Why are there no female drummers?
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Topic: Why are there no female drummers?
Posted By: Logos
Subject: Why are there no female drummers?
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 12:56
...apart from Meg White.  At least I can't think of any right now.The question should be clear. Now you tell me the answer. |
Replies:
Posted By: Easy Money
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:00
| There are lots of female drummers, try using google. |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:02
And if there aren't, it must be that Testosterone-fueling machine called the "double bass"... (queue to Baldfriede and BaldJean here...  < ="utf-8"> ) Really, it might actually have something to do with it (not with the double bass drums but in general with the kind of "power" a drum set makes a drummer feel...)  Who knows I have no idea. ------------- 
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Posted By: Logos
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:03
Yeah, I googled. Maybe the correct wording would be "famous female drummers". Or maybe my musical knowledge is just that limited.  The T, yeah, I'm thinking whether there's a physical aspect involved (and I don't wanna sound chauvinistic here). |
Easy Money wrote:Posted By: akamaisondufromage
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:09
------------- Help me I'm falling! |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:10
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Because it's harder to check out a sweet looking lass if she's hiding behind a kit. Though tongue in cheek, I think this is part of it. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:20
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Because they are usually sh*te. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:20
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Mo Tucker.
Sandy West.
Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussionist, but she also plays a "kit") ------------- What? |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:21
She's amazing, Latina percussion queen.....I saw her on one of Prince's tours as his drummer. She has also played with Ringo Starr All Star Band.
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Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:23
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I once dated a female drummer, but she would never let me get to first bass! (Ba-dum-crash). ------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:26
D'oh! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: SaltyJon
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:29
 Yoshimi P-We from the Boredoms. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Salty_Jon" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:31
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Sorry but female drummers don't look attractive to me... The drum set is not something I associate with good looks -------------
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Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:31
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It's always the same. In a male dominated world people, especially in showbiz, look primarly at the looks of a woman, not at her skills. .... Besides, |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 13:34
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I have NOT said they can't have equal or immensely superior skills to male drummers... I'm just saying the instrument doesn't seem to fit them in my male chauvinistic pig head.... -------------
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 15:03
| I've always thought drumming is a tough thing to do, physically. |
Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 15:54
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I am disappointed to see that most of you are still chauvinists. |
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 15:58
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Blackman" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Blackman ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:16
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There is absolutely no physical reason for women not to be equally represented as drummers. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:21
By that logic there should be as many women construction workers as there are men. They can do it, after all. Yet somehow they prefer to take on babysitting, cash counting, cleaning, etc. |
Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:22
Thank you!  Everyone should read the last paragraph in this article about the role as a female musician.
Exactly. And as pictures always say more than words: |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:34
Thanks, I was thinking about her, but also Terry Lynn Carrington. In France, we have the young leader Anne Paceo (and his band Triphase) and Julie Saury. And don't forget free jazz/improv/experimental jazz drummers as Susie Ibarra and Ikue Mori (the Tzadik connection!) If you prefer rock music, of course we have Moe Tucker (Velvet Underground), already mentionned, but also: - Sandy West (the Runaways), - Denise Dufort (Girlschool), - Paloma Romero (first drummer of the Slits, and, man, she could hit!), - Dee Plakas (L7), If you're looking for female drummers in metal, here's a short list: - Shamara Irizarry (Matriarch - Puerto Rico) - Eleonora (Putrefied Beauty - Italy - a promising band) - Sandrine (Gorod until 2009 - France) - Yasmin Claire (Myndsnare - India) - Sandra Vungi (Neoandertals - Estonia). Of course, if you list every all-female bands, you will find a lot of female drummers (Fanny, Birtha for the 80's, Rock Goddess, Lunachicks...)... |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:36
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Have you seen Spinal Tap? Do you think that a woman would be dumb enough where they might just spontaneously combust? ------------- 
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:38
Oh lord, this is too funny. I googled The Bangles to see who their drummer was, and it was Debbi Peterson, and I clicked on the link http://www.nndb.com/people/821/000083572/" rel="nofollow - http://www.nndb.com/people/821/000083572/ and damned if she didn't drum for Spinal Tap in 1991.  -------------
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Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:45
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one word Katzenjammer four piece girlband, like a girly Gentle giant 4 be real, lizme
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Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:48
Ummm...no.
The reasons for those differences are cultural, not physical. And "prefer" might not be the word I'd choose.
There is only one definitive physical difference (besides reproductive), muscle mass. As a result, the similarly conditioned men can lift more weight than a woman. That's it. And it has nothing to do with drumming. Maybe being a roadie. The only thing physically demanding about drumming is stamina and dexterity, and even those are not especially demanding compared to any real athletic activity.
On a minor related note, school age girls and women are besting boys and men academically across most of the globe in all subjects including math now, reversing previous trends.
------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 16:53
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more Katzenjammer
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 17:04
You're not addressing my point. Of course men can lift heavier things, but women can lift enough, too, to work as construction workers (or truck drivers, policemen, sailors, etc). You don't ALL your strength as a man to work in certain fields, from a point onwards there are machines to help. For example, you're not going to see a worker in a store carrying trunks of products on his back; he's going to be carrying them around on a sort of vehicle on wheels that he moves quite easily with just one hand. Just like in those cases, the reasons why women don't pick up this activity (drumming) are cultural, and all boil down to the perceived manliness and physicality of this particular acitvity. Even I didn't say I found drumming too demaning, as I never tried it; it just seemed too difficult for me to even consider it. EDIT: I think you misunderstood my post by thinking I say women have physical limitations that prevents them from drumming. That wasn't my intention; I was mentioning physicality as a cultural factor (see my mention of perception). I think that we actually agree! |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 17:32
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I do like Cindy Blackmans drumming on Lenny Kravitz 'are you gonna go my way'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8moA7OzJ9s" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8moA7OzJ9s
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Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 17:35
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It seems that female drummers are mostly only accepted in female bands. Here is an example of a mixed band. These are local street musicians from my hometown Berlin, who I saw on a street festival. All musicians constantly change their instruments, sing, dance and play. In this particular song a woman plays drums. You can see her at the end of the video when she stands up. |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 17:37
Yep we agree the differences are cultural. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 17:42
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If you take a close look at http://www.drummerworld.com" rel="nofollow - drummerworld.com , you'll find that female drummers are in the minority, but there are a few needles in this haystack. ------------- 
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Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 18:36
If you take a close look at the world, you'll find that women are in the minority in every domain. Okay, let's say: almost every domain. Same thing could be said about guitarists, saxophonists, bassists, keyboard players, etc... And since this site, while not being bad and interesting, seems to be focused on the American musical scene, it lacks some names (or is it just me being negative?) |
Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 18:45
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Sexism ftw
Edit: Sarcasm ------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 18:56
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The Honeycombs, a British Invasion band, featured Ann "Honey" Lantree on drums. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 19:40
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Oh, and also : - Hilary Binder (Sabot, an American bass-drums duet residing in Czech Republic) - Marylise Frecheville (Vialka - they will play at the RIO festival in Albi this year!) |
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 21:06
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Rachel Blumberg - former drummer for the Decemberists ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: NotAProghead
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 21:23
I think Juanita Parra of Los Jaivas looks pretty good.  ------------- Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour) |
Posted By: Easy Money
Date Posted: April 01 2011 at 21:30
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Sheila Escovedo - Prince, George Duke etc
Marilyn Mazur - Miles Davis Terri Lynne Carrington - Wayne Shorter, David Letterman Show etc |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 10:05
| probably for the same reason there are so little women on PA ( i mean as users ) |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 10:36
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My theory is that they evacuated the planet before it's about to be recycled.
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Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 10:51
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 11:14
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 14:11
One of my all time favourite singles - and those 60s Burns Bison guitars are soooo nice. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 14:43
One of my all time favourite players
An extremely creative rock drummer, she's also worked with Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Bright Eyes and her own band Quasi. And others.------------- http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=42652" rel="nofollow - It's on PA! 
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Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 19:17
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Yvette Preyer |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 19:33
 
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 20:35
-------------
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 20:53
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More of a percussionist, but Sue Hadjopoulos: OK I should take that back: Dual drummer arrangement so not enough focus on Sue. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: April 02 2011 at 21:47
 Legend has it, there was at least one female drummer, as far back as the Napoleonic wars:
Female Drummer
(as recorded by Steeleye Span, 1971)
I was brought up in Yorkshire and when I was sixteen I walked all the way to London and a soldier I became cho: With me fine cap and feathers, likewise me rattling drum They learned me to play upon the ra-ba-da-ba-dum With me gentle waist so slender, me fingers long and small I could play upon the ra-ba-dum the best of them all And so many were the pranks that I saw upon the breech And so boldly did I fight me boys although I'm but a wench And they buttoned then up me trousers so up to them I smiled To think I'd live with a thousand men and a maiden all the while And they never found my secret out until this very hour When they sent me out to London to be sentry at the Tower When a young girl fell in love with me and she found that I's a maid She went out to me officer me secret she betrayed He unbuttoned then my red uniform and he found that it was true "It's a shame", he says "to lose a pretty drummer boy like you" So now I must return to me mum and dad at home And along with me old comrades no longer can I roam Seriously, re the relative dearth of the fairer sex behind the skins, perhaps it's because girls don't usually like to hit, but wound with words -- they have many more singers!
 Actually seriously, thinking about it: likely societal/cultural AND biological factors are at work. (See also explorers, philosophers and mathematicians....) Individuals are individuals, but broadly speaking, the sexes are different. That's okay, no?  ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 05:11
You should read "Monstrous Regiment" by Terry Pratchett, in which a woman joins the army to look for her brother. She joins a recruiting party led by an old sergeant, and one by one all new recruits turn out to be women. who joined the army for various reasons. When they are finally admit to being women they get into trouble because they have been more successful in battle than the rest of the army, and they even have to face a court martial. But it turns out that about half the officers at the court martial are women too, and even the old and famous sergeant who is feared for his skills in battle turns out to be a woman. -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 11:59
Sounds like a hoot!
I shoukld read some Pratchett some day -- I know my pal Jim is a big fan....
Ever read Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness"? Great sci fi, which deals with the issue of gender, and the assumptions we have built around it. (For those unfamilar with the plot, an earthman is on a world where the people regularly, biologigally and naturally change gender -- thus a father can also be a mother, a "macho" soldier can also be a loving, nurturing mother, etc.) A classic, by one of America's best writers -- any genre, any gender.  ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 14:32
What ? I mean, it's a confusing statement: what do you mean ? What role are the "biological factors" playing in this story about explorers, philosophers and mathematicians? If the sexes are different (next time I checked, I could see a noticeable difference between what men have in their own trousers and what women have in their own trousers), it... Er, yeah, I guess it's okay, but... No, frankly, what do you mean??? |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 14:41
| ^ he means that bouncing breasts get in the way |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 15:00
And when a man spends one hour or two sitting behind the drums, what is flattened and painful?  |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: April 03 2011 at 15:05
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a drummer's throne is actually quite comfortable and yes, that is what it is called |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 08:09
Do you mean you never had a roll on the drums?
(paradiddle) ------------- The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS. CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php - http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php Host by PA's Dick Heath. |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 08:11
Am I okay with two feet - firmly on the ground? ------------- The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS. CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php - http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php Host by PA's Dick Heath. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 08:47
------------- What? |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 09:57
No, but she gave him a ride. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 11:11
They crashed. He didn't want to wear a hi-hat. -------------
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Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 15:38
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Once, when I was in high-school and just started to learn the bass, a friend of mine asked me to join her band - she was the singer, but I knew she began by playing the drums. I declined her proposal (I started the bass only 3 or 4 months ago!), but I attended her (few) concerts. Frankly, I would have prefered to see her playing the drums rather than singing. |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:05
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I am a female drummer (and singer).
------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:13
She had short hair and liked football, she was a bit of a tom tomboy. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:32
She preferred a bass (the fish) to a (chicken) drumstick. ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: Windhawk
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:48
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------------- Websites I work with: http://www.progressor.net http://www.houseofprog.com My profile on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/haukevind/ |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:54
------------- What? |
Posted By: Windhawk
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 16:55
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------------- Websites I work with: http://www.progressor.net http://www.houseofprog.com My profile on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/haukevind/ |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 18:01
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Yes, of course, some all-women tribute-bands, why not? But maybe posting a video of Girlschool or Rock Goddess would have been a better idea? After all, they were contemporary to Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Saxon, etc. It reminds me: http://www.myspace.com/womeninironform" rel="nofollow - http://www.myspace.com/womeninironform |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 18:11
This cascade needs at least one of these:  (Just pretend it's a female smiley.)------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: April 04 2011 at 18:15
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Oh, and we can't forget the lovely and talented http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=909" rel="nofollow - Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: Steven Brodziak
Date Posted: April 05 2011 at 04:49
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As you can tell from my pic. Things might get in the way! ------------- Well, there it is. (Amadeus) |
Posted By: seoparveen1
Date Posted: April 09 2011 at 06:29
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I had searched from Google there are many female drummers and i say that they are really very sexy. ------------- http://www.bestcoloringpages.com/" rel="nofollow - Coloring Pages | http://www.seohut.in" rel="nofollow - Seo Services india |
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: April 09 2011 at 09:17
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only 13 y.o. ! ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: April 30 2011 at 17:46
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Bumping this thread because I forgot all about Cheshire Agusta from Stinking Lizaveta. Listening to Scream Of the Iron Iconoclast right now, and DAMN is she good. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: May 01 2011 at 03:59
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Oh yeah, Stinking Lizaveta, even if I'm not passionate about their music. Last week, I discovered Metronomy and their drummer Anna Prior (not my cup of tea, but we have to mention her). |
Posted By: freudiana
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 01:07
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Does Ruth Underwood of Frank Zappa count? |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 06:10
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This made the rounds of the intertubes not long ago - a bride drumming at her wedding: ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 08:53
 she is bloody good |
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 11:18
| I like Linda Waring from Nitzinger |
Posted By: CPicard
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 11:26
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Yesterday, I began to watch Beautiful Frenzy, a DVD about the post-punk band The Ex. It reminded that they had a woman on drums, Katherina Bornefeld, since 1985. |