What's funny is I actually.
Speaker ABecause I'm taking piano lessons, I actually knew what you were saying and it felt good.
Speaker BOkay, start.
Speaker AI know.
Speaker ARoot position.
Speaker BNext up.
Speaker BYou're.
Speaker BCan you.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker BYou're on your way, man.
Speaker AHopefully.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker BYeah, go ahead.
Speaker BSuper fan.
Speaker CI.
Speaker CI'm even afraid to ask this because I'm sure you get asked all the time, but what.
Speaker CWhat limitations have you had, both with just physically drums being stupid heavy and just people not taking you probably seriously in the beginning?
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker CSo can you tell us about.
Speaker CThe thing is, I'm sure every interview has this question, but it is.
Speaker CI want to know.
Speaker CI want to understand, because as a drummer, I know the attitude drummers have had and just musicians in general, I find.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker CHow did you combat that?
Speaker DSo you're sugar coating the question.
Speaker AI mean, just like, it's not his style.
Speaker DIt's okay.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker BI mean, there's also other females who are probably listening who are coming up.
Speaker BSo this is.
Speaker BThis is good stuff.
Speaker DI'll say a lot of things.
Speaker DSo I'll say a lot of things.
Speaker DLike, so growing up, for me, especially, like, when I was on tour and stuff like that, when I walked in the room, everyone's like, oh, the singer's here.
Speaker DOr when I walked to the drums, like, nobody paid any attention to me.
Speaker DAnd until I started playing a groove and I'm like, do I have to, like, purposely prove myself every single time?
Speaker BFrustrating.
Speaker DVery frustrating.
Speaker DSo that became a thing.
Speaker DAnd then people started saying, we didn't expect you to play like that.
Speaker DYou're amazing.
Speaker DAnd I'm like, like, like, thank you.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CBut, like, yeah, it's a bit, you.
Speaker AKnow, I totally understand.
Speaker DAnd re.
Speaker DHave you guys heard of drumeo?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker DYeah, yeah.
Speaker DSo I don't, like, a lot of work with drumeo.
Speaker DAnd back in November, I did.
Speaker DI played Thriller and drumeo's like, talk about something that's very near and dear to your heart.
Speaker DSo I'm like, all right, cool.
Speaker DLike, I want to talk about gender inequality.
Speaker DAnd this was the first time I really, like, talked about something that was not political, but maybe some people could, like, argue against for sure.
Speaker DI didn't know how it would have been received.
Speaker DI was like, okay, no one's even going to pay any attention.
Speaker DOh, my God.
Speaker DThe chaos that that video caused online.
Speaker DOh, my God.
Speaker DLike, I couldn't sleep for two nights.
Speaker DLike, I would say 60% of people were like, yes, gender inequality exists.
Speaker DAnd then 40% was like, we talking about men face the same thing.
Speaker DAnd I don't want to go here, but I do.
Speaker DSo, like, for example.
Speaker DYeah, okay, I'll do it.
Speaker BLace up your boots.
Speaker DLet's go, let's go.
Speaker DSo, you know, like, black.
Speaker DBlack lives matter.
Speaker DAnd when people said all lives matter, it's like, I'm not comparing, but I'm saying the effect that you feel when.
Speaker DWhen you're facing something and someone says, but we face it, too, but it's like, it's different.
Speaker DHello?
Speaker DSo that's what was happening.
Speaker DAnd then I got to a point where I'm like, you know what?
Speaker DLike, I don't have to owe anybody an explanation.
Speaker DSo then after that point, I'm just like, I'm just going to keep speaking my mind after that.
Speaker DSo anyway, like, people don't understand, and it's a hard thing all the time.
Speaker DEven, like, feeling sometimes unsafe.
Speaker DThe simplest thing is, like, walking around at nighttime.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker DI always tell, like.
Speaker DLike the guys around me, like, wait for me.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker DYou know, So I always tell them they should know.
Speaker DSo whatever.
Speaker DGuys are listening right now.
Speaker DLike, when you see, like, a lady, just, like, wait for her and make sure she goes to her car safely and stuff like that.
Speaker AAnd you be safe.
Speaker ADon't be a creep, too.
Speaker DYeah, yeah, don't.
Speaker DAnd there's been, like, creeps around me, too.
Speaker DAnd you gotta like, yeah.
Speaker DOh, my.
Speaker DThat's a whole other thing.
Speaker CAnd if you're walking alone at night and you see a woman or anybody who seems vulnerable coming towards you cross the street, do them a favor.
Speaker DYeah, yeah.
Speaker ARun ice cream and run.
Speaker CRun away.
Speaker CBut, you know, one thing that, you know, hunting for educational videos and all that.
Speaker COne thing that did always bother me is that the.
Speaker CThe videos of female drummers that the algorithm favored were not necessarily very skilled.
Speaker AI know where you're going with this.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker CAnd I'm just like, there's no way that there aren't female drummers that kick ass and you have to really look for them.
Speaker CAnd what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker CBecause it's obviously a veneer of what the world's actually like on my Instagram.
Speaker AThat's interesting.
Speaker CYes.
Speaker CBlame the algorithm.
Speaker DI swear, honey, this is what I think.
Speaker DLike, every human being who's a drummer is good and bad, but what society does today is because women can look cute.
Speaker DYou know, they can look sexy online or whatever, and then they get labeled as, oh, women who show their belly.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker DOh, so that means all women who are cute, they play bad.
Speaker DAnd I think it's just labels, for sure.
Speaker DAnd when I see these Labels.
Speaker DI see it across the board, even in terms of race, gender.
Speaker DEvery.
Speaker DEvery.
Speaker DSo I think, like, that's an issue because it's like, even sometimes when I, you know, want to look a little cute and play a little bit of drums, you know, like, sometimes I get comments like, oh, she's just getting raised because she's a girl.
Speaker DAnd it's like, then that means, like, then all the work that I've done now that gets taken away from me.
Speaker DSo it's like, I feel like either way you look at it, it's like we're losing.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker DBut not.
Speaker DI don't want to like, play this victim party.
Speaker DI mean, like, it's getting better.
Speaker DI feel like we're at such a good place now.
Speaker DAnd like, Sheila E.
Speaker DShe's been so supportive of me.
Speaker DI played like on a song with her.
Speaker CSo why am I surprised that, you know, she, of course, you know, she, of course.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker DBut like, people like K, everyone's just like moving everything forward.
Speaker DSo it's.
Speaker DIt's getting better.
Speaker DI believe it is.
Speaker AEvery episode of the DNA Airwaves is recorded and produced at the mpl.
Speaker AThe NPL is a collection of film, music and audio post production suites located in the GTA.
Speaker APlease visit the-mpl that's maplewithoutthevowels.com to learn how they can help you with your next film or audio production.
Speaker CDo you read comments?
Speaker CDo you read all the comments or have you stopped at this point?
Speaker AYeah, it must be overwhelming.
Speaker DIt's hard.
Speaker DI think I'm stopping now.
Speaker DAs of this moment, as of right now.
Speaker DIt's hurtful, like, especially.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker DAnd like, since the pandemic started, like, and I did that Thriller video where I got a lot of negative comments, I'm like, I have nothing to lose.
Speaker DLet me just freaking be me.
Speaker DJust go for it.
Speaker DAnd even like the merch that I launched, I don't know if you guys got a chance to check it out.
Speaker AYou know, Got your face on.
Speaker DOh my.
Speaker DI was gonna wear that today, actually.
Speaker DLet me wear these red ones that look good on camera.
Speaker DBut it's just like trying to be my stuff.
Speaker DAnd some people are like, she's on acid, she's on drugs.
Speaker DShe needs.
Speaker DShe needs a psychiatrist.
Speaker APeople that don't know you, it's just ridiculous.
Speaker DBut it's okay.
Speaker DI like it because it's like, you know, we're all.
Speaker DOkay not to get a little philosophical, like, we're all children of God, right?
Speaker DLike, we're all beautiful.
Speaker DAnd why do we have to be one specific way to be accepted in society.
Speaker DSo I'm just trying to, like, break those boundaries.
Speaker BThat's it.
Speaker ABut do you find that reading the comments had an effect on you?
Speaker DYeah, because it made me question what I'm doing and if I'm good enough or if I'm right or wrong.
Speaker AAnd you think still reading it is okay?
Speaker ALike, instead of just avoiding it, I think.
Speaker DI don't know.
Speaker DI think you can't avoid it.
Speaker DBecause sometimes what if you see it?
Speaker DLike, if you open.
Speaker DI open my phone, I'll be like, oh, negative comment.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker DSo if I try to dodge something or avoid it, I'm resisting it rather than.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker DAnd then it kind of just like, it stays there and it lingers there.
Speaker DSo, oh, that person thinks that I suck or whatever.
Speaker DThat's their opinion.
Speaker DBut, you know, I love what I do, and I don't need, like, somebody's validation, you know, especially through that.
Speaker BYou've already more than proven yourself.
Speaker BContinue to do that every day.
Speaker DAppreciate that.
Speaker BYou're outplaying, outperforming almost everybody.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo listen, if you guys have something negative to say to Sarah, email us.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd we'll deal with you.
Speaker BDeal with you.
Speaker BHey, man, I hung out with Jay Martin on It's Crazy, man.
Speaker DMan, that's funny.
Speaker BYou got this, Sarah.
Speaker DThank you.
Speaker BWhat's the best email or phone call that you've ever received?
Speaker DOh, I think about that.
Speaker BSecond to the podcast.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker DI was gonna say that this is number one.
Speaker AThat was assumed.
Speaker DYeah, that's okay.
Speaker DThat's obvious.
Speaker DNumber two, I have to.
Speaker DOh, my God.
Speaker DThe best phone call.
Speaker CMs.
Speaker CCleo.
Speaker AYou might be too young.
Speaker CYou might be too young for Ms.
Speaker CCleo.
Speaker CWow.
Speaker DMs.
Speaker DCleo.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AWho's Ms.
Speaker ACleo?
Speaker CThere was a.
Speaker AShe was a Jamaica fake Jamaican psychic.
Speaker CAnd she'd like on TV in Toronto.
Speaker CIt was local.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker CPeople would call in and ask.
Speaker BShe must be on YouTube.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CFor like, their fortune.
Speaker CAnd she would.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CAnd she wasn't Jamaican.
Speaker ANo.
Speaker AThat accent was horrific.
Speaker BMaybe you could do a Drum video to Ms.
Speaker BCleo.
Speaker DOkay, I'm gonna do that now.
Speaker CWe can chop it up.
Speaker CWe can figure it out.
Speaker DMaybe we can do it today.
Speaker DLet's do it serious.
Speaker DOkay.
Speaker DYou find the video and we'll do it today.
Speaker DDone.
Speaker CAll right.
Speaker AWho's been the fa.
Speaker AYour most favorite artist to play with?
Speaker BOh.
Speaker DOh.
Speaker AI guess that might put you in a bad situation or some of your favorite.
Speaker AName some.
Speaker BYou have to name one too many, man.
Speaker BI can imagine.
Speaker DOh, man.
Speaker DI should have come prepared.
Speaker AI know.
Speaker BOh, you played with Rich Brown, too?
Speaker BWhat?
Speaker BYou did with Rich Brown.
Speaker DOkay, you know what?
Speaker DOkay, let me say.
Speaker DSo when I played with Rich Brown and Mark Leteri, who's from Snarky Puppy, okay.
Speaker DWe played at Hugh's room two years ago now, and it was, like, one of my favorite gigs that I've ever done because, like, Mark sent us the music.
Speaker DObviously, we had no rehearsal.
Speaker DWe just, like, did sound check and we played.
Speaker DBut it was kind of like, know the music and do your thing.
Speaker DAnd I felt like us three were so locked into the moment.
Speaker DIt felt like amazing.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker DMagic.
Speaker DOh, actually, wait.
Speaker DOh, another one.
Speaker DOkay, now things are popping up.
Speaker DOkay, so at the Colbert show, I played with Tegan.
Speaker DStephen Colbert show.
Speaker BOh, okay.
Speaker DThat was, like, one year ago or something, and that was with Tegan.
Speaker DI know I'm losing track of time, but.
Speaker DNo, recently was Seth Meyers.
Speaker DYou're probably thinking about that maybe.
Speaker CNo, I'm thinking of Colbert.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker CI'm just.
Speaker CI stopped understanding time at this point.
Speaker DBut that was a lot of fun because I was with, like, the Canadian, like, sensations, Tegan and Sarah.
Speaker DIt's, like, kind of rock pop.
Speaker DAnd so what was so cool was that, you know, we went into the setup, and they're like, you know, Sarah, there was, like, a stylist.
Speaker DI'm like, yeah, Tegan and Sarah over there.
Speaker DAnd I'm like, oh, they want to, like, put something on me.
Speaker DI'm like, oh, cool.
Speaker DThey care.
Speaker DI'm like, okay.
Speaker DAnd then they started setting up the stage, and I'm thinking, like, you know, I'll be put in the corner under, like, black curtains or something.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker DYou know, and then after they started, like, moving the drum riser forward, and I'm like, oh, this is fancy.
Speaker DThen I could.
Speaker DThen when I watched it back, like, I'm like, center stage and, like, get the camera on me.
Speaker DAnd, like, John Baptiste is, like, right there watching me.
Speaker DAnd, like, that was, like, crazy.
Speaker DThat was one of my favorite performances, too.
Speaker AThat's amazing.
Speaker DIt's crazy.
Speaker CI must be really kind of irritating to start getting notoriety like this.
Speaker CAnd then the pandemic happens.
Speaker DYeah, you know what?
Speaker BBut still virtual, right?
Speaker CYou're still blowing up, but you really started to blow up, like, touring and everything.
Speaker DBut you know what?
Speaker DI'm so.
Speaker DYou're right.
Speaker DAnd, like, what I'm so grateful for is that, like, I feel like I've changed my perspective.
Speaker DLike, I feel like when I come out of the Pandemic, I'm not going to be what I used to be in terms of mindset.
Speaker DSo I'll tell you why I don't think many should.
Speaker AI like that.
Speaker AYeah, that's great.
Speaker DOh, yeah.
Speaker DLike, so for me, before the pandemic, it was just go, go.
Speaker DAnd I was going to go on tour for two months.
Speaker DLike, we were in L.
Speaker DA.
Speaker DYeah, yeah, yeah, we were.
Speaker DNo, no, we were in L.
Speaker DA.
Speaker DYeah, we were on, like, day two of rehearsal, and then I had to come home.
Speaker DAnd I'm actually grateful that I didn't go on the tour because then I realized that I don't just want to be a musician anymore.
Speaker DI feel like I've always had a dream of, like, being at the front of the stage since I was a kid.
Speaker DLike, I was, like.
Speaker DI was the host of different shows.
Speaker DI did plays here.
Speaker DI love, like, comedy, talking to people, and I loved being an artist, and I feel like I have that in me.
Speaker DSo I'm like, let's start developing that side.
Speaker DSo I feel like as soon as the pandemic's over, I'm working on music, but it's like jazzy music.
Speaker DNerd E.
Speaker DOkay.
Speaker DDrum heavy, E.
Speaker DBut, like, like, you know, my mom, who's, like, tone deaf, can be like, oh, this is nice, you know, so like, kind of appeals to everybody.
Speaker DSo when I come out of the pandemic, I want to, you know, become more of an artist and also play music as a musician, but with, like, selective.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker DYou know?
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker ASo singing heavy, are you going to sing?
Speaker DSing?
Speaker DYeah, But I'm not, like, you know, like, no, like, Jasmine Sullivan or anything.
Speaker DI mean, like, I'll just sing, like, a hook here and there.