor available” was none other than “woman power.” With physically fit young men an ocean away, America finally turned to the soldiers’ mothers, wives, and sisters to pick up where these men left off. Women’s Army Corps bands formed to entertain troops, sell war bonds, and perform for wounded soldiers returning from war. In 1942, the first allfemale band was activated in Fort Des Moines, Iowa, with a half dozen more bases across the country soon to follow. The privileges granted female musicians in the military caused a sense of guilt for some, who battled to contextualize their new, liberating experiences within the larger war effort in Europe. For these twenty-to-thirtysomethings, multiple branches of the military provided greater freedom and independence than they experienced as young women during peacetime. These musical instructors were being permitted, finally, to work. More than that, they were allowed to perform.

Dr. Jill Sullivan is a professor at Arizona State University and author of Band of Sisters: U.S. Women’s Military Bands During World War II, whose research entailed 79 interviews with these women. She notes the loving detail in which they remember their service with Bonnie of Smallwood, Oklahoma, describing the matching lipstick and nail polish paired with the red accents of her marine uniform.

Early into their meeting, she brought out an original tube of lipstick, and proudly donned it for the remainder of the interview.

From subtle touches and accessories, to their matching uniforms, these women were experiencing a degree of luxury that the general public was denied with wartime rations. Then there was the constant traveling. On one hand, they were not permitted to follow the troops to Europe, to play directly on the battlefield behind them, unlike their Canadian sisters, who traveled, in one instance, to Paris to march through the city in support of their troops. The US government, instead, deployed these women across state lines.

This gave young women who had never left their hometowns a

chance to travel. Significantly, the military was responding to a backlash campaign that questioned what kind of woman would enlist in the military. The added accents of formal femininity combated the criticism that only lesbians or prostitutes would join the army.

But if the buzz surrounding the female music corps portrayed them as gender outlaws or social activists, the news never made it to the corps women themselves. Patriotism, more than politics, inspired them to join military bands. In fact, political activism, even the word feminism, surrounded these women, but many were too deep in the trenches to notice. Their mothers were suffragettes, and years down the road, their daughters would be inspired partially by their WWII involvement and form second-wave feminism. But in that moment, women in military bands were making their own waves with W.A.V.E.S. After they retrained the country to view women as legitimate musical performers, these former music teachers had to learn this themselves. 70 years ago, gender dictated which instruments young women could play to retain her femininity. During the shortage of male musicians in WWII, women got their opportunity to learn how to play instruments associated with masculinity, such as brass and percussion.

“None of these women ever thought of themselves as percussionists,” Dr. Sullivan explains. “They were sort of specialists, they had to be taught sets.” While women today may be more likely to fight for their right to learn drum kits, the reality for instrumental instructors like Sullivan is that these gender norms permeate young girls’ consciousness even now. Following the war, female military bandmates were given the same privileges as their combatant brethren. They received GI benefits including assistance buying homes, support on school tuition, and they officially became veterans. Although many women were displaced from their newfound professions when soldiers came home, Dr. Sullivan’s interviewees overwhelmingly recalled their time of service as the best time of their lives. Just 16 years ago, the first female was appointed to command the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, one of the U.S. Army’s four premier bands. Women are continuing to make strides in U.S. military bands, although it has been a slow process. Even as Caucasian women were being accepted into military bands during WWII, it took until 1943 for black women to be granted the same opportunity. Ultimately, they started their own all black female corps: the 404th. Across the world and throughout history, women have marched to the beat of their own drumming; whether their music falls on deaf ears is another story. The lack of literature on women’s military drumming says more about the countries they drum for than it does their own experiences. For centuries, they have been sounding the battle drums.

D R U M C O R P S DA P P E R TE XT BY C OL L EEN SIVIT ER I LLU STRATIONS BY CA R OL INE W IL SON

Drum corps are musical marching ensembles descended from military drum and bugle units returning from World War I. They have even been traced back in some form to ancient drum and fife corps. Today most drum corps operate as independent nonprofit organizations. Besides being defined by differentiated choreography and beats, drum corps are distinguished from one another by their uniforms. While the main silhouette remains relatively consistent, variations in colors and details are numerous. Illustrator Caroline Wilson researched all-female drum corps to bring us a visual collection of a few of the uniforms from past and present.

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m u r D W E STRETCHED THE NOTION OF THE TYPICAL DRUM CORPS DEFINITION TO BRING YOU BANDS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE THAT WE THINK ARE OUTSTANDING. WE BEGIN THIS FEATURE WITH BATALA NYC WHO ARE ONE AMONG 27 CHAPTERS OF THE SAMBA REGGAE GROUP BATALA THAT PERFORM THE SAME SONGS, IN SIMILAR UNIFORM AND OFTEN TIMES IN ALL WOMEN TROUPES. WE ALSO HAD THE RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE STUDENTS AT THE DARUNNAJAH BOARDING SCHOOL IN JAKARTA, INDONESIA. THIS ALL-FEMALE ALL-

Co rps TEENAGE MARCHING BAND PERFORM IN A COUNTRY WHERE THEIR OWN HEAD-COVERINGS ARE ACCUSED OF SPEAKING LOUDER THAN THEIR MUSIC. WE THEN TALKED TO SOME TRADITIONAL IRISH SNARE DRUMMERS, A HIGH ENERGY STREET DRUM CORPS DRUMMER FROM LOS ANGELES, TWO INCREDIBLE CULTURALLYRICH HAND DRUMMER GROUPS BASED OUT OF NYC AND A SLEW OF RADICAL MARCHING BANDS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY. GET TO READING AND THEN GET OUTSIDE AND GET TO DRUMMING!

IL LU ST R AT ION BY NA S C H OMPA S

BATAL ANYC.COM

BRINGING SAMBA REGGAE TO BROOKLYN I N TE RVI EW BY MINDY A B OVIT Z PHOT OS BY BEX WA DE

NAME: STACY KOVACS AGE: 36 HOMETOWN: ORCHARD PARK, NY LIVES IN: BROOKLYN, NY PAST BANDS: MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPARTAN MARCHING BAND, RUDE MECHANICAL ORCHESTRA, SAMBA NY, MARACATU NY CURRENT BANDS: BATAL A NYC

I SAW BATALA DC PLAY LIVE for the first time at a Tom Tom show

in their city last year. They were over 50 members strong and were a commanding presence even before they began to play.

In red, white, and black uniforms reminiscent of something a capoeirista would wear, they began their set right outside the venue and kept it loud, energetic, powerful and joyful until the very last beat. When I heard there was a New York-based group, I eagerly sought out their director Stacy Kovacs to ask her a bit about the international drumming phenomena that is Batala.

TOM TOM MAGAZINE: WHEN DID THE NEW YORK BRANCH OF BATALA BEGIN? STACY KOVACS (DIRECTOR OF BATALA NYC): Batala NYC began in my

head Labor Day weekend 2011 after seeing a group of Batala members from around the world play at the 2011 Brasilian Day in NYC. They were being directed by the founder of Batala, Giba Goncalves. His mere presence got me addicted to the music and the band. After many long Skype conversations with Solange, the founder of Batala Washington DC, and Paulo, the director of Batala Brasilia, Batala NYC was formed officially in January 2012. We had a first members meeting on March 9th and our first rehearsal on March 31st.

WHY DID YOU FEEL THERE WAS A NEED FOR A BATALA NYC? New York City

is such a hub for art, dance, and music, and Batala is present in 26 cities around the world, so, why not NYC? In the US, the only one (besides us) is in Washington DC. NYC is such a melting pot of culture and music and Batala NYC offers something different that doesn’t already exist here.

HOW WAS THE DECISION MADE TO MAKE BATALA NYC ALL FEMALE? DOES GIBA GONCALVES (THE FOUNDER OF BATALA) HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THAT?

Making Batala NYC all female was an easy decision. It’s what I wanted, I had always dreamed of having an all-women band of some sort. I honestly thought Batala, as a global organization, was made of all-women groups. Then, I learned (about three months later) that in fact, it was co-ed, and only five of the 27 groups are exclusively women. To my knowledge, Giba doesn’t have any issue with us being all female. Batala Brasilia (in Brazil) is the largest Batala group including 120 women in the band and Batala Washington is a close second made up of 90 women.

WHAT DO ALL THE DIFFERENT BATALA GROUPS HAVE IN COMMON? We are

all the same in that we all share the love of the drum and this style of music. The music is Samba Reggae, typically heard in Bahia, a northern state in Brazil, with its roots in West African drumming. It’s not samba, and we are not a samba band. All Batala bands wear the same style of clothing and use the same drums, all of which are hand made in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

The drums are recognizable as they all have the same painted patterns and our costumes have similar designs. We also all play the same arrangements of music and communicate via the same hand signals. If I were to go conduct the Athens band, it would be easy for me, as they know the same music and hand signals.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DRUMS THE MEMBERS OF BATALA PLAY AND HOW DOES EACH MEMBER DECIDE WHICH DRUM THEY WILL PLAY?

We have five drums. The surdo, or Fundo comes in two sizes, 22-inch and 24-inch tuned a 4th apart, they are the bass drums.

They alternate beats 1, 2, 3, 4. We call them the heartbeat, the “boom and the bing”. The next drum is a small surdo 20-inch

called the Dobra. This drum is tuned pretty high and plays the syncopated rhythms and has the most choreography. The next is the repique (pronounced he-pee-ki), it is a 12-inch drum resembling a coffee can that is tuned really tight and played with two plastic whippy sticks. This drum plays the complex patterns and calls known to samba reggae. The last is what we call a snare drum. In Portuguese, it’s called a caixa (kyesha) [and] it means box. You play it like a snare drum here in the US, but the function isn’t so much to be the forefront like most American marching bands. The caixa is the engine, the drum who never stops playing, they play repetitive patterns that offer white noise you only notice when they stop playing!

We generally start most beginners on the surdo. It’s an easy drum to play, and allows you to be able to learn it quickly. This gives women the chance to listen to the music and how each song sounds, so that if they eventually want to transition to a different drum, it’s easier for them. If a woman comes to me with drumming experience, I generally ask her to play a repique or snare. If a dancer comes to me, I generally want them on the dobra. The problem with dobra is that everyone wants to play it. Right now we have a waiting list for dobra because we don’t have enough dobra drums for everyone. No waiting list for the other drums though!

HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO YOUR ROLE AS MUSICAL DIRECTOR? A lot.

None of the music is written down. I rely on YouTube videos and Skype conversations to learn it. I have to learn all of the parts and all of the hand signals on my own. Aison Rodden, the musical director of the DC band helps me (she leaves me voicemails of how the songs sound), but I don’t want to be a clone of her. Plus, on top of that, I store the extra drums and parts at my apartment, as well as the merchandise we have for sale. I have to teach the band the music, I have to teach them how to care for their drums, I have to deal with the inevitable drama of an all-women band, and I still have to be accountable to Giba and the mundo Batala family. It can be stressful.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR THE FUTURE? I have this idea in the

back of my head that we will have 150 women drummers in the band. That poses an issue for rehearsal space!

Jade wrote a story on Batala’s DC chapter which you can read online at www.tomtommag.com

JAKARTA GIRLS BRING THE BEAT

BY L IOU SXIE DOYL E PHOTO S C OU RT ESY OF BA ND

THE STUDENTS AT THE DARUNNAJAH BOARDING SCHOOL IN JAKARTA, INDONESIA,

comprise one of a small handful of all-female marching bands in the entire world. Six members, representing a range of musical talents, and the band’s director took the time to talk to Tom Tom about being one of the few female marching bands in a country where their own head-coverings are accused of speaking louder than their music. These girls are your typical teenagers, who cite Katy Perry as a musical inspiration and get nervous around boys. But they also have a thing or two to teach us about creating a supersonic mini-revolution.

Indah Ayu Komalasari enrolled in the Darunnajah boarding school, unaware of its all-female marching band. Soon after, she joined the corps, picked up a trumpet, and now she aspires to become a professional marching band coach. The female corps at the school has sparked a flame in more than just one girl.

Which is good news, for a niche of the music world that receives little media attention—so little, that it could be in danger of going extinct before the next generation. Fortunately, the girls at Darunnajah are marching to the beat of their own drumming.

The Darunnajah school is a coed boarding school with a mix of extracurriculars. Particular to the mix is an all-female marching band established in March 1992 and will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this spring. The current director of the program, Rizma Yahya, boasts no background in music education, but her success story is a familiar one at the Jakarta school. As a student, she took an interest in the band, joined, and has utilized her passion for music to spark a new generation of passionate fledgling student musicians. A veritable gem in a barren landscape of androcentric marching band culture, the Darunnajah Marching Band fosters an environment of excitement, often coming from students who otherwise never would

have considered a future in music. Not only are they learning a new instrument, they appear to be learning how to love musical performance and share this love as well.

The students are optimistic about their unorthodox band, and look forward to a future in music education and performances. Rizma acknowledges the concept is still new and foreign to much of Indonesia, but with inspired students getting real world and competitive experience, it looks like this isn’t just a passing trend. Nor is it easy to ignore an entire marching band coming your way. Especially when their uniform includes controversial head-coverings.

Among universal challenges to maintaining a band, Rizma discusses the issues that surround the headscarf that her players must wear. “That’s a challenge for me,” she says, “to maintain and prove to everyone that the female corps, wearing the scarf, can exist and be recognized.” Some outside critics have complained about being distracted by the uniform head-coverings in the national secondary school colors, a vibrant blue and white, and say the cloth restricts the players’ capabilities. To Rizma, this is an unfair and unwarranted dismissal of her girls’ abilities.

“[IT IS CHALLENGING] TO MAINTAIN AND PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT THE FEMALE CORPS, WEARING THE SCARF, CAN EXIST AND BE RECOGNIZED.”

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Although Indonesia does boast the single largest Muslim population in the world, the general use of headcoverings is optional and more reflective of social status than religion.

Creed does not dictate the dress code for women, and many other religions are practiced in Indonesia; however, in private schools, the use of jilbabs (note: not hijabs, which are religious in nature) are mandatory for girls. The issue of jilbabs and head-coverings, despite being settled as far as legislation is concerned, remains a social controversy that has permeated deeply enough to provide doubt for critics of these girls. It reflects, more than religious

tolerance, a question of whether young women may be taken seriously as musicians. According to such critics, the scarf becomes a cloak of invisibility—one of its purposes is to protect women from undesirable attention from men. The ironic twist to a female marching band donning jilbabs is a clash of intent: while the clothing may be worn to avoid excess attention, the very purpose of a marching band is to get attention.

A marching band is also about creating a sense of community.

The members of the corps faced varying levels of initial support from families (although many do report that upon seeing the students’ developing interest in music, reluctant family members do rally up support), but the group itself is tightly bound.

The girls’ music interests range from jazz to American pop music, and connect through their mutual appreciation and minor musical differences, to ultimately cohere for the group’s benefit.

And would these girls be interested in marching alongside the boys? Azzamatul Muafa, Snare Drum, although open to new challenges, also notes that playing with boys “obstructs girl power.” Alternatively, Anindya Putri Yustika, Quint tom, feels a coed band, with the help of male counterparts, may have a more powerful sound. Together, the students do agree that playing in an all-female band is an empowering experience, but playing in a coed group could be beneficial to climbing the ranks of the musical performance world.

At this point, the girls of the Darunnajah Marching Band have played local and national competitions, competing against both boys and girls, but they haven’t gone international yet, a longing voiced by Luthfi Fauzia, on Trumpet. She aspires to become, simply, “the best international music player.”

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BREAKING WITH TRADITION

BY NATA L IE PEA RT PHOT O BY LYNNE H OPPE

THE ALTAR GLIMMERED. Beautiful black, cloth dolls stood upright

bomba is seen as a conversation between the drummer and the dancer called repique or reto. For Arciniegas drumming is like being the conduit for whatever energy the dancer brings to the floor, and for the women of The Legacy Circle this has been an incredibly healing aspect of working together. “There is a real spiritual connection,” she says. “The lead drummer listens to the voice of the body and you feel like a midwife to what is coming out of them.”

The Legacy Circle, an all-women bomba group, took up their different parts: playing drums, leading the singing, playing the guiro, and the hand drum. Women in attendance were invited to dance in the middle if they felt moved to do so. Whenever a woman entered the middle of the floor she would make a motion that looked similar to tipping a hat. The drummer behind the primo drum, Manuela Arciniegas (who also serves as artistic director of the group), begins to converse with the dancer. With each step the dancer took the drum would interpret, with each step Arciniegas’s face became more intense and more beautiful.

By the third song all of the women had made a circle in which to dance together.

The first bomba drums were made from rum barrels. The drums are referred to as barriles or “barrels” in English. The rum was made from the sugarcane harvested by the slaves. In the sugarcane fields is where the slaves developed a dance that was both spiritual and one of resistance. With little in the way of shared language, slaves in the sugar cane fields developed bomba to communicate with one another about potential insurrections and have some form of joyful escape from such extreme oppression. The roots of bomba are largely based in West African rhythms, but in his book The Challenges of Puerto Rican Bomba, scholar Halbert Barton notes the Spanish and Native American influences are inherent in bomba due to its creation in coastal regions like Mayaguez, Ponce, and Cangrejos. “These coastal areas became population centers where an increasingly mixed group of workers with African, Spanish, and Native American ancestry brought together their talents for singing, drumming, and dancing in the birth of Puerto Rican bomba,” he writes.

Along with the barriles, bomba is comprised of sticks called cua used for beating the drums and maracas. The Legacy Circle incorporated the guiro, a metal or wooden oblong-shaped instrument with ridges down the side, which is played by running a stick or tines down the ridges to make a scratching sound.

and sunflowers poked out from behind lit candles. At the foot of the altar—a plate of food and a bottle each of Corona and Bacardi. All were set forth as an offering to and an invocation of the ancestors. The night was ripe for bomba. I followed a group of women to the roof of the Rio Gallery of the Broadway Housing Community building in NYC, anticipating my introduction to this traditional performance of drumming, dance, and song.

There has been a resurgence of bomba in recent years, for those a part of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Historically not fully recognized as a unique and important musical tradition by the Puerto Rican government, bomba has found a second life in New York City. As a half Puerto Rican and half Dominican bombera, Arciniegas recognizes bomba as something special to Puerto Rico, but also notes the similarities of resistance music found in other Caribbean countries. “One of our dancers is studying the traditional folk dances in Trinidad right now,” she offers. “We’re excited for her to bring something back.”

The Legacy Circle was founded in 2006 when Arciniegas received an award from the Social Justice Fellowship. Her involvement with bomba started when she was introduced to drumming by someone she was dating at the time. Taking an interest in playing the drums, she soon realized that there needed to be a space for women who also wanted to play and write their own songs. Traditionally women’s roles in bomba have been as singers or dancers; dancing is an integral part, as

The Legacy Circle signals a break from tradition which, in turn, helps their tradition to evolve. “Women playing the drums was and is taboo, and some men in our community were not the most welcoming when we first started to play,” Arciniegas explains. “But there were some men who were supportive.” There are more women making themselves visible in the tradition, and The Legacy Circle hopes to both pay homage to the tradition and inspire other women to get involved. “We play first for ourselves, and we hope to see other women do that work.”

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THE GENDER DIVIDE

BY T EA L E FA IL L A PHOTOS C OU RT ESY OF BA ND

THE MODERN SCOTTISH PIPE BAND APPEARS TO BE A PILLAR OF GENDER EQUALITY. Women and men play bagpipes and drums alongside

each other, march in time together, and wear exactly the same uniforms down to the Windsor knotted tie and sgian dubh (the dress knife worn tucked into the top of the kilt hose – you know, for when we need to skin a deer during a performance).

But, given its militaristic roots, pipe bands were not always so progressive and even prohibited female players from their ranks.

And even though today most pipe bands are fully integrated, there is one area that harbors an unacknowledged gender divide: the drum corps.

The Highland drum corps is comprised of three types of instruments: side drums, tenor drums, and one bass (though some progressive bands have been known to break with tradition and field two). The side drum, also known as the Highland snare, is so named for its two snares, one below each of the top and bottom drum heads. It shares many similarities with the snare drum in a typical high school marching band, as does the bass drum. But the tenor is really what sets a Highland drum section apart from any other drum corps. Unlike a quad tenor in

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a marching band, each tenor drummer plays a differently pitched drum with a soft mallet to fill in the mid tones of the drum score.

Together, the tenors add a melodic groove and depth to the overall sound. In addition to playing though, tenor drummers add another component to the music by flourishing, or swinging their mallets in the air in highly choreographed moves. It is the tenor section that adds the spectacle to the pipe band, visually representing the music while seamlessly playing it.

The side drum is the most prominent drum in the corps, both in the amount of sound it produces and in numbers. The scores are fast, intricate and require a lot of muscle memory to be able to play even the simplest street marching tune. It requires a big time investment from both the player and the band that tutors the player. In pipe band competitions, the side drum corps is usually given the most weight by the judges, and the lead drummer of any pipe band is always a side drummer.

The tenor drums are always fewer in number and don’t make as much sound as the sides. In fact, tenor drummers of yesteryear rarely even

beat their drums and were there solely for the purpose of flourishing.

In other words, they were to be seen and not heard. Rather than invest time in new female players as they might with male players by teaching them the snare, pipe bands would usher women into the tenor section which they deemed less important, where the female players couldn’t make much sound but would serve more or less as eye candy.

new set of skills, but more opportunities were awarded to me, all because I’m female. But for every female who is pushed to play the tenor, there is a male who is inadvertently told, you don’t want to play the tenor – the tenor’s for ladies. This has closed many opportunities not only to female players, but also to male players, as in the case of the France trip.

Today, much more importance is placed on the tenor section. The musicality and visual presentation that the tenor section adds has become an integral part of any good drum corps. No pipe band is allowed to compete without at least one tenor drummer. Yet so many lead drummers, who tend to be male, don’t even bother to learn how to play the tenor drum and are ill-equipped to lead the tenor section as part of the overall drum corps.

Certainly, there are female side drummers and male tenor drummers in the world, but they are in the vast minority. Tyler Fry is by far the most well-known Highland tenor drummer in the world, and he is male. Lee Lawson is one of the best side drummers in the world, and she is female. She’s won over 35 solo championship titles. But she’s also the only female to ever compete at the Senior level in solo competitions.

It’s not skill or difficulty level that is at the heart of this divide.

Rather, we subconsciously associate each drum with a different gender. The tenor drum is seen as feminine – softer, more graceful and requiring more teamwork and communication amongst its players. The snare is interpreted as more masculine – loud, brash, domineering, and isolated – requiring little collaboration between drummers. Consequently, by directing women to play the tenor and men to play the snare, we’re not only restricting individual players, but we’re also reinforcing traditional gender roles within the drum corps.

The tenor drummers in my pipe band in Brooklyn (all of whom are female) now bring snare sticks to every practice, and I teach them side drum rudiments as well as advanced tenor flourishes before practice starts. This not only serves them by widening their skill set, but it also serves the band, allowing players to fill in at any position as needed. Before I joined the band, no one had ever offered to teach them. The divide is slowly closing.

But there are those who still support these gender roles, whether consciously or subconsciously, as a mark of tradition.

I’ve been a side drummer in three pipe bands, and of the three lead drummers I’ve played under, two have suggested I learn the tenor drum as well. I’ve never witnessed my male counterparts being asked the same. Mind you, I haven’t been told outright that I shouldn’t play the snare, but there has been suggestive nudging in a certain direction.

If we in the pipe band world are interested in pushing this genre of music forward and preventing it from dying out, we can’t adhere to tradition simply for tradition’s sake. And this is no more prevalent than in the instruments we encourage (or discourage) certain people to play. Drums know no gender, or sex, or race or nationality for that matter. They’re drums. They don’t care who is playing them, just as long as they are being played.

In some ways this nudging has worked to my advantage. About a year into my side drum tutelage, I was invited to play with my pipe band in a ten-day Celtic music festival and competition in Brittany, France – but only if I played the tenor drum. They only offered this opportunity to the female side drum students.

No male side drum students were invited. So, I started learning the tenor drum immediately, while continuing with the snare, and got paid with a free trip to Europe. Not only did I gain a

Teale Failla competes in the Metro Branch of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association as a side drummer with Monaghan Pipe Band, Brooklyn and leads their tenor section. She has also played with Stockbridge Pipe Band, Edinburgh where she was a side drummer with their 2010 RSPBA Champion of Champions Drum Corps, as well as with the NYU Pipes and Drums, NYC. Teale is currently the only female competing pipe band side drummer in New York City. She teaches all aspects of Highland drumming to people of all skill levels in hopes of erasing that distinction. Visit her website at pipebanddrumlessons.weebly.com.

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NAME: NICOLE GRANT HOMETOWN: SOUTH L AKE TAHOE, CA LIVES IN: LOS ANGELES, CA PAST BANDS: BRIAN FARNON ORCHESTRA, HAUN SOLO PROJECT CURRENT BANDS: INDEPENDENT MUSICIAN, STREET DRUM CORPS DAY JOB: MUSICAL PERFORMER, SESSION MUSICIAN, MUSIC INSTRUCTOR LAST MOVIE YOU SAW: NIRVANA NEVERMIND ROCKUMENTARY

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STREETDRUMCORPS.COM

BY J ENIF ER R UA NO PHO T O BY K R IST EN W OO

PLAYING SINCE THE TENDER AGE OF FOUR, Nicole Grant aka Nikki G is

a musical force to be reckoned with. Her powerful performances can be seen in the acclaimed high-energy drum shows Street Drum Corps and BANG!, which have soared in popularity and have toured all over the country. Additional performing credits include rocking huge festival shows like the Vans Warped Tour and Coachella, as well as playing on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to jamming alongside Katy Perry. Her vivacious spirit and steadfast discipline have afforded Nikki G a diverse career and she’s just getting started.

AS A MUSICIAN YOU BRUSH BROAD STROKES ACROSS THE MUSICAL CANVAS, PLAYING EVERYTHING FROM DRUMS TO PIANO AND EVEN DOING WORK AS A VOCALIST. HAS MUSIC ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING YOU HAVE BEEN PASSIONATE ABOUT? With my mother being a

of creating a Street Drum Corps Army all started with Justin Imamura and myself. In a collaborative effort to truly defy the norm, we not only have created a unique ensemble with the world being our musical playground, literally, but we also have enriched young musicians to join us in our purpose.

This year alone, as a musical family, we will be opening more than ten residency shows at theme parks all across the nation and continuing to tour throughout the year.

SO WHERE DOES BANG! FIT INTO ALL OF THIS? BANG! was the beginning of

“WE WILL NOT BE EASY ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE A FEMALE, IN FACT, WE ARE ALL PLANNING TO PUSH YOU BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION”

classical pianist and my father being a vocalist, I had a great start to the fostering of my later-to-be musical career. My parents started my musical education at the age of four, which led me to the piano.

But as I was studying, my mother recognized that I had a natural sense of rhythm. My grandfather, was a professional percussionist and so she decided percussion just might be an inherited passion. As for being a vocalist, it was almost impossible to not have singing in my daily life. My family has the reputation of being called the Von Trapp Family, someone is always singing and car rides are always entertaining.

STREET DRUM CORPS IS AN IN-DEMAND SHOW THAT EVOLVED ACCORDING TO ADAM ALT, ONE OF THE CO-FOUNDERS OF “A COUPLE OF GUYS PLAYING BUCKETS AT PARTIES.” TELL US HOW YOU BECAME INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT.

Street Drum Corps was founded by Bobby Alt, Adam Alt, and Frank Zummo. With a very unique project in mind, these founders took the world of street drumming to a whole new level. They literally took the essence of the street and combined it with an industrial triumph of musical genres that could appeal to all.

As Street Drum Corps became more noticed in their success, the idea of creating an empire is where I come in…the progression

the franchise groups branching off from Street Drum Corps, but as the army of drummers has grown we are all under the same entity known as Street Drum Corps.

My role in Street Drum Corps is leading and performing with the various casts of the franchise groups, and also training new soldiers for our musical battle. I perform as a percussionist and I triple on Drums, Keys, and DJ when full rock band meets street percussion ensemble alongside the co-founders of the project. Our goal as a group is to truly take an element that not many people have seen and create a unity out of something that may seem out of the ordinary.

IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER, WERE THERE ANY TECHNIQUES THAT YOU FOUND PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO INITIALLY LEARN? I really

had to work on the power behind my playing, and fortunately I had amazing professors through Musicians Institute who helped me pop out of my power playing shell. I was so used to the delicacy of the genres in my past that when I needed to play hard it was a very foreign concept, but one that was a very rewarding challenge. In fact, I remember my first day attending Musicians Institute, being the only female in the percussion program at the time, and my professor pulling me aside and saying, “We will not be easy on you because you are a female, in fact, we are all planning to push you beyond your imagination,” and they most definitely did.

HUNGRYMARCHBAND.COM

In cities across the U.S. and around the world, people are picking up instruments and taking to the streets to creatively address issues that matter to them. While not always about politics, these marching bands focus on grassroots action, connection with the audience, and interactivity. They are performance artists, visual artists, academics, or sometimes have no musical background whatsoever. We had the chance to speak with some of the inspiring percussionists from three radical marching bands, all of which have their own individual style and goals.

BY E LI SABE TH WI LSON PH O T OS COU RTE SY OF BAN D S

HUNGRY MARCH BAND NAME: SARA VALENTINE AGE: 41 HOMETOWN: SOUTH JERSEY LIVES IN: NEW YORK CITY AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO INSTRUMENTS COWBELL, CL AVES, SHAKERS, TAMBOURINE, SOMETIMES BASS DRUM CURRENT BANDS: HUNGRY MARCH BAND, ITCHY-O MARCHING BAND DAY JOB: TA X PREPARER, EVENT PRODUCER, RESEARCH ASSISTANT, JILL-OF-ALL-TRADES

SARA VALENTINE, percussionist and baton twirler for New York

City’s Hungry March Band, is noticeably irritated when I call her while she is driving in Queens. But despite the traffic, she fills me in on the past and present of NYC’s legendary street brass march band. Formed in 1997 for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, HMB’s performances have included rural raves, subway parties, weddings, community affairs, protests, high art events, the Staten Island Ferry, Brighton Beach Boardwalks, and even the MOMA. Valentine got involved in HMB early on, soon after her roommate, Adriana Magaña, formed the band in their Brooklyn loft. In the beginning, they were just percussion, a sousaphone, a trombone, and a trumpet. After a couple of years, it expanded outside of Valentine’s loft and more people wanted to get involved, so rehearsals moved onto the waterfront in Williamsburg. The band quickly grew from eight members to nearly 30.

In the early 2000s, HMB was involved in activism, playing antiwar protests and demonstrations. But they don’t do as much political stuff these days, mainly because other activist-based marching bands have formed in NYC and also because, as Valentine says, they weren’t interested in band members getting arrested (which sometimes happened at the subway parties).

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Valentine plays back-up percussion in the drum section, but her main role is with the dance team, The Pleasure Society. Her gear box holds her tambourine, claves, cowbell, sticks, pom poms, batons, hoola-hoop, flags, confetti poppers, feathers, Mardi Gras beads, lipstick, and nail polish, among other things. She says the cowbell is her favorite, adding a little something extra to the rhythm section while dancing and interacting with the audience. Theresa Westerdahl aka Tara Fire Ball, on tom tom, and Samantha Tsistinas, on cymbals, are also part of rhythm section.

Valentine sites Balkan brass music as one of the band’s influences but is quick to point out that they borrow from everywhere. The HMB play Latin music, New Orleans, Rock, Techno, gypsy, as well as Indian and African music. “We’re influenced by everyone from Duke Ellington to Sun Ra,” she says. Most of their music is original, with six recordings (some live and some studio mixes) and one more in the works for this year. You can also see them in action in the 2006 film, Shortbus.

RUDEMECHANICALORCHESTRA.ORG

RUDE MECHANICAL ORCHESTRA

CONSENSUS, COMMUNITY, AND ACTIVISM are three cornerstones of

the New York City-based radical street band Rude Mechanical Orchestra. It was formed by a handful of musicians and activists in 2004 to protest The Republican National Convention in New York. Their main interest as a group is to counter injustice and support grassroots actions around the city. Founding members include bass drum players Michele Hardesty and Sarah Blust. I spoke to Blust on the phone along with other members of the drum section, Justine Kelly-Fierro and Maggie Schreiner, who both play snare.

RMO name Seattle’s legendary anarchist marching band, Infernal Noise Brigade, as a major influence. The music they play is also inspired by traditional tunes of European street bands, as well as whatever they think will resonate with the groups they’re supporting and with the larger community in general. Oftentimes, they play pop songs and incorporate a chant in order to catch the attention of the public. When asked about a memorable performance, Schreiner says the Occupy Wall Street protests were a time when they were able to contribute in a tangible way to a joyous event, as part of the crowd.

learn to play something. Many of RMO’s members have learned to play their instrument within the band, especially the drum section. Blust’s lightweight bass drum was made especially for her, making it possible for her to carry it on the streets of NYC. “Carrying a bass drum in New York City,” she says, “is no joke.”

NAME: MAGGIE SCHREINER AGE: 28 HOMETOWN: TORONTO, ON LIVES IN: BROOKLYN INSTRUMENT: SNARE DRUM NAME: SARAH BLUST AGE: 40 HOMETOWN: D.C. LIVES IN: BROOKLYN INSTRUMENT: BASS DRUM NAME: JUSTINE KELLY-FIERRO AGE: 27 HOMETOWN: HUNTINGTON, NY LIVES IN: BROOKLYN INSTRUMENT: SNARE DRUM

Radical marching bands, Kelly-Fierro points out, subvert and queer the notion of a dictatorial framework in traditional bands.

Accessibility is extremely important to RMO. Most of their gear is donated with the purpose of supporting people who want to 29

EXTRA-ACTION.COM

EXTRA ACTION MARCHING BAND VIOLET ANGELL OF OAKLAND, CA is a drummer and booking agent

for San Francisco’s Extra Action Marching Band. Preferring the descriptors alternative or independent as opposed to radical, Angell says the band started as an experiment. With a handful of drummers and dancers, they eventually added a horn section, changing the vibe, she says, “from punk rock to band geek.” They are bawdy and massive, going on tour in 2004 with 28 band members to the Guca Festival in Serbia. When asked what a typical practice looks like, Angell answered, “People showing up late, copious amounts of beer, dry erase boards, dancers wrestling, insults and compliments being thrown around.”

The aim of EAMB is occasionally political—having participated in rallies, marches, and demonstrations to lend support or draw attention to the causes they believe in. They’ve played fundraisers to aid cancer and AIDS patients and to send money to New Orleans-based musicians after Hurricane Katrina. But mostly, Angell says, the goal of the band is to break the barrier between audience and performer, to get people dancing, be spontaneous, “to create a collective peak experience in which whole is larger than the some of its parts.” And, of course, to rock.

NAME: VIOLET ANGELL AGE: 33 HOMETOWN: SAN FRANCISCO LIVES IN: OAKL AND PAST BANDS: LE FL ANGE DU MAL, CAVE COLLECTIVE, KNEES AND ELBOWS, RIOT BEATS CURRENT BANDS: EXTRA ACTION MARCHING BAND, LOYD FAMILY PL AYERS, L ADYSEA DAY JOB: DRUMMER AND A/V TECH AT DRUMMM RHYTHMIC EVENTS INSTRUMENTS DRUMS, BELLS, CAHON

STATE OF GRACE

BY NATA L IE PEA RT PHOTO BY TA MMY SIEBERT

“JOY IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHO WE ARE.” says Gabriella

Dennery over iced coffee in downtown Brooklyn. Dennery is the Artistic Director of Grace Drums, a group that uses percussion, vocals and dance to create explosive and visceral performances around the city. “When we play it’s about tapping into the joy that people already have, making joy contagious.” Having played in an all-women ensemble prior to Grace Drums, and dealing with the common ailments that lead to a group’s disbanding— members not showing up, various interpersonal drama — Dennery took a break to figure out what she really wanted when it came to creating and working with others. In 2010, with the help of her partner Gena Jefferson, she founded Grace Drums, a group of five to six dynamic, mature women from various artistic backgrounds. Each potential new member plays with the group on a trial basis to see how they all work together in creating a cohesive sound that is in line with the vision and mission of the group. So far, this method has proven successful. Grace Drums is a solid crew of talent.

As women of various diasporas: Haitian, West African, Trinidadian, they incorporate elements of their respective cultures into the music they play while simultaneously tweaking traditional rhythms to make something all their own. “We get grouped as African drummers, but Grace Drums really isn’t,” Dennery explains. “We use different breaks and signals in the music than [in] traditional rhythms.” The group draws from R&B, funk, disco, jazz, and even incorporates non-traditional instruments such as the violin.

At a group rehearsal held at Spoke the Hub in Gowanus, steady, syncopated beats filled the studio air and mingled with laughter as they tried to get the timing just right. Despite the occasional furrowed brow when parts didn’t fall exactly into place, the joy in creating was tangible and ever-present. The session ended on a piece called Five Djembes which was exhilarating to watch.

Sitting in a semi circle, intense poly-rhythms made their way into the space as each drummer owned a beat, eliciting something from the woman sitting next to her or across from her.

Watching the group as they played was like being a witness to the essence of each player merging into something that could almost be described as spiritual.

FROM IMPROV TO POP PUNK: EMI MORIMOTO OF SHONEN KNIFE I NTE RVI E W AN D T R A NSL AT ION BY EMI KA R IYA PHOTOS BY BEX WA DE

I saw Emi Morimoto drum with Shonen Knife for the first time when my band Hard Nips got an offer to play with them at the Knitting Factory in NYC. I was immediately attracted to her energetic, smiling drumming style. Every time I saw them play after that, I would watch as she power blasted her positive energy throughout the entire long, tight set. “She’s constantly full of energy,” lead and original member Naoko says as we sit in the backroom of Bell House before their July 21st show. Bandmate Ritsuko shakes her head and laughs, adding, “Even today, she made breakfast in the morning, was talking and watching YouTube videos on the phone while she pedaled away on the exercise bike, and managed to go have Taiwanese dinner before the show.” Through their constant positivity and pop-punk energy, it’s clear that the members of Shonen Knife are doing exactly what they want to. And this goes for Emi as well, who talked about her happy two years with Shonen Knife in a simple, straight-to-the-point manner with a smile.

SHONENKNIFE.COM

TOM TOM MAGAZINE: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING DRUMS AND WHAT SORT OF MUSIC ACTIVITY WERE YOU INVOLVED IN BEFORE YOU JOINED SHONEN KNIFE? EMI MORIMOTO: For over 10 years, since I was 19. I’ve played

in four to five different kinds of bands. When I joined the band circle in college, there were no drummers to form a band so I said “then I shall.” It’s not like I always wanted to play drums or anything, it just happened. But I LOVE it now!

WHAT WAS THE SHOW THAT WAS MOST IMPRESSIVE TO YOU?

When we played Fuji Rock this year. Fuji Rock show had been my aspiration to play. I keep a diary and after the show, I happened to read back my diary from last year of around that time and I had written about how I wanted to play Fuji Rock. So I thought, Wow! My dream became a reality!

GOING ON TOUR ACROSS THE WORLD, DO YOU FIND THAT DRUMMERS CAN COM-

WERE YOUR OTHER BANDS IN A SIMILAR STYLE TO SHONEN KNIFE? DID YOU ALSO ALWAYS LIKE RAMONES AND PUNK STYLE MUSIC? No, my other

bands were all in a different style. Not punk rock at all, and more experimental style.

MUNICATE BETTER EVEN WHEN YOU CANNOT SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE?

Yes I totally do! Drummers can communicate! I think we feel the vibe as drummers.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT DRUMMING OR INVOLVED IN BAND ACTIV-

COULD YOU TELL ME HOW YOU GOT INVOLVED WITH SHONEN KNIFE?

ITY? I don’t like people who say they’re bored because there is so

In 2010, when I had left my previous band, Ni-Hao!, which was based in Kyoto, where I am from, I got a call from Shonen Knife’s manager. Ni-Hao! had played a show with Shonen Knife and I supposed they had watched me drum.

much you can do around and there’s no way you can be bored.

So I’m always running around doing things. I can’t stand sitting and doing nothing.

SHONEN KNIFE ALWAYS PLAY AN AMAZINGLY TIGHT SET. WHAT’S THE SECRET?

ITE FOOD? Cilantro.

I ALWAYS ASK THIS BECAUSE JAPANESE ARE INTO FOOD: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOR-

IS NAOKO VERY STRICT ABOUT THE MEMBERS PLAYING? Not at all! Her and

the band always let me do what I want to. Even when we make songs, she’ll tell me to come up with my own beat so I’m now involved in the song making with them and on our new album. It’s really comfortable and fun for me to play with them. They’re both very chill and nice.

34

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF SUDDENLY THERE WERE NO DRUMS IN THE WORLD?

I’d dance.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY KIND OF KIT IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM KIT? I’d love it if each drum made a different instrument

sound—like guitar sounds and bass sounds. Then I can have a band on my own with just that kit.

NAME: EMI MORIMOTO AGE: 29 HOMETOWN: KYOTO, JAPAN LIVES IN: KYOTO, JAPAN PAST BANDS: NI HAO!, ULTRA JR. CURRENT BANDS: SHONEN KNIFE DAY JOB: MUSICIAN KIT SETUP: KICK, HIGH TOM, LOW TOM, DOUBLE CYMBALS & RIDE. ENDORSED

BY PAISTE, USING PST8

YOU’D STILL HAVE TO SING THOUGH RIGHT? I already have been singing

“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF SUDDENLY THERE WERE NO DRUMS IN THE WORLD? I’D DANCE.”

while I play drums. Even with Shonen Knife, I’m singing lead vocals in one song as I drum this tour.

WHAT HAVE YOU GAINED FROM SHONEN KNIFE? It’s funny I didn’t realize

before, but Shonen Knife made me rediscover my love for punk rock.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE AS A DRUMMER?

I want to play my dream kit!

AS A FEMALE DRUMMER, DO YOU HOPE TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS? AND HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT IT? I do want to get married and I want

kids too. But I’ve never gotten pregnant before so I really don’t know what it would be like. I need to feel out what it’s like, so I’ll think about it when it happens. I will continue drumming for sure though.

HOW ABOUT THE SCOPE FOR 2013? Before we can think 2013, there

is so much more happening this year. Our new album just came out in June so after this US tour, we’ll be touring UK and Europe in October. Then we’ll have more shows back in Japan too so we’ve got plenty to do this second half of this year!

IN YOUR WORDS, WHAT IS AN AWESOME DRUMMER? A drummer who not

only keeps a beat but transforms their emotions into their beats and communicates by expanding them within each style of song.

35

FACEBOOK.COM/KILLCROCODILES

NO FILLS, NOTHING FANCY, JUST STRAIGHT BEATS

ANNA SCHULTE OF CROCODILES PHOTOS AN D WOR DS BY SIBIL L A CA L ZOL A R I

San Diego isn’t the easiest place to get around if you don’t have a car. So, I am standing at the corner of 5th and Broadway—as far as the bus from my suburb will take me—waiting for drummer Anna Schulte to pick me up for our interview. Minutes later she pulls up in a white ’90s BMW and we wind through the hills before hitting the freeway and reaching the beautiful outskirts of the city. I spot hawks circling in the air above a lake and we get to her house just in time for a California sunset on the terrace. I can’t think of a better way to kick off a conversation with the talented Crocodiles drummer.

to Berlin during 2008 and 2009 and finally, in 2010, we moved to San Diego where he is from. So…long story as to why I am here.

TTM: YOU ARE FROM FRANKFURT, GERMANY. HOW DID YOU END UP LIVING IN SAN DIEGO? ANNA SCHULTE: When I was 19, I applied for this

WHEN YOU MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES DID YOU STILL PLAY WITH THE SLITS? The last tour we did with The Slits was in May 2010. And

brand new University in Liverpool, which was cofounded by Paul McCartney and hosted in his original school. It’s called Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and I was able to study pop music there, which was cool, and I focused on drums actually. After those three years I went to London because I wanted to further my studies. Once in London and finished with my 2nd degree, I started working at the Record Company Mute Records and I was in loads of bands. One of them was called Cash Machine. One of the sub labels of Mute Records is called Blast First and is run by Paul Smith. He happened to be at one of our shows. He said: “Anna, I love your drumming,” and that was it.

Maybe a couple of weeks later he was in the office and said that he wanted to help out a band that wanted to reform. And that was The Slits. He explained that they were still looking for a female drummer and that I should audition for them.

WHEN WAS THAT? That was in 2006. The year I left England to

move to Berlin. One of the first things we did together was a humungous American tour in October 2006. As part of this tour we had a supporting group, the Dmonstrations. And the drummer of Dmonstrations is now my husband, Aaron. I was still living in Berlin and Aaron in America and he eventually moved 36

WHEN YOU STUDIED IN LIVERPOOL, YOU PROBABLY STUDIED DIFFERENT STYLES. DID YOU START FROM JAZZ? I wish. If I could turn my

life back I would just concentrate on Jazz. I did study lots of different drum styles, including jazz, but the schooling I went through was more Rock Pop oriented. I would love to really heavily master Jazz.

I had moved to the U.S. in January 2010. When that last tour finished, that was when the Crocodiles called.

DID THEY HAVE ANOTHER DRUMMER BEFORE? BECAUSE THEY USED TO BE JUST A DUO... They were just touring as a duo with an iPod. Hollie

actually told me that they were planning to get a band together for live performances. So initially they got a drummer from New York, but the band was based in San Diego and I was now living here so...

HOW DID YOU GET INTO DRUMMING? Originally I learned classical

violin. I started when I was 12 and also played in the school orchestra. I learned violin until I was 19. When I hit 14 I wanted to be a bit more of a rebel so I got myself an electric guitar, had lessons and my first band. We managed to get a rehearsal space in one of the old Second World War bunkers in Frankfurt and I was the one with the key to this space. This bunker was between my parents’ house and the bar I used to go to all the time. So on my way home I always thought: “Oh, I guess no one is practicing right now so I could go and bash on the drums.” I enjoyed it so much and I thought that if I took drum lessons just for a year it would really improve my timing for my guitar playing.

NAME: ANNA SCHULTE AGE: 30 HOMETOWN: FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY LIVES IN: SAN DIEGO, CA DAY JOB: CROCODILES PAST BANDS: THE SLITS, SCHULTE/ERIKSSON CURRENT BANDS: CROCODILES

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST BAND CALLED? Notsonne.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC WAS IT? In a review they called us “pseudo-

intellectual high school girl goth.” I forgot, I was kind of a little goth at the time. Not bad. We got plenty of attention and won an award in Frankfurt where we won a free recording of an EP at 17!

WHAT WERE THE OTHER BANDS YOU PLAYED IN WHILE YOU LIVED IN THE UK? So many. At 20 in Liverpool I formed my own band, which

also got some good attention. It was picked up by John Peel who called me and played it on the incredible John Peel show.

THE MUSIC SCENE THERE MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE INSPIRING. DID YOU FIND SOMETHING COMPARABLE IN SAN DIEGO? I guess the situation is just

different because when I moved to Liverpool it was the first time away from home and we walked the streets of Liverpool listening to Echo And The Bunnymen rehearsing. And walking the streets where The Beatles once lived. And then living in London was even more exciting. Literally every band plays there...Your whole life revolves around every new band, and having done that for six years, is probably the reason why I wasn’t searching for that kind of environment once I moved to San Diego. With life being so busy touring all the time I almost think that my life in San Diego is a bit of a retreat.

WILL YOU GO ON TOUR THIS YEAR? Yes, we will be playing an insane

amount of shows between now and April 2013 when we start on our next album...For now we have tours in Europe and U.S. multiple times, festivals in the summer and then Asia and Australia are also on the map for later this year!

WHAT MUSIC HAS INFLUENCED YOUR STYLE? I have two different ap-

proaches here because when I look at myself as a guitar player I focus on the song—I mean melody and chords only—and as a guitar player I don’t care so much about technique, because I always think that the stuff that sounds difficult also sounds kind of corny. With drums it’s a different story. Not that I am obsessed with technicality or hard-to-play stuff, but when you have drums that are difficult I always instantly think it sounds amazing. I am talking specifically 1960s Rock drummers and all the Jazz masters like Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones. If you think about it, during the late 1950s you only had Jazz drums pretty much and so all the 1960s Rock drummers had to have studied Jazz because that was all there was. So they all have a more intricate style when playing Rock/Pop to a lot of drummers nowadays. When you look at Keith Moon or Robert Wyatt from the Soft Machine or Mitch Mitchell for instance, their style is what I love—this lively but non-metal 1960s rock style. Having said that, in the Crocodiles I don’t really play like that because they come from a much more minimalistic approach. When I joined the band they actually said to me, “No fills, nothing fancy, just straight beats.”

37

FACEBOOK.COM/JEEPNEYS

JEEPNEYS

LET THE ANCESTORS SPEAK

BY IR AYA R OBL ES PH OT OS BY T OSH

Jeepneys is the tonal conduit of Anna Luisa Petrisko. Her Filipina Feminist Tropical beats are atmospheric, polyrhythmic, ambient, danceable, and experimental.

Jeepneys frequently features guests and collaborators, including Nora Vecchi on Harp and Mel Pak on synth, sampler, and bass. The result is an otherworldly collage of sound.

NAME: ANNA LUISA PETRISKO AGE: 30 HOMETOWN: INNER SPACE LIVES IN: OUTER SPACE PAST BANDS: EGGS ON LEGGS, MOON, QUAGGA, SCHWULE CURRENT BANDS: JEEPNEYS, MOTHER POPCORN FAVORITE FOOD: COCONUTS FAVE BOSS: MINDY ABOVITZ DAY JOB: MFA STUDENT

Anna Luisa is the co-founder of the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and has served as director for the last four years. She also studies with renowned Free Jazz violinist India Cooke. As her Ate (elder sis), fellow queerdo Filipina Mestiza artista and sometimes collaborator, my personal connection with Anna Luisa runs deep. I love Mother Popcorn, her phenomenal WOC lady percussion duo with the brilliant Adee Roberson. They chill hard. When I was doing StaPrest in the ’90s, this is all a part of the musical movement I wanted to happen back then. Jeepneys Electro Pinayism Waves are mesmerizing. Time travel with her to new terrain. I am bringing my gongs.

IRAYA ROBLES: JEEPNEYS HAS A VERY LAYERED MIX OF STYLES/GENRES. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT SETUP? Anna Luisa Petrisko: My gear is very

percussive-centric. Drums are my true musical calling. I make 38

beats on hardware such as the Electribe ESX, which is also a sampler. This machine allows me to write melodies and produce cool synth sounds as well. I also play an array of acoustic instruments including a toy piano, Slovakian wooden flute, violin, and roto-toms. I use a contact mic that goes through a multi-effects unit called a Kaoss Pad to manipulate the sounds of these instruments and I sing through a Boss Space Echo Pedal and use a Loop station.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PINAYISM IN A MUSICAL/ART MOVEMENT SENSE, REPPING FILIPINA MESTIZA-NESS? MEDITATIONS ON THIS?

Our cultures are in our blood, our ancestral memories, deep in our psyches. I don’t believe we can separate our art from our cultural identities, it seeps in and seeps out. I am a mixed-race Filipina and Slovak—a Mestiza! Besides stating the obvious, which is that I named my project Jeepneys (one of the most salient cultural icons of the Philippines), it gets deeper than that. My Lolo and Lola ran a Jeepney business in Manila. Jeepneys themselves are re-contextualized from U.S. military jeeps. Taking an item that has been discarded by your colonizer and turning it into something functional, beautiful, and unique—this is what’s up! I see parallels in the way that I use junk and discarded instru-

“OUR CULTURES ARE IN OUR BLOOD, OUR ANCESTRAL MEMORIES, DEEP IN OUR PSYCHES. I DON’T BELIEVE WE CAN SEPARATE OUR ART FROM OUR CULTURAL IDENTITIES, IT SEEPS IN AND SEEPS OUT.” ments in conjunction with fancy electronics to make new hybrid sounds. Hybrid sounds for a hybrid Mestiza! The future meets the past meets the present, full circle.

I SEE A MIX OF INTUITIVENESS AND INTENTIONALITY IN JEEPNEYS. HOW DO YOU APPROACH BEAT MAKING AND SONG-WRITING? That’s interesting

that you picked up on that. It starts off as pure intuition, the meaning is almost always discovered afterwards. I rarely know what I am writing about until I am deep in the process. Once I put it out there, the cosmos, the spirits, and the ancestors reveal what the work is. Then it becomes alive in this way and the lyrics/melodies/structures start to make sense.

THE ANCESTORS ARE SPEAKING THROUGH YOUR DRUM MACHINE!

Yes!

VERONICA BELLINO

BY J E NI FE R R UA NO PHOTOS BY TOME R ROM

AGE: 29 HOMETOWN: NEW YORK LIVES IN: LOS ANGELES, CA PAST BANDS: ROB BALDUCCI BAND, CARMINE APPICE’S SL AMM, 13, DMC CURRENT BANDS: JEFF BECK, STREET DRUM CORPS FAVORITE FOOD: SEAFOOD

TWENTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD VERONICA BELLINO has accomplished more

in her early career as a drummer/percussionist than most twice her age, and she has the badges to prove it. She has beat the hell out of trash can lids and pipes in SLAMM and played with artists as diverse as Jeff Beck and LL Cool J. Tom Tom caught up with this versatile and talented musician to talk about her early Metal influences, snare drum syncopations and her new home of Los Angeles.

TTM: YOU ARE A LADY WITH SUCH DIVERSE TALENT. YOU’VE PLAYED EVERYTHING FROM A TRADITIONAL KIT TO OBJECTS LIKE PIPES, BUCKETS AND TRASH CAN LIDS. HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD THAT BEAT INSIDE YOU THAT WANTED TO GET OUT AND HIT THINGS? VERONICA BELLINO: I think so.

Even when I was learning guitar I had a tendency to tap on myself, desks, even car steering wheels when I drive!

39

FACEBOOK.COM/VROCK888

YOU HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM WELL-RESPECTED DRUM PROFESSOR FRED KALTZ (DRUMMERS’ COLLECTIVE, NYC) IN THE EARLY PART OF YOUR CAREER. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE?

I learned a lot of cool stuff from Fred. He had a great approach to taking snare drum syncopations and applying them to the kit in different ways. For example, we would keep 8th notes on the hi-hat, and play whatever was on the 1st and 3rd beat on the kick, and the 2nd and 4th beats would be on the snare. Some of the beats would be really out there depending on how syncopated the phrase was. It was a cool way to apply simple snare drum reading to the kit.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR EARLY MUSICAL INFLUENCES? When I was first

starting out I was really into Nirvana, Korn, Pantera, Sepultura, bands like that. Later I started listening to drummers like Carter Beauford, Billy Martin and Dave Weckl. I loved it all and I think it definitely influenced my playing, especially when playing Rock.

I was told that I had a unique style from other rock drummers.

HOW HAS YOUR FAMILY SUPPORTED YOUR CAREER AS A MUSICIAN? They’ve

supported me since day one! My parents bought me a guitar for my 11th birthday and it pretty much all started from there. Later on, after taking some guitar lessons and figuring out that I was a drummer, they got me a kit. My mom drove me to my first show ever. I was about 16.

“AFTER TAKING SOME GUITAR LESSONS AND FIGURING OUT THAT I WAS A DRUMMER, MY PARENTS GOT ME A KIT. MY MOM DROVE ME TO MY FIRST SHOW EVER. I WAS ABOUT 16.”

YOU INITIALLY STARTED YOUR CAREER IN NEW YORK AND NOW YOU ARE LOCATED IN LOS ANGELES. WHAT ARE SOME DIFFERENCES THAT YOU SEE IN THE MUSIC SCENE IN NY VERSUS L.A.? The NY scene is tough because

it is very spread out. In L.A. I feel that there is more going on in a more compact space. It’s easier to meet people and network. I’ve met some pretty heavy hitters just hanging around Hollywood. I find that very rare in New York.

YOU WERE ASKED TO JOIN THE SMASH DRUM SHOW SLAMM IN 2007. THIS IS SUCH A UNIQUE AND INVIGORATING SHOW WHERE THE USE OF PERCUSSION HAS NO BOUNDS. HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED? Well I was at a bar

one night when a fellow drummer came up to me and said he saw my band play recently. We started talking and he mentioned that Carmine Appice was looking for drummers, specifically a female, for his new drum show. He gave me the contact info and I sent in a video of myself soloing. The guy that was handling the auditions said that all the positions were filled but he would forward my video to Carmine anyway. I figured that I was too late and didn’t think anything of it after that. Maybe one or two days later I got a call from Carmine. I remember him saying something like “Ey, you are pretty good, girl. How did you get so f*in fast?” So he actually ended up adding me to the cast as the sixth member even though he wanted only five.

YOU THEN WENT ON TO DO SOME WORK WITH LL COOL J’S BAND 13. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE. Hip Hop was something I had

never done so when I heard 13’s music, it intrigued me because it was not just Hip Hop—it had a mix of rock and alternative.

It was something different for me and I really liked the music a lot. The musicians in the band were top notch, even the DJ, DJ Crossphada, played the turntables like an instrument. The dynamic was great. It was an amazing experience, and it was amazing to work with LL. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK AND PLAY ALONGSIDE JEFF BECK? Completely

surreal. It is an honor to play with such a legend. It is so fulfilling to me because I have worked so hard over the years and to land a gig such as this is the most unbelievable feeling. It is a very comfortable vibe because Jeff is a great individual and has a sense of humor, so I can be myself, which makes working with him that much better!

YOU’VE ALSO COLLABORATED WITH JEFF BECK ON SONGWRITING AND ARRANGING. WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU NATURALLY FELL INTO OR HAVE YOU WRITTEN SONGS FOR A WHILE?

I have been writing songs for a while by myself and with different producers. I landed a placement with DMC [RunDMC] last year, which I am really proud of. His first single is called Attention Please. I wrote the melody and lyrics for the hook of the song, which on the record, were sung by Pauley Perrette of NCIS. Songwriting and singing are huge passions of mine, aside from drumming.

HAVING ALREADY WORKED WITH SOME AMAZING MUSICIANS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE?

I would love to work with Lady Gaga, writing, playing, or even just to hang out with. We are both Italians from New York so it has to work out well!

TELL ME ABOUT THE KIT YOU PLAY ON (SIZE, CYMBALS, ACCESSORIES, STICKS, ETC). I just got my new Yamaha Stage Custom Birch kit.

I love it! I use the Mapex Falcon pedal and Vic Firth American Classic 5A wood tip sticks.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT DRUMMING?

Making myself and other people move!

NAME: ALEXEY POBLETE AGE: 9 HOMETOWN: L AS VEGAS, NV LIVES IN: L AS VEGAS CURRENT BANDS: AC GENERATION DAY JOB: BEING A 9-YEAR-OLD GENIUS KIT SETUP: PEARL DRUMS AND SOULTONE CYMBALS

ALEXEY POBLETE

BY C OL L EEN SIVIT ER PHOTO C OU RT ESY OF A RT IST

Watching an eight-year-old flawlessly execute the drums during a cover of “Nightmare” by the California heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, it’s hard not to be at least a little skeptical. How could this kid be so good? And at the time, Alexey Poblete had only been playing for a year and a half. A scan of the comments on one of her many YouTube videos (some with tens of thousands of views) reveals an ongoing debate about the authenticity of her drumming, with fans quick to defend her talent.

“I don’t really deal with it,” says the now-nine-year-old, who speaks with the confidence of someone who knows her abilities.

A hefty schedule of school, practice and performing keeps this girl way too busy rocking to respond to naysayers. Since beginning lessons with instructor David White in 2009, Poblete has competed in and won a number of national drumming competitions, the first after she had only been taking lessons for six months. Her love of performing for an audience has led her to play with legendary musicians Patti LaBelle and Stevie Wonder, among others.

With supportive and marketing-savvy parents on her side, Poblete has been the subject of online videos for more than two years, some sponsored by Soultone Cymbals, covering songs by such bands as Rush, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath. Her penchant for classic rock covers is balanced by a healthy dose of Lady Gaga

and Britney Spears pop hits, and she effortlessly crushes some of the most complicated drum lines. Her list of inspirational drummers is a little more diverse and includes Cindy Blackman, Emmanuelle Caplette, Sheila E, Neal Peart, Eric Singer, and a slew of YouTube drummers.

She decided she wanted to play drums after watching Nickelodeon’s The Naked Boy Band and the carryover influence is obvious in her band AC Generation, which also features her brother Cidney on bass and keyboards. Doing mostly covers, AC Generation offers polished Nickelodeon-worthy jams and even have their own music video. It’s clear that Poblete loves what she does and sees drumming as a lifelong career. “I want to play on stage mostly everyday in front of people,” she says when asked about her goals. “I really like to give performances, it makes me feel good.”

Cut through all the marketing and Poblete is a truly talented and promising drummer that has the potential to reach prolific status. She pushes the boundaries of what we expect a kid can do, therefore broadening our understanding. Accomplishing her dream of being one of the greatest drummers in the world will take a lifetime to determine, but we definitely look forward to witnessing the journey.

IRISPORTER.COM / L ASTREGIMENT.COM

ONE DRUMMER ONE QUESTION

BY L I S A SCH O NB ERG P ORT R AI T S BY IRIS P O RT ER

FULL NAME: JODY LASKY NICKNAME: JODYSTROYER CURRENT CITY: PORTLAND, OR AGE: 38 PAST BANDS: STINK AND LINGER, SCRATCH CURRENT BANDS: LAST REGIMENT OF SYNCOPATED DRUMMERS, MUDDY RIVER NIGHTMARE BAND, BROKEN BODIES LRSD GEAR: 15” X 12”, 10-LUG 1960S LUDWIG METAL SNARE WITH SYNTHETIC ‘GUT’ SNARES; VIC FIRTH CORPSMASTER RALPH HARDIMON DRUMSTICKS DAY JOB: MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST

JODY LASKY

of Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD AS YOU PERFORM?

I try to focus on the whole picture: Am I loud enough? Are my arms/sticks high enough?

Are my rolls accurate? Am I marching on the correct foot? Am I marching in line with the rest of my rank? The cadences have to be embedded in muscle memory, so that there is room to think about other details. It takes a lot of practice to become proficient at changing from cadence to cadence, to keep your drum under control while marching, and to execute choreography with precision. I also keep a mental tally of mistakes I make during a performance, because my friend Pam and I charge each other various fees for errors. It helps with accuracy!

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When we first heard and saw The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers, we were immediately blown away by their immense and tight sound. We’re so glad we came across their radar: they showed up unannounced and uninvited at our release party in Portland, Oregon at Holocene in January 2010. We heard their insanely tight thunder from inside the venue and were bewildered as to who/what it was; all the women in their troupe lined up on the sidewalk beside mingling show attendees, and performed. We invited them to perform in the venue, and their sound filled up every inch of the show space and shook everyone inside it. This installation of One Drummer One Questions features two women from LRSD. LRSD is very excited to be traveling to Long Beach, CA this summer to play with over 100 syncopated drummers at Drumageddon; they will also perform at Disneyland. If you’re in Portland, listen for these amazing performers around town; you might hear their thunder coming from under the Morrison bridge at their weekly practices.

FULL NAME: GERALDINE GLADDEN NICKNAMES: FRENCHY HOMETOWN: PARIS, FRANCE CURRENT CITY: PORTLAND, OR AGE: 39 DAY JOB: SALES REP FOR ARCHITECTURAL/ART GLASS COMPANY OTHER PROJECTS: GLASS WORK LRSD GEAR: 15” X 12” 10 LUG WOODEN TENOR DRUM WITH KEVLAR HEAD; STEEL/FELT MALLETS

GERALDINE GLADDEN

of Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD AS YOU PERFORM? [There is a learning curve] to coordinating marching while playing, but once you get it, it is

second nature—so I don’t really think about my feet while we play. I usually do not count beats. My cues are more musical. I know what we’re supposed to sound like, and I stay focused on the rest of the tenor section, since we want to sound like one drum, and on the snares for tempo.

Zoning out for more than a few seconds is risky because that’s all it takes to miss the hand signal announcing the next cadence. If you miss something, at best a handful of us will notice and smile or cringe; at worst, a domino effect causes others to screw up if they’re waiting for your cue. Staying focused definitely pays off. When everyone really plays tightly together, it’s like [we are each] a part of a centrifuge that spins at a perfect speed and rhythm, taking us off the ground and sending just the right amount of adrenaline to create something really loud, sharp and powerful. It’s definitely a good high!

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I L LUS T RAT I O N S BY KE L LY A BE L N

T EC H N I Q UE

RIDE VARIATIONS

BY DAW N R IC H A R DSON

By “Ride Variations� I mean the ride part, not necessarily that it has to be played on the ride cymbal. For right-handed drummers, that is the part usually played with the right hand. We most commonly start with eighth notes on the hi-hat and I have used that below for the starting grooves. Feel free to try other textures on your kit for the ride part.

These exercises and variations can be applied to any beats to help increase your drumming vocabulary. This is one way that we can take what we already know and create something new. You might need just a little change in your groove to make that part in the song click hopefully these tips will help you create your own new grooves.

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Dawn Richardson is a drummer from the Bay Area. In addition to playing, programming, and teaching drums, Dawn has had several drum method books published (available through Mel Bay Publications). She has B.A. in Percussion Education and has toured or recorded with many artists including 4 Non Blondes, Tracy Chapman, Mental 99, The Loud Family, and Penelope Houston.

FERNANDATERRA.COM

ED U CAT IO N

Starting Groove

Key:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Hi-Hat or Ride

4¿ / 4

Snare

œ

¿ .. œ

Kick

œ

¿

¿œ

¿ œ

¿ ‰

¿ œ J

¿œ

¿

..

These first three variations work best at faster tempos. Make sure to count and play them slowly first.

Gradually increase your speed, repeating each groove many times.

1

¿ . . / œ

¿œ

œ

¿ ‰

œ J

¿œ

2

‰ .. .. œ

¿j œ‰

¿j ‰ œ ‰

¿j œ‰ œ J

¿j

..

These last three variations work better at slower tempos.

They sound great on the ride cymbal as well.

3

¿ . / .œ

¿œ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ 4 ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ ¿ ¿ .. .. œ .. œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ J J

¿ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ 6 ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿œ ¿ ¿ .. .. œ .. / .. œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ J J 5

45

ED U CAT IO N

AN EXERCISE FOR DEVELOPING THE SINGLE STROKE ROLL

BY JEA NET T E KA NG A S

I learned this exercise, which concentrates on developing the single stroke roll, from Richard Wilson who taught drum techniques in Los Angeles. The goal of this exercise is to strengthen the wrist and balance out the hands while, at the same time, instill a keen sense of sub-divisions.

The exercise has a metronome marking of 40 to 48 beats per minute. This metronome marking is to be adhered to strictly. The reason for this is that the purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the wrists. If the metronome marking were to be any faster, the drummer would have to use their fingers in order to execute the exercise properly, especially the subdivisions above five.

Begin the exercise by setting the metronome to 40. Starting with the right hand, play four even strokes per each click of the metronome, striking the playing surface by using up and down strokes produced by turning the wrist. Do not manipulate the stick by using the fingers or elbow. Use wrist turns only. This applies to both match and traditional grip.

Count the four strokes that you are playing with your right hand by simply counting 1,2,3,4 46

(Example A). With the left hand, play the strokes in between the strokes that you are all ready playing (Example B). After that addition, you should be playing eight strokes per metronome click.

Repeat the exercise several times, striving for a perfect evenness of sound for all of the strokes.

After repeating the exercise several times, play the exercise again. However, this time, start the exercise with the left hand playing four even beats to the metronome while using the right hand to fill in.

Repeat this entire exercise using five beats per each metronome click (Example C & D), then six, then seven and finally eight.

Jeanette Kangas has been performing, recording and teaching drums for the past twenty-five years in Los Angeles CA. Some of the artists that she has performed and or recorded with have been Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Haden, Stacey Rowels, Maiden Voyage, and the Northern Lights Ensemble. She is currently recording and performing with Ensemble Off n On (www.ensembleoffnon.com). Jeanette currently resides and is teaching in San Diego CA. She has her Masters in jazz studies from California Institute of the Arts. For more information please visit: www.sandiegodrumsetlessons.com

PARADIDDLE PERMUTATIONS

BY KR IST EN G L EESON- PR ATA

the fifth bar. The last 16th note of that sequence runs into the seventh bar of the exercise, and then another placeholder 16th note is added on the “and” of 1 so that the last set of paradiddles starts on the “a” of 1 in the seventh bar. That set goes until the end of the eighth bar, and then the whole exercise is repeated.

The third and fourth lines you see below are different ostinatos to play with your feet while you play the paradiddles in your hands. I suggest mastering the exercise with your hands before adding your feet.

Once you’ve comfortably incorporated the ostinatos, you will see that since your hands are playing over the bar lines. The ostinatos make it easier to feel the quarter note. Feel free to experiment with different rudiments in your hands and different ostinatos in your feet! Happy practicing

The concept of this exercise was introduced to me by one of my favorite teachers to date, Chicago-based drummer/percussionist/educator, Fred Selvaggio. It’s a great workout for your independence, your left hand, and your general timekeeping. The exercise written out below is for drum set, but it can easily be adapted to a drumline situation by having the snare and tenor lines playing the paradiddles, while the bass and cymbal lines play some fun splits highlighting the ostinatos. Feel free to use it however you see fit for your own growth!

The exercise is eight bars in length. Bars one and two consist of 16th note alternating single paradiddles, starting with the right hand, with accents on the first note of each. Bars three and four consist of the same thing, but shifted one 16th note later. In the place of the first 16th note, there is an unaccented placeholder 16th note in the left hand. The last 16th note of that sequence runs into the fifth bar of the exercise, and then another placeholder 16th note is added on the “e” of 1 so that the third set of paradiddles starts on the “and” of 1 in

Paradiddle Permutations

Drum Set

ã 44

∑

Kristen Gleeson-Prata is a drummer from Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, she relocated to Los Angeles. You can find her playing drums and percussion with Hope Waits, Kristy Hanson, Kenton Chen, and many more. For more information visit: kgpmusic.com

∑

∑

∑

>œœœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœ >œœœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœ œœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœ œœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœ . ã .

RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL

LRLR RLRL LRLR RLRL

LRLR RLRL LRLR RLRL

>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œ œœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œ œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ> œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>œœœœ>. œœœ . ã LLRL RRLR LLRL RRLR

LLRL RRLR LLRL RRLR

LLLR LRRL RLLR LRRL

RLLR LRRL RLLR LRRL

ã .. œ œ œ œ .. .. x x x x .. .. œ x œ x .. .. x œ x œ .. ã .. œ x œ x œ x œ x .. .. x œ x œ x œ x œ .. .. œ x œ œ ã

∑

∑

.. œ x x x ∑

47

SWISS TRIPLETS ON THE KIT

SWISS TRIPLET

BY M OR G A N DOC T OR

SWISS TRIPLET

R L

LR

LR

L R

RL

L R

RL

R L

SWISS TRIPLET SWISSFILL TRIPLET FILL APPLICATION APPLICATION 3

3

LR

RL

R L

LR RL

R L

Everything, and I mean everything you hear being played on the kit, no matter how complicated, can be broken down into basic rudiments. Knowing your rudiments and being able to apply them to the kit in multiple variations, is a great way take your drumming to the next level. The Swiss Triplet is a combination of two rudiments, the flam and the triplet. This rudiment is highly effective as a fill around the kit or used as a beat. The first step of learning the Swiss Triplet is to play it on the snare. There are two different sticking patterns you can try. One works side to side, the other stays in one hand (leading with the right or left hand repeatedly). Remember to always accent the flam of the rudiment.

Once you have the feel of playing the Swiss Triplet in both sticking variations, you can try leading with your right hand, moving your right hand around drum kit and then leading and moving with your left. You can use it

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3

LR RL

R L

3

LR RL

R L

as a one bar fill around the kit. Once you feel comfortable moving around the kit and playing the Swiss Triplet leading with either hand, you can bring in the kick drum.

See the “Fill Application” example below. Another great variation is taking the Swiss Triplet and turning it into a beat. This can be done by using the second sticking pattern (LR L R RL R L) and placing the right hand on the hi hat. Basically, this sticking pattern morphs the Swiss Triplet into a Flam Accent. The Flam Accent is another versatile rudiment that can be played all around the kit, but more about those in another issue! For now, you can play the kick on 1 and 3, or mix it up into any combination you want to try.

Morgan Doctor is a female jazz/rock drummer who has toured the world, and recorded with artists such as: Andy Kim, The Cliks, Bob Wiseman and The Tea Party. Morgan has also shared the stage with Cyndi Lauper, B-52’s, Indigo Girls, the Gossip, Debbie Harry, Feist, and many more.

EDU CAT I O N

DRUM MACHINE LOVE _U_N_R_ _

WORD S AN D I LLU STRATI ON BY AI ME E NORWI CH

I decided to do something fun and different this time. This one requires reader participation! The first person to guess the name of this drum machine, and its maker, wins a print of my drawing of it, or a print of any of the drum machines that I’ve drawn for Tom Tom. This is an illustration of an older model (sans momentary switches), and I feminized the color scheme a bit, but it’s still recognizable.

Here are some clues and fun info: The word puzzle above is the inventor’s name. Fill in the blanks correctly, and you have half of the mystery solved.

This machine is cool in all kinds of ways. For one, the panel is color-coded. Some drum machine panels can start to look like tax forms, so, this having such a simple layout, is sweet.

Also, the inventor is a fellow Virgo residing in Louisiana.

There are very few of these in existence, so, you can’t go to your local music store and buy one. And if you steal one, you can’t use it anyway, because it requires a secret key! I love that kind of paranoiac detail – only a Virgo would think of that.

Aimee Norwich is a musician, composer, and producer and a regular contributor to Tom Tom Magazine. For more info, please visit www.aimeenorwich.com

As for what it sounds like – RAD! It’s photoelectric oscillating fun! You can read all about the technical thing-a-ma-jigs online. But basically, the machine’s four voices are triggered by intermittent or switchable light activation. My favorite thing about this machine is that it has its very own TV show, which is pure psychedelic madness! So good luck and email me when you find out what it is.

VINTAGE RHETORIC CHA-CHA PEDAL

BY J OSE ME D E LE S

This is one of my favorite finds. It is called a CHA-CHA pedal. I found it in a small rural town in Illinois, of all places. The Cha-cha pedal is a pair of maracas hooked up to a bass drum-type pedal that produces a rhythm when stepped on. It came equipped with Comet maracas from Mexico. It was introduced in the mid 1950s during the mambo craze and was manufactured by Sunnyside Music out of Long Island, NY. The inventor was Charles Korosh. This amazing piece of percussion is an excellent representation of when fad, function and innovation cross paths. These are extremely rare, so if you see one grab it and get your cha cha on!

This is our regular column on vintage drums by Jose Medeles. Jose is the owner of Revival Drum Shop in Portland, Oregon. It specializes in vintage and custom drums, and is full of all sorts of percussive treasures. Jose plays the drums in The Breeders and the 1939 Ensemble.

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D.I.Y DRUM WORKOUT PART THREE

BY ST EP H B ARKE R ILLUS T RAT I ONS

BY KAREN COD D

This is roughly a 20-25 minute workout. These 10 moves can all be done in your practice space (or anywhere really) using just your drum equipment as your weights.

The key is to do 3 strength moves, 2 cardio moves, and 1 ab move in that order. Repeat that cycle 3 times, and you’ve got an intense 20-minute body buster. Summer is coming to an end, but don’t go into hibernation mode yet! Keep an eye out for Version 4.0 in the next issue!

ST RE NG TH : Pick the cymbal stand you are most comfortable with and keep using it for all the strength moves. The crash is typically lighter than the ride stand. So, keep that in mind when selecting your stand.

Your stands should be completely closed and as streamlined as possible.

Your crash stand will typically weigh anywhere from 8-10 lbs, and your ride stand will weigh about 10-12lbs.

1. DEAD LIFT

Form is very important with this move.

Hold your cymbal stand in front of your body in both hands, palms facing you. It should be hanging around your waist area.

Slowly, keeping your chest up, back flat, and shoulders back, lower the stand until it gets to your knee area. Your legs should remain straight the whole time, with only a very slight bed at the knee. The primary motion is the bend at your waist. Not your back.

Again, your back is to remain flat. If you have a mirror in front of you, you should be able to look at yourself in the eye the entire time. Shoulders back, and chest up! Repeat 15x. You are targeting your hamstrings with this move.

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THIS WORKOUT REQUIRES: • A CYMBAL STAND • A SNARE • A GOOD ATTITUDE

2. SNARE KISS PUSH UP

Place a snare drum flat on the ground. Get into push up position over the drum. Hands are on the ground to the sides of the drum, and your head is above the snare. Looking down upon it. The name explains the rest. Lower down close enough to kiss your drum, and then push back up. Spread the love for 15 reps. * If you need a modification for a push up, you can be on your knees instead of your feet. Your back still needs to be flat and extended though, no cheating.

3. FORWARD LUNGE W/ ROTATION

Stand up straight holding a snare drum into your chest. Step forward with your right leg, and sink down to create a 90-degree angle in both of your knees. Make sure your knee is not over your toe in your front leg. Keep your spine neutral, chest up and shoulders back. Inhale on the way down.

While you are down, rotate your torso to the right. Abs should be engaged, and exhale. On the rotation back to center, inhale, and then exhale as you lift back up from the lunge. Next, do the same thing on your left side. 15x on each side. *To make this move more difficult, hold the snare drum out further from your chest.

Try fully extending your arms. Ouch!

CARDIO: 1. BUTT KICKS

This move requires you to run in place and bring your heels up and back so far that you do indeed kick your butt. Keep it moving for 30 seconds.

2. PLANK JACKS

These are amazing. They are so horrible, but so amazing. Get into a push up position on the ground, this is also known as a plank position. Next, jump your legs out and in, as if you are doing a jumping jack with your legs, but on the ground.

Feel the inner thigh burn! Repeat for 30 seconds.

ABS: 1. PLANK

You should be very familiar with this position after this workout. As stated above, this is a push up position. Keep your hands under your elbows, which are under your shoulders. It is very important to have that nice, straight line up of your arm joints. Unnecessary stress could cause injury. Keep your butt down, and your back straight like a tabletop. Remember to breath, and you should feel your abs engaging. You’re welcome in advance for the triceps, shoulders, and abs of steel you will have after this move. Start with a 30 second hold, and try to add 15 seconds each time you repeat the cycle. If you want to get extra crazy, put a snare drum on your back. Then start stacking!

THE L ATEST ON THE GREATEST / GEARHEADS

GEAR REVIEWS TOP PICK AQUARIAN FORCE 10 DRUM HEADS aquariandrumheads.com

YAMAHA ACOUSTIC EQ VENTING SYSTEM usa.yamaha.com

RANDALL MAY CARRIER

Whoa. Yamaha has created a venting system for the marching snare drum. Ten vents have been machined into the 14” snare ring, and they can be closed/opened by a slide switch mounted to the side of the ring. This is pretty much the most epic thing to hit the indoor marching scene. In an outdoor competition, you cannot really hear a drastic difference in tone, but inside is a different story. The air is released to give the drum a much beefier, and breathy sound. The closing/opening action can also be crafted into a cool visual too.

Always wanted to create a dramatic breakdown with heavy a hitting backbeat for a competition?

Check this system out. — Steph Barker

The Aquarian Force 10 heads are great for drummers looking to get a thuddier sound out of their drums without losing too much volume. The Force 10 tom head is really cool for heavy drummers because they are a twoply 20-mil head. Standard two-ply drumheads are 2 ply 14-mil, so the extra Mylar provides extra durability and makes the drumhead sound tonally lower. The great thing about the Force 10 clear was that you not only got the low tones and punch of a meaty drum head you also got sharp attack even at low tunings.

— Candace Hansen

randallmay.com This is the newest harness by Randall May. It is the same as the last one but with a back plate and the back plate is awesome.

There are of course cons to having so many adjustable parts on a harness, but those parts allow for a very custom fit. Being a small lady, this harness fits great. I can set the bend at the chest, and also bring up the plate on the bottom so that I can actually move my hips/walk. The back plate gives this carrier a very snug and supportive fit.

You do need a partner to help you strap into this thing, but it is worth it. Just lift the back plate up, get into the harness, and have a buddy swing it back down. Have them give it a little push into your back before tightening.

— Steph Barker

AQUARIAN TRIPLE THREAT SNARE HEAD & SUPERKICK 10 BASS DRUM HEAD aquariandrumheads.com

VIC FIRTH HEAVY HITTER BASS PAD vicfirth.com

Yes, it exists! I had no clue that there was even a practice pad for the marching bass drum.

Snare and tenor pads have been around forever, but now bass drummers can actually practice on a setup that mimic’s an actual performance experience. This pad is made to mount onto a cymbal stand. The mount has two diameters, allowing it to fit on virtually any brand. The barbell is 14” across, standard length, and allows 100% visibility of your hands. Now, you can make sure both hands are sitting at correct angles, and that you are striking the center of the drum.

Another excellent feature is that the further from center you play, the louder the metal resonates, making you aware of incorrect positioning.

— Steph Barker

The Triple Threat snare head is a great addition to the previously mentioned heads, consisting of 3-plies of 7-mil Mylar it packs punch attack and warmth with every hit. For being the heaviest drum head I have ever played on a snare drum it surprised me with how responsive it was! The Triple Threat lets you have durability, power, attack and response all out of the same head.

The Superkick 10 is the sister to the Force 10’s; it is a two-ply 20-mil bass drum head with a felt ring attached inside for dampening. The Superkick 10 delivers body and attack without compromise! This drumhead seriously delivered; it had a great fast pedal response even tuned really low. It was easy to tune and sounded good right out of the box without stretching it out before the gig.

— Candace Hansen

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MUSIC TOP PICK LOW FAT GETTING HIGH

MI-GU

Chocolate Brontosaurus Recordings | March 2012

Chimera Music | October 2012

Where 2010’s 1,000 Years was quiet and introspective, Kill My Blues means to get you on your feet and dancing. Many songs follow the lead of “Neskowin,” dancing around Sara Lund’s disco beats while howling out an anecdote.

Others just straight-up rock, reminding you of the best Sleater-Kinney had to offer, though with a bit more of a jammy edge. Key, though, is a sense of frustration undercutting most of these tracks: “Instead of going forward, where the hell we going now?” Tucker asks on “Groundhog Day.” Lyrically, she never quite answers, but the music says plenty: to the dancefloor.

The idea of a self-proclaimed noise punk band recording an EP at a major sneaker corporation’s recording studio might make you roll your eyes, but bear with me for a second: Brooklyn dudefronted trio Low Fat Getting High gets the irony, and come at it with a mix of post-punk snark, post hardcore pathos, and metal aggression.

Recorded at Converse’s Rubber Tracks studio, Pros and Cons takes on the “professionalism” (read: insufferable phoniness) of urban 20-something culture in the age of social media with crisp percussion, a super fuzzed-out bass, and satisfyingly shout-sung vocals. Their tightly controlled yet speeding, noisy, chromatic rants convey very real, but sardonically expressed rage. This suggests that they’re sort of both pros and cons, which is just how a good punk band should be.

Listen to this: If you need to drive really fast, or dance-fight your way out of a tough spot.

— Robert Rubsam

Listen to this: When you need something to help you power through shifts at a tedious day job. — Jamie Varriale Vélez

Laser fights, speech-making, futuristic soundscapes, MI–GU’s newly pressed collection Choose The Light combines string quartets, optimistic sermonizing, and chunky hypnotic beats, creating a strange form of low-fi moon music. Yuko Araki and Hirotaka Shimizu make up this sonic duo and on the group’s title track “Choose The Light,” legendary post-punk co-conspirator Mike Watt’s gritty bass drives the record’s most accessible track. “Pulling From Above” is another stand out with its wild psychedelic organ and sugar high electro-pop beats that pulse like a robot on acid. The repeated chants of Araki’s whispered delivery pulls the listener into a Technicolor dream state.

Sean Lennon’s label Chimera Music selected tracks from three previous import albums to create Choose The Light, that lives somewhere between Bowie’s seminal Low album and a mash-up of Beck’s more experimental forays. This record is music in the key of strange, full of robotic tribalism, the kind of music you would hear if you woke up inside a kaleidoscope.

Pros and Cons

CORIN TUCKER BAND Kill My Blues

Kill Rock Stars | September 2012

Choose the Light

Listen to this: If you’re looking for some interstellar space travel without leaving your living room. — Matthew D’Abate

CALL OF THE WILD

Leave Your Leather On Kemado Records | August 2012

There’s coming up with solutions through poise and then there’s answering questions with your fists. Some bands hide behind a glass wall of pop-synth sensibilities, Call of the Wild leaves no room for second guesses, delivering a raw thrash thrill ride, joined at the hip to Motorhead and the Misfits. Call of The Wild’s record Leave Your Leather On, released by Brooklyn-based label Kemado Records, pulses with the relentless guitars of Johnny Coolati, the band’s driving force, backed by Allison Busch’s bullet-like drums. This is chaos music. There is a war going on. The record feels live, tracks like “Autobahn” and the murderous “NY Ripper” (a nod to the Italian Giallo slasher flick of the same name) are metal rockets shot through the air to the enemy. This is music that drags you across the asphalt behind a speeding black hearse. A mosh pit’s wet dream.

Listen to this: before gearing up for a bank robbery to pay your late rent.

— Matthew D’Abate

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K.

History Grows Self-released | April 2012

Recorded in Levon Helm’s Woodstock studios, Brooklyn-based K.’s History Grows isn’t cohesive in terms of sound, genre, or instrumentation.

Rather, the album is held together with threads of good songwriting and Karla Schickele’s unaffected vocals. The simple but interesting arrangements feature percussionist Ruth Lockwood effectively using handclaps (on title track “History Grows”) and marimba (“For Me”), but each song is centered around Schickele’s intimate alto and lyrics. Piano also provides bass and a rhythmic driving force in standout tracks “I Don’t Mind” and the Lucinda Williams cover “Passionate Kisses.”

In a world of washed out endless jams and reverb-y vocals, K.’s History Grows stands out for it’s artful songwriting, great playing, natural vocals and quiet, unpretentious beauty.

Listen to this: When you want a good, early-LizPhair-style heart to heart. — Jo Schornikow

POTTY MOUTH

Sun Damage 12” EP Feeble Minds | July 2012

There’s something to be said about a band that can take you back in a rush of ’90s nostalgia while also keeping up with your summer plans of now. Northhampton four-piece, Potty Mouth, does just that with garage-y nods to Olympia, best heard bouncing off the walls of house shows. The album moves through the grit of growing up, and stagnation of a small town —“Drip-Dry” being a stand-out track for me. By the last track “Girls XL,” they’ve grown into their voices with fullfledged confidence remarking, “I won’t apologize for doing what I like.” Neither will I! These girls are great.

Listen to this: as you do cartwheels out of your hometown and into the big city. — Anika Sabin

REVIEWS

ELI YAMIN BLUES BAND

AGENT RIBBONS

GRASS WIDOW

Yamin Music | March 2011

Antenna Farm Records | September 2012

HLR | May 2012

A clear collaboration of consummate musicians, the quartet’s identity as a blues band is almost a misnomer, as they delve into folk, be-bop, and spirituals in addition to blues, all with a heavy jazz influence. Lafrae Sci’s sashaying, defined brushed drum and cymbal often feels as if it’s seducing Bob Stewart’s lurking, bass line tuba, interplayed with the twilling keys of Eli Yamin and Kate McGarry’s soaring vocals. The musician’s dedication to creative arts education and ambadassorship, their reverence to musical craft and precise execution are evidence of equal measures practice and passion. Undertaking Nina Simone’s classic “I Wish I Would Know How it Would Feel to be Free” is a formidable task. Their success lies in producing the clear spirit and impending joy of the song. Sci’s progressively layered rhythm, culminating in a buoyant drum solo midway through is a highlight in the allaround solid and heartfelt performance.

Let Them Talk is a beautiful and organic EP from Lauren and Natalie Ribbons. The albums opening track “Family Haircut” is instantly grabbing, warm and like a song you’ve known your whole life. Find yourself snapping and singing along only two tracks in and keep it up for the relatable lyrics of, “I dog-eared you because we’re on the same page,” in “Let Them Talk.” As long as we’re picking favorite songs, “Jamaica and the Wishing Shrine” turns electronic noise into an atmospheric evening in Jamaica for your ears. The Zombies-influenced Agent Ribbons channel a 70’s peace fest in their beautifully weaved EP combining sound, emotion, and good spirit. It’s the perfect tab between their sophomore album Chateau Crone released in 2010 and their full length expected next year on Antenna Farm Records.

Since emerging from the Bay Area in 2009 with a self-titled EP, Grass Widow have been making an angular racket all their own. The trio’s newest, Internal Logic deftly welds postpunk jangle onto a strong foundation of 60s psychadelia, accenting ragers like “Spock On MUNI” with surf-rock solos and hazy vocal harmonies. Lillian Marning, Raven Mahon and Hannah Lew ably twist and turn their music all about, building danceable bits of distortion into full-on pop songs reminiscent of past tourmates The Raincoats. Though the record bares traces of Grass Widow’s lo-fi past, they thankfully don’t wallow in cavernous production, instead allowing the record’s reverb accents to draw in and ensnare listeners, a sort of cozy, indie rock flytrap. But you won’t mind getting eaten. From the dreamy swing of “Under the Atmosphere” to “Whistling in the Dark” and its Cure-style atmospherics, this is the kind of record you can live in the belly of, and you’ll never get sick of it.

I Feel So Glad

Listen to this: Live, in a candlelit banquette, introducing your new lady or fella to the parents.

You’ll all feel at ease. — Meghan Baker

Let Them Talk

Listen to this: When the leaves are finally golden and you’re in your cosiest sweater.

— Attia Taylor

Internal Logic

Listen to this: while burning copies of Vice Magazine with your friends. — Rob Rubsam

53

YOUTUBE

9 YEAR OLD DRUMMER ROCKS MICHIGAN DRUMLINE

LIST CO MP ILED BY STE PH BARKE R

Marching band drummers on YouTube. Our top picks!

Wow. 9 year old Isabelle is doing just as the title describes, and it is awesome. She plays a piece in front of the Michigan Drumline that she has been practicing. My favorite part is when the man to the right tells Isabelle not to worry, and that she is performing in front of friends. This girl is bold!

Search: 9 year old drummer phenom Michigan

2010 SANTA CLARA VANGUARD DRUMLINE – DCI FINALS I love SCV. They are such a solid group, and I have been obsessed with them since I was in High School. This is a quick video of the drumline warming up before a rehearsal. Right off the bat, I spotted two ladies in the snare line! Listen to how clean each attack is. Close your eyes, it sounds like one person. I mean that in a good way.

Search: 2010 Santa Clara Vanguard DCI Finals

54

LONDONDERRY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME – SICK NASTY

BLUE DEVILS 2011 REHEARSAL IN LOT

Here is a special treat for all of you Tom Tom readers. This is my High School Drumline, and yes, I am in the video. Playing at our last football game of my senior year, performing a cadence we wrote ourselves called, “Sick Nasty”. Can you guess where I am? Hints: I am playing snare drum, wearing a bandana, ponytail, and dancing like a maniac.

This is a great video of the Blue Devils Drumline rehearsing their actual field show routine, with movement. Usually, you always see a drumline in a lot doing warm ups, but this is a real inside peak. I have to also point out the woman in the snare line. Represent.

Ah, brings me back to my High School band camp days.

Search: Last 06-07 football game – sick nasty

Search: Blue Devils 2011 rehearsal in lot

REVIEWS

BOOKS MADONNA & ME

Edited by Laura Barcella Soft Skull Press | March 2012 This anthology features women writers and their adolescent discovery of a sexually-forward feminist musical enigma. It was a unique era in which Madonna not only created great music within the world of pop but also gave a generation of women the push to express themselves at a time and in a way that many felt wasn’t a woman’s place in society. Story after story depicts how the pop queen herself was more of a feminist icon for young females than a run of the mill pop star. I felt moved by each story, from the Material Girl period to the Ray of Light, even to the questionable Momma Madonna (written about by Emily Nussbaum).

Laura Barcella, from her own love of Madonna, put together a profound ensemble of writers to express their “bridge of passing” to adulthood with the inspirational jolt from a woman, who not only provided the soundtrack to their adolescent lives, but was the pioneer to which they, and many of us, admire to this day. — Lola Johnson

DVD HER AIM IS TRUE

Directed by Karen Whitehead Fur Face Film March 2012

TWITTER BEST OF

For this issue of Tom Tom, we decided to pop in a special feature about Twitter. I will admit it took me quite awhile to figure out this social media site when I first created my account about a year ago, and I’m still far from a pro. However, my inadequate Twitter skills are not the focus of this piece, the account, @Girldrummerprob, is. This account is focused on girl drummers, primarily those involved with marching percussion/drumline experiences.

Perfect for this issue, right? Here are a few of my favorite tweets from this account. Some of them may sound familiar to you.

Much unacknowledged labor often takes place in order to create the iconic images and sounds that make up our understanding of popular music and musicians. Jini Dellaccio’s photography is one such example, and Karen Whitehead’s new documentary Her Aim is True paints an intimate picture of Dellaccio’s life and times.

Many previously unseen works of Dellaccios’s photography are included in this visually rich film; a portrait of a photographer that is appropriately replete with its own well-shot, shallow-focus imagery. Your inner record nerd will be satiated by the nods to and interviews with bands like the Sonics and the Wailers, but the film’s focus is primarily on Dellaccio.

Dellaccio was lucky enough to have had her artistic skills nurtured by those around her throughout her life. Her approach to photography was informed by her experience as a touring musician, making her quite unique for a woman that came of age during the middle of the century.

Both Dellaccio’s photography and the documentary possess a personal quality; Whitehead’s report with and reverence for her subject is palpable.

Folks who are not interested in the early Seattle garage scene may not automatically gravitate toward this film.

However, Dellaccio’s uniqueness as a skilled, encouraged, and recognized talent make this documentary an excellent history lesson for any aspiring female artist. — Amy Oden

55

DIY

Drum Wrap

BY M EL ODY C OOPER

Here is an easy way to have a new looking drum. Goes on fast and easy, no need to remove your old wrap or use messy glues.

(Time: 60-90 minutes per drum)

1. Remove all hardware from drum.

2. Measure circumference of drum and add 3 inches. This is how long you will cut your material.

3. Measure the height of your existing wrap. Subtract about ½ inch.

This is how high you will cut your material.

4. Cut your material a bit larger than what you need, then iron it and go heavy on the starch. This will make it easier to cut straight and to wrap without wrinkles.

5. Measure, mark and cut your material.

56

MATERIALS NEEDED: • USED TOM DRUM • ANY THIN MATERIAL, ENOUGH TO WRAP AROUND YOUR DRUM • IRON AND STARCH • MASKING TAPE • RAZOR KNIFE • SCISSORS • TAPE MEASURE • STRAIGHT EDGE • MARKER • TOOLS TO REMOVE YOUR HARD WARE FROM DRUM

6. Tape one edge over the seam, centering the material so there is a little of the old wrap showing on either side.

7. Wrap material around drum and fold where the seam is. Secure with a piece of tape.

8. Tape around edges to hold in place, then starting at the seam use a pair of fingernail scissors to clip an x into the holes for your lugs.

Replace lugs on the seam first, then go around drum repeating the procedure for all hardware.

9. Trim the tape using the old wrap as a guide, being careful not to cut into the drum shell. Replace the heads and you are finished!

KEEP THE HITS COMING

For all your drum and accessory needs GC_Tom_Tom_HalfPg_0512.indd 1

Katherine Wing - Drummer with Green Lady Killers and Guitar Center employee

5/8/12 2:33 PM

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BL AST FROM THE PAST

THROWBACK

MALARIA!

BY A NIKA SA BIN

“Achtung, achtung!” demands seminal vocalist Bettina Koster in the song “Geld”, as we’re confronted with a marching clang of industrial work, and dark rumbling synthesizers. In 1982, Malaria! was in the midst of a successful run with their second album Emotion, hosting shows across Berlin’s landscape of empty warehouses. Through grainy super-8 footage, the music video for the song boasts restless shadows on brick basement walls and quick frantic shots of the band. There’s a sense of urgency—of anarchy percolating, as powerful female vocals meld with a clamor of percussion, drums and electronic loops, peppered with nervous saxophone and the sound of Deutsche Marks hitting the ground.

The late ‘70s found Germany in a place of musical and social unrest. While many bands in the States used pop music as a springboard into new wave, (read Talking Heads et al.), a subculture of European punk was having the labor pains of Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave), a darker idiosyncratic, often avant-garde movement. Bands often brought together punk and expressionism, while appropriating the rhythm and patterns of the German language. Mania D, Köster and Gudrun Gut’s initial band before Malaria!, saw audiences polarize as they performed, some embracing the new sound, others rioting.

In an interview for the 1980 documentary Girls Bite Back the women spoke of their surprise: “I thought women would have more understanding for the music we play, but contrary to that we found out that they are thinking in standards...the guys too, they had a lot of phrases of what they would like to do to make us normal again.”

But they shrugged harassment off with coy smiles, and went on to pioneer a new platform of dynamic, post-punk experimentation with free jazz and electronic music while revolutionizing gender roles. These elements became a major force behind Malaria!, drawing international acclaim. The band toured extensively with the likes of Birthday Party, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and had a particularly legendary night with Nina Hagen at Studio 54 in New York. Throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s the women continued to produce hits such as “Kaltes Klasser Wasser”, a visceral song that finds its voice in mantra drive of lyrics, and “You You” a later release that explored the pervasive coldwave sound of the time, driven by haunting hooks, and their distinctive powerful female voice. The video was directed by Anne Carlisle who famously played both lead male and female in the cult classic film, Liquid Sky. With Neue Deutsche Welle, came a myriad of new iterations of gender, empowering androgyny but also stretching the spectrum and standards of what it meant to be a woman. For over a decade Malaria! took on conventions through their post-punk music and positioning as powerful, strong women. For a time, the duo also ran an independent fashion label and concept store, producing avantgarde stage outfits. Köster and Gut went on to have successful solo careers and Malaria! lives on, both in the grainy zines and super 8 film of the time, and today as musicians rediscover Malaria! as a bastion of feminism and punk ethos.

63

A MAGAZINE ABOUT FEMALE DRUMMERS

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