ELLE SADIRA

WRITTEN BY Jenni Rice // PHOTOS BY Leigh McTeer-Shields // DESIGN BY Hayley Gomez FROM AN OLD DRUM SET TO THE STAGE: ELLE SADIRA

It was just a regular day of babysitting when a 13-year-old Elle Sadira got offered a much more interesting form of payment for her work than money: a drumset. Now 17, Sadira is thriving in her passion for music, and has never looked back. “Around that time it was when I was getting more into bands instead of just pop artists necessarily, so that’s kind of what inspired me,” Sadira said. “I was like, ‘I want to start playing an instrument,’ but I wasn’t really focused on a specific one.” So, when the opportunity arose for Sadira to get a drum set and finally start playing an instrument, she thought “it was kind of like fate.” What started as a trick of fate, though, has blossomed into a whole new world and a future career for Sadira. “It definitely started out just as a hobby, but I’ve fallen in love with it so much and I’m hoping to pursue a career more in the business side of things,” Sadira said. “I definitely am going to keep playing in bands, whether it’s the bands that I’m currently in right now or new ones I form in college or later in life, just because I love getting out there and playing live shows.” As for the bands she is currently a part of, Sadira is

the drummer for two local Knoxville bands -- Dean’s Dream and Indigo Age. “Dean’s Dream is pretty recent; we started about a year and a half ago, but I just started that with two of my close girl friends,” Sadira said. “We all play music, we all write music, and we were just like, ‘wait, why haven’t we ever started a band together before?’” “Indigo Age is a little more on the psychedelic rock side, so that’s cool to have both experiences, where Dean’s Dream is a little more E-rock and pop a little bit,” Sadira said. “Indigo Age started about three years ago with Chad Corn and Aiden Lamb as the original members, and now it’s Chad Corn and Caleb Weaver, and we’re still making lots of music and having a good time.” Being in two bands while also being a student is truly a commitment that not many could take on, but that does not seem to bother Elle at all. In fact, it gives her the opportunity to constantly be doing what she loves most: honing in on her creativity. “I just love being creative in any way,” Sadira said. “I also love to write and make art and just any kind of creativity is just my favorite outlet for stress and emotions.”

Perhaps what makes Sadira’s successes so far in music the most impressive is the fact that she is completely self-taught. “I got the used drum set and just immediately started teaching myself through, like, YouTube videos,” Sadira said. “I’ve never had any professional training, but there’s so many resources on the internet that I’ve just been using; even now I still teach myself through YouTube videos and just listening to songs.” Of course, despite her deep passion, being a woman in music is not without its challenges. “There have been a couple times where I’ll be at a show and getting ready to play and someone will come up to me and be like ‘oh, whose girlfriend are you?’” Sadira said. “When I was younger I would get a lot of compliments like ‘you play so great, you know, for a girl,’ like things that I never thought I’d actually hear.” However, despite these instances, Sadira feels fortunate to get to be a part of the Knoxville scene. “I definitely think the Knoxville music scene, at least from what I’ve experienced, is very supportive in general -- super welcoming and very cool with anyone who wants to be in the scene,” Sadira said. There’s such a small demographic of female drummers in bands, especially mainstream ones, and Sadira hopes that she can inspire women, especially young girls who can see themselves in her. What is Sadira’s advice to these young girls? “Just do it,” Sadira said. “Don’t care about what other people think, through any obstacles; you’re breaking down barriers just by getting on stage and playing, or even if you’re not playing on stage, just simply by learning the instrument, you’re paving a path that hasn’t, I guess historically, been present before. Just do what you love and don’t let anyone get in the way.” What started as a young girl stumbling across an opportunity to pursue a dream of hers has now brought about a great talent and new role model for years of musicians to come. While her career is currently local to Knoxville, this is just the beginning of what the world will be seeing from Elle Sadira.