Playing Glastonbury with Bryan Ferry was amazing! We headlined the West Holts Stage, and we were all very scared because the set had changed quite a bit. Some of the songs we hadn’t played that much at that point, so it was quite nerve-racking, but it just came together and was so magical. Also another high point was performing on top of a London bus at the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 to a TV audience of 1.5 billion!!! If you could teach a drummer just one thing, what would it be? It’d have to be a few things! First, it would be timing. I always look at the drummers I love and think, ‘what do they have in common?’ All the good drummers have fantastic timing. You are the foundation of the band; the rest of the band are leaning on you. You are dictating the time. Second would be playing with a good ‘feel’—playing with your heart. Not to be cheesy, but developing your own style is important. All the great drummers have their own style going on—they’ve all got their own ‘feel’. I’m always working on making the music feel good.
I get nervous before every single performance, but I like to redefine the idea of nerves as excitement rather than being nervous.
The other thing—which is SUCH a big thing—is listening! Listening! That’s something I learned when I was 13 or 14. If you listen to what others are playing, you’ll play what’s appropriate. Play for the music and for the song, and really listen to what’s going on. What are your goals for the future? Developing my skills as a musician. Developing my own style and becoming more of the player that I actually want to be. That is quite a tough thing—a lot of drummers go on a long journey trying to discover where their playing strengths really lie, and how to use them to be the type of drummer they want to be. Another goal is to teach and inspire more girls to pick up the sticks. There are an increasing number of up-and-coming female drummers, and it’s becoming more widely accepted. I’d like to be part of that movement and an inspiration to others. Just being a good human is a goal in itself ! Oh—and to make good cuppa tea!!
ISSU E 21: GIRL B AND S
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