Female drummers?

Hi all

I guess one can say I am a "female" drummer lol!

Check out my myspace page if you wanna see what I do. There are some songs and a couple vids.

www.myspace.com/phildas

See ya!

Phildas
 
On est trois a parler francais ici. J'viens d'Ottawa. I'be done many gigs and people have taken me seriously after I play. My biggest problem was always finding a band to play with. Guys would take me seriously enough and would'nt bother letting me try playing. But mannnn when I play, there's no guy that can do it like I can and it fells good. We need more confident young ladies to come out and play, take a chance cause im telling you there's alot out there.

Hi roll_model,

I'm an Ottawa drummer as well (male). Are you playing with any groups right now? The only local female drummer I've heard of that's playing regularly is Mary Gellner with the "Big Band Caravane" (though I've not yet actually heard her play). She also recently took over the drum chair from me with the "Bill Jupp Big Band" (a weekly rehearsal group).

After all my years of pro playing I'm still a bit amazed at the dearth of female drummers, but am always happy to find out about one. I'm currently working with a female singer / songwriter who not only plays guitar and piano but also knows rhythms like crazy due to studying flamenco dance. It's not every day I meet someone I can jam with in 7/9 or 9/8 time, male OR female! She's comfortable on hand drums but not the kit, though she has my rehearsal kit at her place and is having fun with it.

And in case you're curious, the local groups I play with are "The Jivewires" (since '94), the "Impressions in Jazz Orchestra", "The Custums", and the "Steve Berndt Quartet", among others. And from 1996 to 2005 I was the drummer for the Trevor Finlay Band, which had some success and played BluesFest ever year. If you ever see me playing please say Hi!

Cheers,
Mark
 
I'm a drummer, I've been playing for thirteen years and I have to say that although someone said that female drummers are always assuming that they aren't taken seriously because they're a girl, it does happen! The number of times I've walked into a drum shop and been blanked and a boy has walked in after me and been asked 'can I help you?' Although for every time that has happened, there has been about a hundred times that I've been taken very seriously and treated as an equal so I guess I can't complain! :)

I'm a woman and I can't get waited on in a Best Buy either. I think that happens in just about every store that isn't specifically geared towards women, like say a nail shop.
 
Another woman drummer checking in!

Sometimes I get really tired of people's reactions when I tell them I'm a drummer. "You're a drummer?? No... Really?" Sigh... Yes, really. I guess part of that is because I'm a pretty quiet and reserved person. I guess people think you have to be some crazy, wild person to be a drummer.

I'm aware of the "butch" attitude, too, and that kind of bothers me. I work in IT, a fairly conservative line of work. I take my "Drum" and "Modern Drummer" magazines to work to read at lunch, but I'll hide them because I don't want my co-workers to think I'm weird. (It doesn't help that often the cover photo is of some tattooed, wild-eyed dude. LOL!) Most of my co-workers have no idea I'm a drummer.
 
I had no idea there were so many ladies in our midst! DW suddenly smells a lot nicer.

Though I'm very in touch with my feminine side, and nobody could ever call me a chauvinist by any stretch, I somehow always felt women and a hard time throwing a ball, and playing the drums.

Sheila E, Hillary Jones, and Terri Lynn Carrington totally blew the 2nd myth out of the water for me.

I'm now waiting for someone the dispel the first! ............................................: ) : ) : )
 
I too am a female drummer. Everybody that knows I play seems to think it is cool. I think it's cool too.
 
Terry Lynn Carrington and Kim Thompson are probably my two favorite jazz drummers, because of their feel. I think it's incredible. I think females have incredible feel and sensitivity. I think it's great to hear them play.
 
I've always thought female drummers rock. Given a choice of watching a male drummer and a female drummer of equal ability, I'll take the female drummer every time; much more sensual. Now having sounded like a typical male, let me say that my respect for female drummers has grown quite a bit as I've gotten to hear more and more female drummers lately.

Good drummers are good drummers, some happen to be male and some happen to be female.
 
Hi, I'm new.

I'm also a female drummer, have been playing since I was 10.

I was reading the posts before mine and I am glad that Karen Carpenter and Janet Weiss were given a mention, I love both. I also love Torry Castellano from The Donnas. Her energy behind the kit is explosive!

Meg White is horrible.
 
I think it's great to be a female drummer. Some even say that it's good to be one, you might not have to carry all the hardcases yourself..:)
 
A drummer is a drummer I always thought.

As long as someone has it in them to drum, they should do it, and that's all that matters.

I had two female drum teachers when I took lessons in HS (they were really good snare drummers too), and about 50% of the drum line when I was a freshman (1979) in HS were female....unfortunately, the band director wasn't a female, and "had" to leave...I leave the gory details out....

My grandmother was a touring drummer in the 20's...got a few cool pics...Radio Kings....(NO, I don't have them dang it!).

My Grandfather (both on Mom's side) was also a drummer.

Sad to say that in all the years I've played out, I've only come across 2 female drummers playing in a band on the same bill.

One was good, the other was passable for what the band was doing, but recently a nice girl came up to me after a show that was a drummer and we talked drums for a while, and she asked a couple questions that I was able to help her with.

Didn't matter that she was a female, she was a drummer, but I do admit it was nicer talking to her than some drummer "dude" of the same experience level asking the same questions.

gfred611, nice job on Barracuda!...I'm jealous too, because I have yet to be able to play Barracuda with a band!

I love that song.

You did a better version than Sean Kinney/Alice In Chains on the Rock Honors show...you did the fills!

SK TOTALLY missed the one big fill!....Gretchen Wilson sang her a$$ off on it though.

....And (even though it is for a good cause) any site that has "Rock Your Boobs" on it is OK by me haha!

Why is everyone so down on Meg White?

The White Stripes have a certain weird style, and she plays within that framework.
I don't know if she can play outside of the WS's, but she does the job for the band she's in...and is making records, touring, and making money at it (hopefully).

Their songs sound good to me, and I like listening to it because she's doing stuff I wouldn't necessarily think to do that way, and I think that's cool.

Is she a drum "virtuoso"? No, but so what.

Cindy Blackman...now she ROCKS on everything, and she's very nice.

Nice to look at too...for a girl :)
 
Hello, fellow drummers.

My lovely wife and two daughters, they play my drum-set suddenly and I enjoy watching them.

All the Best.
 
I have always liked Cindy Blackman's drumming style. (Lenny Kravitz' band.)

large_cindy.jpg


cindyblackmankosl2.jpg
 
I remember watching Hillary Jones for the first time and my first reaction was 'holy shit she'd kick my ass any day'. I admit I am guilty of being one of the 'girls can't play drums' people a long while back (don't crucify me for that). But after getting on this site, I have been baptised otherwise.

Now, girl drummers aren't as scarce as I thought. Half my students are girls. And half of them play better than the guys. I find it easier to teach girls though, cos they listen more. The guys just wanna make noise and bang away.

T.Y I think you've started something here. We're suddenly seeing so many new female members here. Cheers.

Hillary Jones FTW!
 
I play hockey with females and they can kick serious azz, so playing drums is a walk in the park for them.
 
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