Name 
Alison Fane

Where are you based?
Boon-Wurrung country 

How long have you been playing drums? And what initially drew you to the instrument? 
I started when I was 8 years old. I grew up in a very musical family who owned a music school so I was always surrounded by instruments. I started having informal piano lessons with my mum from about the age of 4 but quickly lost interest, I never wanted to read the music or use the correct fingering…! I remember seeing the drum kit for the first time and dreaming that one day my feet might reach the pedals! I was always interested in exploring and mucking around on lots of instruments, I used to grab the electric guitar or teach myself the bass guitar and sing along to CD recordings, there was always room for exploration as a kid and I’m so lucky I had the space and opportunity to do it. 

Do you play any other instruments? 
My main focus currently as a musician is percussion and timpani. I love playing drum kit though - it gives me a sense of relief where I can play music for the sake of it rather than it constantly being a monetary association with professional work. 

What bands/projects/collaborations are you involved in right now?
Gigs are very quiet at the moment due to the lockdown here. I have been collaborating with a great composer K. Travers Eira, commissioning and working on proposals for future work. It has been a lovely experience to collaborate with people in different art forms because I think too often, especially in pre-COVID times, we would be too busy to have these interactions. It has also been great to meet other drummers and percussionists through the online medium of ZOOM. It has proven to be a fantastic connecting tool! 

What else have you previously been involved in (bands/shows/projects etc)? 
Pre-COIVD I was freelancing with Orchestra Victoria, playing in a handful of Ballets and Operas. Since 2019 I have been studying at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) so there is never a shortage of projects, performances and opportunities. 

Do you write music or develop your own shows? What are they about/how have they come about? 
I enjoy collaborating with composers and making sure I am contributing to the literature for the next generation of percussionists and drummers to enjoy! I have recently been working on an upcoming recital (pending lockdown restrictions) which explores the disciplinary society in which we live, where institutional dominance shapes our very existence. The recital pushes the boundaries of the body, focusing on the cycles of trauma and healing as these manifestations of violence are realised and confronted through corporeal meditations. 

Who are you listening to/whose music are you enjoying right now? 
I love Sufjan Stevens - either when I am going for a run or doing the dishes. I have also been listening to Sampa the Great and Jen Cloher - two amazing artists who always give me hope for the future of non-cis white male music in this country. 

Do you have any favourite drummers? Or other musicians who inspire you? why? 
My idol when I was little was Cindy Blackman - I met her at an Australian Ultimate Drummers Weekend when I was about 10 years old. I believe that you can’t be what you can’t see and this meeting showed me that I could achieve anything. 

How would you describe the kind of music or projects you’re mostly involved in? And what kind of unique perspective/sound do you bring to these gigs? 
I have always considered myself an “orchestral musician” but during COVID times I have definitely taken a more holistic approach to my music making - I am no longer categorising and limiting myself to be a specific type of musician. I think it is so important to be a broad, well versed and open minded musician. 

Do you have a particular warm up or practice routine? Or favourite exercises?
Yes! I do weekly Alexander Technique lessons so my daily practice routine is based on this. I begin by writing three pages of long-hand writing to get my stream of consciousness onto a page and then start Alexander Technique exercises and physiotherapy stretches to warm up my body. I believe that my body is my instrument and it needs to be in good shape for me to perform with ease and to an optimal level. I am then ready to start my practice pad warm up which is in three stages: singles, doubles and rolls which break down the basics of playing a drum. I then finish with some light stretches and a semi-supine rest which allows me the space and time to move onto my work day. I also have a practice journal which I have written in daily for the last 5 years - it is a game changer for setting goals! 

Does social media play a big part in how you promote yourself as an artist and your various projects? Do you promote your work in other ways? 
I have actually withdrawn myself from social media during this pandemic - I have found it has given me more space and productivity which has been awesome. I am lucky that the Australian National Academy of Music promotes most of the gigs I am involved in but I think post-COVID I will end up promoting more gigs via social media ;) 

Do you make a living from music? What different types of work does this comprise?
​Yes I do - mostly in the shape of performing, from freelancing in orchestras to working at a school as a percussionist accompanist for Contemporary Dance Classes. I love working with dancers, not only because it pushes me to think about the use of my body but the connection between art forms, reminding me why i play and love music. 

Where’s the coolest place that music has taken you? 
Definitely overseas - to Shanghai and Singapore but I’ve loved working with people with special needs - I learn so much from other people and I love to share the beauty of music. 

If you could give your younger drumming self some advice what would it be? 
Enjoy the journey, don’t be too focused on the outcome, trust your instincts and you can do anything you set your mind to. 



Website
https://anam.com.au/musicians/alison-fane 
https://anam.com.au/life-at-anam/media/music-education-matters-alison-fane 

​

Name Susan Shaw
 
Where are you based? Melbourne
 
How long have you been playing drums? And what initially drew you to the instrument?
I have been playing the drums for 38 years! I started with the guitar, but once I had a go on the drums, it just felt right, using your whole body so you are almost inside the music. I started a band straight away!
 
Do you play any other instruments? Yes, guitar, mandolin, and some banjo
 
What bands/projects/collaborations are you involved in right now? I am in about 6 or 7 bands, depending how you divide them . I play drums in :
The Exotics
Plastic Section
The Wraylettes
 
I play old time acoustic guitar in:
Flying Engine String Band
Fruit Jar
Johnny Can’t Dance Cajun Band (and vocals)
 
What else have you previously been involved in (bands/shows/projects etc)?
Wet Ones
Girl Monstar
and many others, but these are the ones that played a lot/toured/recorded etc
 
Do you write music or develop your own shows? What are they about/how have they come about?
No, I do not do either of those things. I love being the ‘working class’ of the band and sitting back keeping it all in time. I am very happy to support songwriters by facilitating their ideas and contributing in my own way.   As for shows, I am in bands that play live very regularly (in normal years, not 2020), the gigs come to us, thankfully, because I hate the business side of things.
 
What are your thoughts on collaboration in music and in the projects you’re involved in or the projects you run?
I have only ever been involved in collaborative projects - I am and always will be a drummer in a band, it is the exemplification of teamwork. Everyone is essential, and hopefully everyone knows their role. After all these years, I know my role well, and what I can contribute. A good band is more than the sum of its parts. 
 
Who are you listening to/whose music are you enjoying right now?
I have actually gone back recently to the albums I enjoyed in my youth, when I was learning to play, such as early B52’s, and Devo, but my perennials are early Rock n Roll, such as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike and Tina, Rhythm and Blues, Nathaniel Mayer, Nolan Strong,  Sixties garage like the Sonics, Troggs, Standells, Easybeats, I love punk : Stooges, Ramones, Cramps, Sex Pistols, I love disco, funk, Sly and the Family Stone, Prince, I love traditional Gospel , Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Reverend Charles White, Brother Clause Ely, Blues, Henry Thomas, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Howlin’ Wolf, of course, Cajun, Iry Le Jeune, Balfa Brothers, Old time, Tommy Jarrell, Roscoe Holcombe,  lots of soul music, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, where do I stop... I could honestly go on forever, my husband and I have a vast record collection, he is more of a collector than I am.
I consider these my ‘modern’ favourites though, I have nothing against contemporary music but I quite simply don’t hear anything that grabs me. As you can see, I have followed my musical obsessions way back to very early Blues, and String Band and Cajun  music from past centuries.
This is why half the bands I play in are not Rock n Roll, but Old Time or traditional Cajun. There were no drums in those genres, but the music is so RHYTHMIC! I fell in love with it, and took up guitar again, and learned the mandolin so I could be a part of it. However, the role I play in the band is very much like a drummer.
 
Do you have any favourite drummers? Or other musicians who inspire you? why?
My favourite drummer is Earl Palmer, he is simple and tough, but so accomplished. He helped to establish what Rock n Roll sounds like with his drumming. Another musician who inspires me is Maybelle Carter, she basically established what country guitar sounded like, and by doing this, set the stage for Rock and Roll as well.
She played the toughest guitar, recorded seminal records of the twentieth century while pregnant or with kids in tow, stayed married while touring the country, and with her first royalty cheque bought a motorbike! Love her.
 
How would you describe the kind of music or projects you’re mostly involved in?
And what kind of unique perspective/sound do you bring to these gigs?
Rock n Roll Rock n Roll Rock n Roll!
I know that I am bringing the perspective of someone who LOVES Rock n Roll, and I am a servant of it. I don’t ever want to play so people can hear ME, but rather that they can feel the Rock n Roll. When I play, I feel like I am saying, “Can you feel that excitement?” “Does it make you want to dance?”  “How’s this creepy, weird bit here - does it make you shiver?” “How good are crazy drunk Friday nights?!” but saying it all with the drums. I love a simple, primitive beat that serves the song well, I don’t like drum solos, because what they are saying is ‘look at me!’ and that is not whatI am about.
 
Do you have a particular warm up or practice routine? Or favourite exercises?
As laid back and rough as I am, I actually always warm up just before going on. It means I am ready to go from the first song, rather than getting  to it after song number 3. I just do some single, double rolls and paradiddles, usually on a chair backstage if I can find one.
 
Does social media play a big part in how you promote yourself as an artist and your various projects? Do you promote your work in other ways?
Ha, no.
 
Do you make a living from music? What different types of work does this comprise? 
I have at times made a living from music, but I hate having to rely on it. I love playing live  so much, I would hate to have to compromise with what I play, or make it feel like a job.
By day, I teach English to migrants and refugees in a Government program. I love this job very much, it is incredibly rewarding, and balances out the music side of me, but also complements it. Love of music is universal! My students are mostly refugees from Syria and Iraq, and they will drop everything to get up and dance a dabke to their favourite song at 11am on a Thursday morning. They are my inspiration.
 
Where’s the coolest place that music has taken you?
Hmm, rather than actual geographical places, I tend to think of bizarre situations - when I was still a teenager I had to play the part of a drumming fish on an ABC kid’s show. It involved me miming on a drum kit with a giant fish head on. That was weird.
 
Also, about 20 years ago, I joined four of the guys from Beasts of Bourbon to play in the touring band for one of my heroes, Andre Williams.  We played live in a  studio on the ABC in Sydney. Now THAT was very cool. What made it bizarre was I had a 6 month old baby who I was breastfeeding at the time . When the producer called, “Everyone on set” to play live, my milk started to come down! I was wearing a black dress, and when I looked in the mirror, there were these two sprays of white pumping out from my black dress. I was about to go live on national television, playing the drums with milk dripping out!   I just thought, ‘How did I end up here?’ I managed to squeeze my arms against my boobs to stop the flow, but I played with a soaking wet dress.
 
If you could give your younger drumming self some advice what would it be?
You know more than you think you do because you know yourself. Be true to yourself -if  you love simple, pounding Rock n Roll, don’t feel you need to please others by being something other than that.
 
Don’t listen to those dickheads who think they know what you should be doing by virtue of the fact that they are men! (I didn’t really) But honestly, there were very few female drummers back then, and guys who WERE NOT EVEN DRUMMERS would give me drumming advice! Thank God I didn’t listen when they said, ‘get an electronic kit, those big drum kits are so out of fashion!” (It was the 1980s)
 

Website
Check out the bands above on Facebook - they are very much live bands and must be enjoyed in a sweaty crowded pub, so you may have to wait, as we are currently in a global pandemic.