Drummer Cafe Community Forum

In another thread, someone expressed surprise or interest that Evelyn Glennie or Keiko Abe had not changed matters.

Both of them are soloists.  I am talking about "rank and file" percussionists.  My experience is that girls have to be twice as good as men to land an orchestral job, which is palpably unfair.

Vienna Philharmonic will NOT accept females on any instrument.  Berlin had a VOTE to accept a girl into the wind section.  

I am biased.  It is my pupil who is in the Slovak Philharmonic at aged 16....and she is a BRILLIANT player.
A superb timpanist with the most natural feel for the instrument I have encountered.

But on current standards she will be barred from both the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic because, to borrow a phrase from a previous thread, she does NOT have balls.

But she's a superb player.

It is one of the things that makes Old Chap VERY VERY cross indeed.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

And PS: In England, the first female principal timpanist was Joyce Aldous in the Halle Orchestra.

And guess what? She inspired the current male timpanist of the Halle to take up the instrument.

As a teacher let me add something else: girls practice with more diligence and don't pretend they know it all.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

its interesting.   ive always been in an odd head space about that sort of thing.  i have no issues with any female person being a musician of anysort of course.  my issue is with the seperation of genders for either negative reasons or supposedly positive ones.  

i see articles on "women in rock" or "women in jazz" and it bugs me.  who cares that they are women? ... do they rock? then they are just another person who rocks! ... the intentional seperation has a habit of excentuating the differences where there really arent any worth noticing.  

would a band like the donna's be garnering the fame they are currently getting if they were guys? if not, why are they getting it now? ... i dig evelyn glennie for the most part.  but i have to wonder.  would she have gotten as far as she did had she been a guy and not deaf?  i think this exaltation of women in music does as much harm as good.  

but no matter how much i think that, we dont live in an ideal world.   and women still get looked at differently.  theres a certain amount of novelty to the female musician still.   when my girlfriend was musically active she played drums.  when people asked about the band they assumed singer.  she said drums and they assumed hand drums.  she played kit.  good funky jazz chops as well.  

so does that mean we should continue promoting women in music as "special cases" ?    does that really point out that women can be just as good as men? or does it point at that they are women?  

personally i think it would do everyone best to just ignore gender.  kim gordon of sonic youth doesnt rock because shes a she.  kim gordon rocks because she's kim freakin' gordon.  

Chicks with sticks! I think thats hot! I love to watch women play drums! In fact, the best drummer in Junior High Band was a girl! Dianne Powers... geez I STILL remember her name) She was awsome! Best sight reader we had! 8)

Which meant she was smart and talented.  It's my bet that she doesn't play drums anymore because of those facts.  LOL

Kittie.  They rock, not just b/c they're girls, but b/c they rock.  The drummer is awesome, the guitarist rocks, and the singer blows me away.  This may seem a little biased, but the singer wouldn't rock as much if she didn't do that deep throated roar that only guys seem to be able to pull off well.  I knew a guy that sounded like he was posesed when he sang, but she makes him look like an amature.  LONG LIVE KITTIE!

Admittedly I am NOT a Kittie fan (I may be to old for the whole guttural scream approach to music and "death metal" isn't something I like to listen to. I may have to positive outlook on life to appreciate it! LOL) But I was thinking along the lines of the Go-Go's, the Bangles (pop I know) and in particularly Vixen! I really think they were cool and VERY easy to watch (I hope that doesn't make me sound too sexist! ;)) but they were very nice looking young ladies and the drummers kit that looked like a Harley-Davidson was just awesome!

"Walk Like an Egyptian" is still a guilty pleasure for me.

The Donnas, Avril; they're not breaking any ground, but they're just as good as any of the nasal power-pop pseudo-punk that's being pushed on MTV now, and I like them because I generally like women's voices more than men's.  I am biased, of course - I play drums for a girl-fronted band (http://www.mp3.com/clipband), and our success will be largely dependant on the market's willingness to buy women who rock.

I went to school with two female percussionists who easily held their own against any of the guys. One of them was actually so good that I can partially blame her for my decision not to pursue music in grad school;). I was just outclassed.

Well...not technically, but...

here's an interesting bit of physiology that you might not know: women's bodies DO manufacture testosterone, and men make estrogen. Hence, we're not so different after all! ;D

Fascinating Robyn....So much love, and yet so much information.

I just like the girls........they practice.....they listen.  They don't turn up with a long list of why they haven't done what they were asked to do.

Yeah.......I know.......you meant to practice but the Simpsons were on.  And that's the difference.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Interesting... ;)

My female students have ALWAYS been the best students as well ... especially the younger ones, but even college age.

I just think the girls don't turn up with pre conceived notions....and in my experience they definitely practice more.

And in pp playing they are absolute naturals.  The gentle sex, I guess.  With one exception, they can come "off" a timpani better than most boys I know.  Boys have to be taught it....the girls feel it.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins-

hmmm,  it must be because of our larger brain size!  
JUST KIDDING GUYS ;D .  LOL ...

It might be because of brain size......Old Chap does not know but he DOES know they are a joy to teach and in my world sensitivity is all.......and my experience has been that I have to teach sensitivity to the boys but not to the girls.

It's rather funny.......I have found that I have to teach the girls to really HIT drums but in "senstivity" I don't have to teach them anything.

And you girls/ladies have a very good ear.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

;)Bart? you gots college girls hanging with you bro? What a man! Sorry man! I couldn't help it! I know what you mean that girls are generally better students than boys! And I agree! They're also very enjoyable to LOOK at! Thank you GOD for making me a man...so I can gaze upon the beauty on this earth and appreciate it!

My experience is that they listen more and practice more........what would that have to do with drumming?

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Everytime a thread that this pops up where bands of females that would have been considered crap if they were males are acclaimed and male discrimination (yeah it happens, feminists  :-[) reigns, I feel sad...

I don't watch the simpsons...  >:(  :'(

What?

I remember my first beer!

Hey, my man, a day without a buzz is a day that never was.

LOL I was referring the other gentleman but .... it's been my experience that the opposite of what you said is true!

Well.....might I say this is not reverse discrimination.  She is simply the best timpani student I have ever had.

I guess an accident at conception decreed she was female.  I can teach rudiments........but I can't so easily teach "feel" for an instrument which has to come from INSIDE the person.

Her rolls in Bruckner are as good as or better than mine. And she's SIXTEEN.  

That's why she got the job and I am extremely proud of her......reverse discrimination or not.

She's still my pupil and when you get old it is nice to leave footprints in the sand.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

cool website:
http://www.drummergirl.com/

My first teacher was a woman who's still an active freelancer in this area (Seattle). In fact, the freelance orchestral scene here is pretty balanced between men and women-- the exception is the Seattle Symphony (not freelance anyway), whose permanent timpani/percussion players are all fellers--and I think that has less to do with any inherent bias than with the fact that there haven't been many openings in that group in the last couple decades. Anyway, among my closest friends and colleagues in percussion, the male/female balance has been close to 50/50. There are at least some places in the world where it's all about how you play!

I am a female drummer who has just found this site! -
Why have I the time to be on the net during the day? - because I am constantly trying to be accepted and for someone to take the chance on me as a drummer and "go with the girl for once!" - v.frustrating!
I know of a couple of other female drummers but its always the same - the mime gigs! - Don't people realise that we can actually be great live players too!
I aint giving up what I do for the world!

personally i'd like to see more girl bands/drummers, and not that britney spears $hit.  some nice girl metal bands.  cause why would you wanna watch guys do it?  girl musicians are sexy as hell.  let's see more of them.

Happy Birthday ravenzakanite  ;)  

This reminds me of a female percussionist we had in our high-school band in the early 70's. Faith was a senior, two years ahead of me, and pretty much the odd-man out in an otherwise all guy group. She never said a bad word to anybody or voiced a complaint as she was stuck playing cymbals in marching band, and all the melodic percussion in the concert band.

One day when we were all goofing off in one of the band room's storage area, Faith started playing on an old set of tympani that had been put away for like since forever. Man, she was incredible. She was doing these complicated cross-sticking patterns between the three tymps. Our jaws dropped collectively to the floor. Man, was she fast! You couldn't tell what she was playing as her hands were just a blur.

It was more than a little humbling to us dumb jerks watching her, too. And we each had to have her show us in slow motion just what this thing that was called cross sticking.

For the rest of the year until she graduated, there were no more girl drummer jokes as we realized she was easiest the best drummer/percussionist of us all.

-bruce

Alan, it's good to hear your comments about female musicians - I guess more to the point, female drummers. I know I've wanted to play the drums since I was about 11 yrs old, when my brother started playing, but it just wasn't the 'thing' for girls to play. So, I stuck with the piano.

About 8 months ago, it was actually my Mum who replied to my "I wish I could take up the drums..." with a "Well, why don't you?" - so I took up the challenge. Although I have to put up with people - and not just males - thinking girls just can't play drums, I really enjoy it and I think it actually makes me practice that much harder wanting to show that I really can do it as well as everyone else.

Well, firstly I would like to repeat that it is NOT reverse discrimination.  You can either play or you can't play and it does not matter whether you are male or female but SADLY in many orchestras of the world it DOES matter what sex you are.

And, simply, it should not.  A while ago, I had a unique experience of playing a Richard Strauss concert with a horn section (immensely important in most of Richard Strauss) entirely female and we had a good night.  When I began in this game it would have been unimaginable in ANY country of the world (including America) for a horn section to be female.

I also did a ballet last year in which the ENTIRE wind section was female......and why not?  And if the horn/wind section can be female do we have any special secrets in percussion?  No, we do not (in my opinion).

My experience as a teacher, as I have said before, is that they LISTEN and they work harder and there is no doubt, in my mind, that they both practice MORE and more assiduously.  Some might say that could be a hallmark in a potential musician.

There are many talented boy's as well but you often have, as Americans say, to kick butt to get them to realise that talent and that has not been my experience with the girls.

I "half" understand America and I believe that given the option of an important football game or boring rudiments, many of the girls will stick with the boring rudiments.

I am not suggesting it matters, depending (of course) on whether you are going to do football or music for a LIVING.

My own daughter was told that: "Girls don't play drums" but as, after audition, she has just landed her first job in a professional symphony orchestra I guess they do!

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins







 

Ah, I can't tell you how many times I was told "Girls don't play drums".  I knew that I wanted to play the drums since I was 7 or 8.  My family was constantly telling me to "stop tapping!" because I was always tapping on stuff.  My dad would be using a pencil to do his homework (college courses that he was taking) and the pencil would break so he would go to sharpen it, and the pencil would keep breaking in the sharpener so he would find me, and with his hands on his hips would say "Young lady, how many times do I have to tell you not to use pencils as drumsticks?"  

When I was old enough to join the school band, I learned to play the snare.  My dad wasn't happy about it, but didn't really say anything.  A year later my youngest brother got a drumset for Christmas and I was really upset because I was the one who had been asking for drums for a couple of years.  Every chance I got I was playing on his kit.  I loved coming home from school when no one else was home and putting a stack of 45's on the stereo and playing.  

When my grandma came to live with us after having a heart attack all playing ceased because she could not tolerate a lot of noise.  She even knew when I was practicing on a pillow.  So I gave up playing the drums, for a long time.

Two years ago, when my mom passed away, I started thinking about things, and what was important to me.  I realized that one of the things I regretted was giving up playing.  I was afraid to say anything to anyone because I felt that everyone would think that I was crazy.  I started looking around on the internet for drumming info/web sites.  I went out a bought a practice pad, sticks and metronome and started practicing rudiments.  When I did mention it to my husband, he didn't think I was nuts or anything.  

In fact, for Christmas my husband got me the Sonor Force 3001 drumkit, so now I have my very own drums!

My daughters and all their friends think it is way cool that  I play the drums and my husband has been inspired to learn to play the bass.  

My drum instructor is also my youngest daughters band director (she plays the sax) and thinks it's "wild"

While someday I hope to be at a level where I can play with a band, I know that I'll never be a "pro", at least not going by the definition the world applies to that term.  And that's okay.  I will never run out of stuff to learn and master.  Drumming is great therapy for me and I feel like I am finally getting to develop a talent that I have been given.

I see my drumkit  in the corner of my bedroom and I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming.

Gotta love it.

Amber


Yikes, didn't mean for this to be such a long post!

Congratulations Amber and welcome to the forum. Have a question about ANYTHING ask. Somebody here will know the answer.

Dear Amber:

What a very moving post.  Your daughters and friends are right to think it is "way cool" to play the drums...so it is.  And with that sort of enthusiasm it's only a matter of time but let me say something else, because it is relevant to earlier parts of the thread.

You wrote: "While someday I hope to be at a level where I can play with a band........."  Now that's often the difference between the boys and the girls: boys seem to have built in confidence and will go for things even when they are NOT ready for them.....but the girls will hang back and try to get it right.  Now, mostly that is sensible but I guess every now and again girls miss out on an opportunity because of that.

They are not (in general) as pushy as the boys and although it is a world I only know as a listener I imagine that is important in rock/garage whatever.  

I fancy that you will get to play with a band and I most certainly hope that you do and I am sure many people on here will hope that with me.

And as has been debated in another thread, there isn't a definition of a pro in my opinion other than that they do their chosen music well night after night after night.
If there IS a definition it might be: "Consistently right."

If you play the drums and your husband plays the bass you've got the rhythm section sorted ;D ;D  and one daughter playing sax.....you've got yourself a trio ;D  ;D

As you remarked, Gotta love it.  Music IS a therapy, both for audiences and for players and we sometimes forget that.  

In my tiny world (which is not rock or garage, of course) a player often needs some sensitivity of touch. My experience has been that you have to work on that with MOST (not all) of the boys but not with the girls.

But to do Strauss with girls on the horns was really something.  It's a hell of a horn part and they were absolutely on top form (and it is the most treacherous instrument in the orchestra).    Richard Strauss makes great sonic demands on horns and timpani in many of his scores and quite rightly the conductor got them to their feet at the end of the performance.

Gotta love it because it is highly likely a couple of them were told that girls don't play French horns either.

Thank you for your post.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

To Sonor Girl:

Good old Mom ;D  You have may have been inadvertently lucky because if you do any form of tuned percussion (whether marimba, vibes, zylophone, timpani) your piano tuition will prove absolutely invaluable.

My experience in life is that the only thing that matters in music is PRACTICE.  My old teacher Jimmy Blades had a phrase: "Practice makes REASONABLY perfect" (cos NONE of us are going to be absolutely perfect).

If you practice you will find that you most certainly CAN do it as well as everyone else and....guess what?  You might possibly do it BETTER than quite a lot of other people.

Here's a true MALE reverse discrimination story.  A friend of mine has a son, now aged 14, who is mad about the harp.  He's just gone to a gifted (female) teacher who told him: "You're only the second boy I've taught in 30 years" ;D ;D

Just preconceptions I guess.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Amber, you took the words right out of my mouth! I wanted to play drums since age 10 but was stuck w/ the flute instead. Predictably I gave it up after 3 years and stayed away from music until my son started taking drum lessons a year ago. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut during his lessons, and I'd go home and practice his lessons on the kit too! Finally after a month of this I gave in and started taking lessons too--the instr. just grinned and said, "I've never had a mother-son drum team before!"
 I'd love to eventually get to the point where I feel comfortable playing w/ a group, but like you, I am happy enough just playing for myself.

Too bad this is still an issue in this day and age. Anybody ever listen to Terry Lynne Carrington or Hilary Jones? They both burn! To me it  is just great playing.

Terri Lynn Carrington has the gig with Herbie Hanco c k - that says a lot right there, but she is also producing - a Diane Reeves CD ("that day ...") for one.  Her latest CD, "Jazz Is A Spirit", is awesome.  

I first heard her on MD's HotTrax sampler, and her playing is a challenge for ANY drummer.

yeah, I'm a fan ...  

Wow! What a great thread! If not for the great posts, then for the plethora of women and girls showing up to make posts. Stick around, we could use more of the female perspective around here. Hooray for Drummer Cafe diversity!

As odd or not as this may be, I don't think I've ever seen a good female drummer perform. Not saying that they don't exist, I'm just saying I don't think I've been there when a woman was really wailing on a kit or in the context of a song. I'm racking my brain, but I don't think I have. Not even "The Donnas" or some band like that, that are pretty big right now. I don't watch much T.V., I guess.

I feel cheated.   :-[

In my small world there are ANY number of great female percussionists.....it always amazes me that they have to struggle so much because if you look at the classical field some of the greatest artists have been or are female......just look at the classical piano or violin roster!!  

In fairness to America you have quite a lot of ladies in the symphony orchestras and you have produced a world class conductor in Marin Alsop who I had the pleasure of playing for not very long ago....and we all hope she will come back soon for she really knows her stuff.

I am sure and hope that things will steadily change as attitudes change and pre-conceived notions like "Girls don't play drums" just die out.  As I have mentioned before, Ema Crecic in the Zagreb Philharmonic is a world class timpanist.

The first in England was Joyce Aldous in the Halle Orchestra (appointed bravely in 1956 by Sir John Barbirolli).  Joyce was a great player and how great can be heard on the recordings of Tchaikovsky 4/5/6 and Dvorak 7/8/9 that EMI have Barbirolli and the Halle.

And isn't it nice that the equally gifted John Moate, the CURRENT timpanist of the Halle, was inspired at the age of 14 to take up percussion from watching Joyce play ;D ;D  He now holds the position she once occupied.

It's got a way to go but it WILL improve for the girls.  Percussion for me is simply THE best expression of music and it should be shared by all, regardless of age or sex or even ability.  

"I never heard so musical a discord, such sweet Thunder" (William Shakespeare)

Everyone on here can do sweet thunder, I bet.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Thanks for the respect. ;)  

To Robyn: I've never heard of a mother-son tuition either but I think it's wonderful.

And the general message was summed up beautifully by KevinD: "To me, it's just great playing."  Absolutely right.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Wow! She conducts the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, right down in Denver!  :o _{and to think I've never been to see them...}

Shame on you ;D ;D  Only joking!  She is a world class lady and currently recording all the music of one of your great composers, Samuel Barber.

I did Brahms Symphony 4 with her and I can tell you for certain that she is a GREAT Brahms conductor.

A joy to work with, absolutely on top of her music.

She's a pretty big star now but I imagine she is going to be a VERY big star (in our little world, anyway).

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

girls and drums.... YEAH!! the way that i look at it, if us men can do it, women can do it do! and most of the women out there can do it better than us men!!

One night at a show that my old band had, there was this 10 year old girl walking around with drum sticks. well everyone was kinda looking at her and kinda shrugging her off. well 2 bands later, she gets up on stage and just rips into this awesome drum solo! everyone's jaw (including myself) just dropped to the floor! what a way to get attention! so after the set, everyone was going up to her and congratulating her on a great job playing. if only i was that young when i started playing!

So all the women out there that play and want to start: DON'T GIVE UP AND DON'T LET US GUYS GIVE YOU SH!T

hehe ;D

I think females drummers are the sexiest thing God has graced this planet with.  My favorite female drummer of all time Hillary Joneshttp://drummerworld.com/drummers/Hilary_Jones.html (http://drummerworld.com/drummers/Hilary_Jones.html)

very interesting i just read about a concert in the uk called 'The weight of the breast' where 20 women onstage playing drums topless.

Whats your point? I play topless all the time. I would pay large to watch Hilary Jones play in a trashbag. That Gal can lay it down.
-RH =)

no point just something i had read that day actually.november issue of the wire magazine www.thwire.co.uk

I love it when a girl can drum me up a pie in the kitchen.  ;)

just kiddin. I always forget her name, but she plays kit for Lenny Kravitz. Anywho.. she jams. I've seen her live and its all good.

(http://learning.mgccc.cc.ms.us/science/cat/img009.JPG)


 ;)

Well said DrummerMom.  :)

I think I see the "I need a bigger closet" gene in there as well! LOL!  ;) just teasin.

-RHS

Uh!  Mr. A, I think we've gotton WAAAAY off point in this thread.  Yuck!

Ratamatatt

Hi everyone!
I'm new here!  I think this website's great!  In fact, it's cool!  8)  Love this topic about girl drummers for sure!  I only started playing a year and a half ago on a small electronic drumkit, no bigger than a medium-sized keyboard.  I always wanted to play the drums but didn't get the chance.  We even had my Uncle's drumkit in the house when I was little, but my mom got rid of it as we didn't have the room! :'(

However, since I got the electronic one, I play on a much larger version called 'Drumscape'.. it's for the public and costs 50p a go.  I now own my very own drumkit .. a Flats Arbiter 'Pro' version. (in other words the more expensive one!).  It's great!
I'm self-taught and like drumming along to various records by people such as, M People, Cher, Westlife, etc.  I'm looking into the possibility of having drum lessons and have heard there is actually a woman who teaches where I live, so I'm keen to find her.  My dream would be to join a band, but I can't see it happening as a) I've started too late and can't possibly hope to catch up.. or can I??? b) because I'm now 44!!!!!LOL  ;D
'Drumstick'

no such thing as too late or too old ... just ask louis  ;)  

seriously, if you cant find any listings in local music stores or the paper run one yourself  "40+ newbie drummer looking for band mates that wont mock me for my 40+ newbieness" ... sure to find a few  ;D   my guess is there are plenty of weekend warriors out there who are thinking the way you are, but dont have us to tell 'em to just do it  ;D

welcome by the by  ;D

Thank you for the welcome... !

Actually, I still need both the practise and the experience to make it happen, but I'm looking into the possibility of getting a drum tutor, (preferably a woman.. I've heard there's one in our area ), to teach me the rest of the stuff I don't know.  I'm self-taught up to now.  I look at it this way.... (regarding joining a band), if it happens it happens, if it doesn't it doesn't... just as long as I have fun along the way trying!

I have a female friend who played in two different female trio bands as the tabla/percussion/didjeridu player. Not sure if she still does the band thing, but she still practices and studies tabla. I haven't heard her playing in over 5 years now, but based on how she sounded before, I'll bet she can throw down some amazing percussion!
I understand the novelty of female kit players, but tabla and didjeridu? That's gotta be rare!

Actually, she's the one that first taught me the 9/8 Kashlama.
Thanks Lauren!

Dave

Speaking of girl drummers and percussionists, I thought I'd share this message I received in my cafe inbox.  It strikes me as kind of funny.  

a female drummer eh? on: January 10, 2003, 07:20:16 PM
wow, man I don't see many of you. I wunder how good yu are. as far as I've encountered with female drummers the're either really good really bad. and not bein mean but really I've only met like 1 good one. how good are you?

Wow - a real enlightened guy, huh?

Pretty scary to still be ecountering that mindset in the 21st century.

Did he bother to tell you how good HE is?   ::)

I guess my answer to his question would be: "better than some. as good as some. worse than some!"  But, isn't that true of us all?   ???   ???
Who cares, anyway?  To me its not a competition between gender roles.  I play cuz' its what I've always done and I love it.  If you're better than me, Great!  More power to you!  I'll learn whatever you want to show me!  
I must admit, though,  I am kind of erked about this Meg White chick because I don't really think she can really play.  Now, Sheila E. and these other women y'all have spoken of in this thread, who can really play, thats justifiable.  But we must definitely not set a lower standard by which it is acceptable for women to play to in order to be recognized, just because there aren't as many of us out there.
It still doesn't cease to amaze me how surprised people are every day I play to see a girl behind the drums.  There are women pilots, astronauts, pro-surfers and boxers for goodness sakes .  I think its the confidence, aggressiveness and power by which people are impressed with, and "leading a group of men",  not necessarily the chops.  People tell me all the time I'm better than drummers THAT I KNOW I AM NOT better than, but its just because I'm more energetic, hit-harder, and get more attention because I'm female.  I can understand why that would bother some guys.

If most of the guys on here are like me, we know what makes good sense intellectually but there's still a little "pig" even we enlightened ones have to keep suppressed. There's just know way for us guys to ignore the difference, and that's a good thing IMO. But when it comes to drumming, it's been my experience that once you're behind the set, I'm all about what you're playing, what I can cop and what I can assimilate. Gender has gone bye-bye with the first note. I just wanna see some chops ;D

Quote:  "It still doesn't cease to amaze me how surprised people are every day I play to see a girl behind the drums"

I have such a laugh whenever I play on a 'Drumscape' machine, because all the guys stop and stare, their eyes out on stalks like this..  :o  like they've never seen a woman on the drums before! It's SO funny to see the expressions on their faces like... "What the.... ????!"  ;) ;D

I didn't want to reply to this thread because I don't want what I say to be misconstrued.  But some of those guys with the "deer in the headlights look" do it because they "dig" chicks behind the drums.  And I'm one of those guys.  :)

Tom

Whoooooooooo! :o 8) ;D  <thud!>

An interesting link with a "cultural perspective" on women percussionists: Are Drums Unladylike?

 http://nasehpour.tripod.com/peyman/id40.html (http://nasehpour.tripod.com/peyman/id40.html)

im still waiting to hear who sent that i.m.  ... you know, so we can mock them openly?  ;D

alright alright ... ill be nice.

OK, most guys on here aren't like me...Chicks? hoo boy ::)

My use of the term wasn't meant to be disrespectful, so if anyone is offended by it I apologize: sorry. :-[  

Perhaps I should have simply said that some guys enjoy seeing female drummers. :)

Tom

No offenses taken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 ;D ;D ;D ;D

That's pretty interesting.

Thinking about it, I imagine that all quality female drummers must have a touch of "Joan Of Arc" in them to properly lead a band.

I'm always impressed when I see a female drummer playing with authority.

I think it's great. But when she's attractive, it's even better!

Does that make me a male chauvinist pig?  ???

I hope not, because I'm a hopeless, incurable one if so.  ;)

No, I think it just means you're not gay.

hahahahahahaaaa..........Rita, you rock! ;D

Christopher, I fully agree with you.

Didn't think anything was meant by it...just pokin with a stick ;D
Wow, only 2 choices here...Pig or Gay. I'm not gay and I guess that little suppressed pig I was talkin' about shows regardless of my efforts :P
Oh well, in the famous last words of almost every victim of Darwin's Theory..."Hey Y'all, watch This" :D

She's really not a very good drummer at all, but the White Stripes rock anyway. I just bought "Elephant". Great record if you want to hear some quality rock-n-roll. Not a great source of hot drum licks.

I gotta second that about the White Stripes CD. Its a really good rock cd but her playing leaves alot to be desired. It all fits the songs so I guess you can't complain too much. Rita mentioned the girl from the band Kittie as well, I just think she is really young and will probably get better as time goes on. Kid Rock also has a female drummer in his band that I saw walk up to a local bar bands really really crappy kit and made it sing! It was impressive.

If you're in the LA/Hollywood area and want to see an awesome female drummer/band, then check out THE SADDERDAYS (http://www.thesadderdays.com). I found her on my drumming website  (http://www.drumwild.com) and directed their band to a local promoter. They've played a handful of shows already.

I guess you could say I "discovered" them, but they're holding their own out there.

Whatever you do, do NOT say they are "pretty good for chicks." They might give you a shiner.

My fav well-knowns are Cindy Blackman, Stefanie Eulinberg, and Terri Lynne Carrington.

Dont forget about one of the Donnas girls!

The Bangles and The Go-Go's drummers weren't too bad.  They could hold their own.  So could the chick from Vixen.
Did y'all know JENNY JONES was a drummer before she became a talk show host?  Also, Karen Carpenter was a drummer.  (R.I.P.)
And Madonna played drums in her 1st band, around age 15 I think.

Hey Drumwild, that's me! Thanks for mentioning The Sadderdays, that's cool!

My Dad was not thrilled when I wanted to take up the drums. He eventually got me a set, but he made sure it was RED, not any sort of masculine color. Oh those Dads!  :)

Cindy Blackman.
I heard from a reliable source she's a killer jazz player...

Cindy Blackman has an amazing video that I'd like to watch in slow-motion. She really can fly around the kit. I don't remember the name of her video, but I highly recommend it. Wish it was on DVD.

You should really hear her for yourself. It's drummers like her who will make you re-think your approach to the kit. This inspiration can only lead to self-improvement.

Don't forget Viola Smith. Ever heard of her?

She joined Phil Spitalny and his All Girl Orchestra in 1942. She had begun playing professionally in the late 1920s and 30s in Wisconsin with "The Schmitz Sisters". She actually played a pretty big drum kit for the times.

This was a magnificent feat, considering it was an era where the girls were expected (and often times commanded) to be in the kitchen instead of behind the traps.

Speaking of which... props to my mom for putting the pots and pans on the floor for me when I was a 'lil squirt.  ;D

Got an interesting, uh, "compliment" last night.  Another drummer was giving me the thumbs up and he said "Great job.  You play like a man!" hehe  ;D

 You are right about girl percussionists having a much tougher time.  Not only in orchestral/ concert playing, but on the fied with Drumline.  If you look at most professional Drum Corps, their on field ensemble is composed mainly of guys and their pit holds more girls...Though, I will have to say, I was captain of my high school drumline :)  And, it takes a lot to make it to the top - a lot! I had to beat out a lot of really really good guys to be able to snag the spot.  It's awful, the competition, because so many of the girls become downcast and eventually give up playing percussion because the competition can be so intense.  

Go girl! :)

That's cool! I was also captain of my drumline my senior year.

man isn't there any young female drummers? i need to find the love of my life!!!

Hey dude -

Just cause I said I WAS the captain of my high school DL does NOT mean that I am old.  Get a clue - I just graduated.   Anyway, love comes and goes - I doubt you will find it in here - and, Go Girls! We rock!

yeah, but i hope in the future in finding a girlfriend that dosn't get pissed all the time because of my passion for drummin' =).

Anyways how old are you when you do drumcorps? (I'm from sweden)..

Man I wish we had that kind of stuff here in sweden, that way I would've been exposed to music and rudiments way earlier =)..

I saw this really expressive female-drummer at the Stockholm Jazz Festival. She was really into her own thing, very organic and creative. Though to me, it seemed like a very distant approach (from what I consider "normal") in playing, sadly it didn't fall into my taiste. However i was really impressed. Not because it was a girl, but because of the musicianship showed by an individual. I just don't get it why ppl don't think chicks can be drummers (meat-headed folks)

oh and yeah i was just thinking about that female drummers thing  8). I have my eyes open for anyone to share all of my passions with  ;D

Sharing passion is great stuff, but don't just look for a clone of yourself.

I've dated a couple female drummers, but these days I'm kinda partial to chick singers, as my fiancee can attest to...  ;)

A really good friend of mine, who is my #1 sub for my rock gigs, is a female.  She hits the drums harder than I do, has a KILLER funk feel and is constantly being sought out by rock bands in the area.  Many times I wonder if the bands I work with would rather have her in the band--seriously!  She simply rocks.....  

A similar quality I've noticed amongst female drummers (in general) in my experience, is that they are extremely outgoing.  For example, many of them that I've known have been really successful because they immerse themselves more into the business end of things.  They will handle the managing, the booking and go out of their way to make things happen for themselves or their band(s).  Most importantly, they always seem to be very thoughtful of others.  Many male drummers do this/are like this as well, but the female drummers just seem to be more efficient at handling the business end of things mainly due to that "go-getter" personality.  They also tend to be a pleasure to work with and reliable.

By the way, Cindy Blackman is absolutely outrageous on the drums.  She has definitely done her Tony Williams homework!   :)

I dunno... It would be cool to be able to practice with your GF :D.. maybe I should look for a bassplayer?

Anyways, I have to find some girl out there that have the same passion for music and life as I have. Girls at my age these days (atleast here in sweden) are waaay of my track in life.