reviews
books
girl gang zine
By Kristina Hens and Maren Karlson
Fall 2011
how the mistakes were made By Tyler McMahon
St. Martin’s Griffen | October 2011 This novel, narrated by Laura Loss, an ’80s D.C. hardcore bassist turned ’90s Seattle grunge drummer, follows her rise to fame and then the demise of her reputation by the press and the band’s fans. We’ve seen this story before—a woman, say, Courtney Love or Yoko Ono, is blamed for the break up of a band. It’s interesting to read something in which such a character has a voice. While it is a pageturner and the story is engaging, I found some of the narrative to be flawed. Disappointingly, Loss comes off as tough, yet not strong. She displays a lot of bravado, and views other women as competition for male attention. To be sure, there are a lot of women just like this, but I’d like to see our ideas about women evolve. Riot grrrl was blossoming at the time this story is set and those ideals or even any mention of it is absent. I would also have liked some commentary about other women in the scene. — Rebecca DeRosa
thanks to our supporters
Yes! We made it into this fabulous zine, Girl Gang Zine, put together by two even more fabulous ladies residing in Berlin. The theme for this issue is “Role Models” and consists of interviews with wonderful women from around the world. The zine opens with this befitting quote from Kathleen Hanna, “If I am a role model I wanna be a really three-dimensional one that makes mistakes and [does] not has to do everything right all the time.” Totally. And lo and behold, many of the women they feature are drummers and beatmakers! Inside you can find interviews with our very own Lisa Schonberg, amongst interviews with Zola Jesus, Super Wild Horses, Electralane’s Emma Gaze, Grass Widow and more. The interviews are accompanied by lovely heart-warming illustrations. Our only comment is that we wished we could have seen more women of color represented in this issue. — Mindy Abovitz
tom tom tv best of L i s t compi l ed by s t eph barker
If you haven’t noticed, we have a video screen on the homepage of our website. Yep. That’s right. We use it to premiere music videos, upload exclusive drum lessons, and for just about anything female drummer related. Lately we have debuted “Space Invaders” with our LA team. They have been filming drummers in their practice spaces. We are also posting Tamar Glezerman's SXSW interviews and search our site for LKN's stellar van interview. Here is a short list of some of our other favorite videos on Tom Tom TV.
Interview w/ Liv Marsico
Supercute
The woman on the cover of Tom Tom Magazine Issue #6 comes to life in this interview for Tom Tom Magazine. Liv talks about her background, and also gives us the rundown on her drum kit. Vintage sounds, and vintage gear with an amazing player on top, Get clicking!
This band is exactly what it sounds like, SUPERCUTE! These young girls are not new to the music scene (Rachel has been drumming for years) but their free spirit, and a love of music is obvious in this group. Watch this video and remember to follow them throughout their journey as they tour the world.
Space Invaders: The Orange Rev
Valerie George's car kit
This is the first installment of “Practice Spaces” on Tom Tom TV, and it is with The Orange Rev. We get a tour of the space, and of course, a tour of the drum kit. Take a glimpse of the whole band during a rehearsal, and a closer look at how the drummer breaks it down. Also, hear the cutest NAMM story ever!
A recording studio, in a station wagon! Why would you not want to see that? There is also an array of drums, and cymbals mounted on top of the same car. Valerie George speaks to Tom Tom Magazine, and explains how everything works, and why she made this masterpiece in the first place. Must see station wagon! 53