by Anna Kho
Brisbane drummer and educator, Amy Lee Mansinger, sits down with me in between her busy teaching day at Just Percussion in Newstead to talk about her career, other artistic projects, musical endeavours and what it means to be a 'female drummer'.
As we discuss her experiences, we begin discussing the stereotypes within her career. Amy begins, "The kind of stereotype for models is the ditzy, think they're better than everyone, sort of... and I have met girls like that in the industry, but it's like that stereotype. Saying that I play an instrument, especially saying drums, kind of changes their perspective. I've met people, just like on the street. I dress a lot of rockabilly... I love it, and I feel comfortable in it, and like it's fun and colourful... anyway a lot of people have told me that they perceived me as stuck up and up myself when they first met me. It's another stereotype thing, a lot of people see outfits like that and... unfortunately people are quick to judge and make assumptions. I definitely think saying that I do work within the music industry does put another perspective. Especially in this day and age... everyone is realising that we do need arts. Arts are an important thing in every person's life. No matter if they don't play an instrument, they still listen to music." On the topic of stereotypes, we also talk about the pressure of physical features as a model compared to being a drummer. Amy continues, "Definitely in the modelling industry there is a lot more pressure than with drumming, but they're quite equal in a sense. I still have to watch the way I represent myself. Making sure not to post things online, like dress certain ways is ensure that there is no line that is crossed in a sense. It can be [similar]."
Interestingly, the 'look' of the model and musicians are similar in the way they are represented, perceived and viewed. Perhaps, a pressure more so experienced by a female? Amy and I go deeper into conservation and we start exploring what the advantages and disadvantages are as a female drummer.
"A lot of the music industry are male dominated, especially with drum related stuff with percussion and drum kit, there's a lot more pressure in a sense..." A disadvantage Amy experienced was expectations set by her tertiary colleagues through rumours and conversations circling the cohort before she even started there. As a result, her first day was finding out what people knew about her, before she knew who she was. Deep down she wasn't at a good state at the time, despite her happiness and passion in drums. In the end, she felt she wasn't up to standard and the pressure didn't help either. "It put a lot of pressure on me, like I would freak out going to play in front of everyone... It was a big eye opener. I've [also] had things happen to me where I've had other male drummers look down on me. It's kind of like fighting for the position. There's people that are judgmental for everyone, but being a female a lot of people put higher expectations on you to be a lot better than what you may be. When you actually perform, they're like 'Oh well, I'm much better than you'. I've actually had someone laugh at me with my choice of drum sticks, because I was at that stage of drumming where I was trying different kinds of drum sticks." Unfortunately, even after tertiary the experience of negativity as a female drummer continued. As Amy began posting drumming videos on Instagram, a male viewer decided to comment.
Amy explains,
"Yeah, he called it 'female drum beats', so he put an actual gender to the drum beats. I actually said to him 'This is a basic 4/4 rock beat. Everyone drums this. Just because I'm drumming, it doesn't make it a female drum beat'." The comments from the same viewer go on, as seen in the screenshot below.
Amy exclaims,
"If it was anonymous he wouldn't even know that it was a girl, but because there was a video of me drumming with it he commented 'female'. If somebody just says to me 'You're **** at playing', explain to me. Why do you think my playing is bad? What can I do to improve it? What do you think? I'm quite like that, where I like to turn a lot of negative feedback to constructive." Females get comments for what they're wearing, but it seems they also have to get judged on what they're playing too? Amy and I could only imagine what it must be like for the bigger artists out there, such as Anika Nilles, or any other female artists whose work are seen by the public eye. Fortunately, there are advantages of being a female drummer. As a percussionist and educator myself, I agreed with Amy as she states, "...being a female [teacher], parents are more likely to be more comfortable leaving their kids with you. People get more excited when they hear there's a girl that does percussion or drums. It's kind of like a breath of fresh air, I actually had someone say that to me 'It's like a breath of fresh air seeing a female drummer'." As we look towards the future of the Brisbane music industry, I ask Amy what changes she hopes to make as an artist for females in the industry? She responds, "I think a big thing is helping other girls and women realise that we can do what men do. You don't hear many female drummers, and the ones you do hear about are really good and they fought. I've been following quite a few female drummers that are amazing, and they're big inspirations for me. But it's really cool [when] I can show my other girl students - this is what you can do, this is what you can achieve. That's kind of what I want the industry to be - everyone to be accepting, [to] love each other." Lastly, Amy leaves us with advice she would give to other young female artists out there. "Stick to what you're doing, if it brings you joy that's what's important. One thing I've been fighting a lot with myself is to stop comparing myself with other musicians, because it drags me down and then I don't practice and don't do anything. It's a constant battle... but once you figure it out - 'No, I'm happy with what I'm achieving' and just to keep that ball rolling - that's what's important."
Interview and article by Anna Kho
Anna Kho is the director, producer and host of Musicians Unmuted. She is also a Brisbane freelance percussionist and educator. She holds a degree in Bachelor of Music with Honours and Graduate Diploma in Education. Find out more at www.annakho.com.
0 Comments
After two years of hiatus, we are finally back with a new episode! Episode 12: Behind the Scenes features the history of the podcast and commentary on some of the highlights in Season 1. This is also an episode to thank all our guests who featured in each podcast episode, and also a special thank you to Daniel Kassulke and Maya Luski for all their love, dedication and talent towards this project. They've been the gears of the machine that made this project come to life, and were the other team members that fed ideas, advice and opinions to the overall podcast. If it weren't for them, this podcast would have never existed in the first place. So thank you so much for everything you've done, and I hope to do you both proud with my own audio engineering skills as you can hear below! Note: There's a new closing theme, produced by yours truly.
As said in the podcast episode above, I did feel quite upset at myself and felt like I was letting everyone down by not continuing the podcast. I went through a lot in the past two years, and because I wasn't in the right place I was never motivated to provide the love and passion the podcast needed. Fortunately, I was definitely supported by the listeners and was working towards bringing this podcast back no matter what. So here we are today, and I'm so happy to be able to bring this back for you all. I hope you enjoy this new season!
Thank you so much to the listeners for supporting this non-profit project, because if it weren't for you then I'm not sure if I would have come back with Musicians Unmuted at all? Please keep supporting this podcast by following us on social media, such as Facebook, SoundCloud, Apple podcast or the other podcast platforms. Keep an eye on this website too, as there will be many more exciting things to come!
Director, Producer, Audio Engineer and Host, Anna.
We are back and we've launched a new website! You can now easily contact us and find out more about this project. As well as supporting us by leaving comments, suggestions, questions and feedback in our contact form. In addition to our podcast, you can also view news and articles and our 'Hall of Fame' that features our previous podcast guests.
This way you can be updated with the latest from Musicians Unmuted and we hope to connect more with our listeners through this new website. Don't forget we also still have our SoundCloud and Facebook page as well. If you've missed a couple of episodes, click on one below and start listening! If you head to our 'Contact' page you'll also notice our personalised Musicians Unmuted mug. These were first seen in our Musicians Unmuted concert. If you wish to order one, please contact us for more details.
Enjoy the website and we are always happy to receive any feedback on the podcast or other exciting things to be come. In the mean time look out for Season 2!!!
- Anna. |
AuthorArticles written about community members, issues or events in the Brisbane Music Scene. Archives
March 2020
Categories |