ONE DRUMMER ONE QUESTION is a regular feature in Tom Tom Magazine. We get a drummer to answer one loaded question and ask an artist to celebrate them in a portrait. Lisa Schonberg curates this feature, and has so far focused on drummers from her stomping ground of Portland, OR. This installment features drummers from the recent Not Enough! Fest in Portland, an annual queer festival of new music and art collaborations. Portland drummer Elizabeth Venable interviewed the drummers for this installment, and local artist and musician Sarah Faith Gottesdiener created some wonderful portraits of them. You can see more of Sarah’s work at www.sarahgottesdiener.com.
FABI REYNA, of Reynosa, Modern Marriage, Older Women and Patches
Fabi Reyna’s band Reynosa created a lot of buzz after their premiere at the Not Enough! Fest this past summer. At the time of their first show, Fabi had only been drumming for a couple of months. Fabi, who was born in Cancun and raised in McCallen and Austin TX, described Reynosa as Latin American rock. Her other projects include the bands Modern Marriage, Older Women, and Patches – she is an experienced guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter. Both members of Reynosa were formerly in Sexhair, which was a featured band at Tom Tom’s SXSW showcase in March 2011. Her contribution to the Portland music community goes well beyond playing in bands; she co-runs and founded the record label Talking Helps. She also organized the recent Shred Fest festival – a benefit for She Shreds, a magazine about female guitarists – and we are honored that Fabi named Tom Tom as a huge inspiration for it.
Do you identify as a drummer?
Yes, I identify as a female drummer – but there’s a small part of me that doesn’t think so. If you pick up an instrument and you can make something creative out of it, even if you don’t know the technical side of things or haven’t been playing for years – then hell yeah, you can consider yourself a ____ player. With that said, I feel like there are a lot of drummers out there who have really studied their instrument and if they were to watch me play they might think I was some sort of joke. That is a pretty intimidating way to look at it though and I don’t think I’d be behind the drums with that mindset. So yes, I’m a female drummer because although I’ve only been playing for a couple months I keep a rhythm, I make a beat and I can make something creative out of it. What else do I need to identify as such?
Top illustration by Kelly Abeln