Page 16 - BiTS_05_MAY_2021

LP: To begin with, there was a drum kit at school, yeah, and at primary school, my dad put
together a little band called the X Beats and I think my first ever gig was outside what used to be
called Solo, which was a CD shop. Do you remember that?

BiTS: Yes.

LP: In the Guildhall. I just remember dad took a bunch of us in and the school band performed, I
can’t remember what, but outside that record shop. There was a drum kit at school and I think I
probably got my own about the age of 11, something like that. I’ve now got four.

BiTS: You’ve got four. Four full kits.

LP: Yeah, my babies.

BiTS: Where do you store them, in the

garage still?

LP: Yes, I don’t know if you’ve ever been up
here.

BiTS: I have never been in the garage. I’ve
heard about it on many occasions but never

been in it.

LP: Yeah, our rehearsal room slash I teach
up here now as well. I’m here at the moment.
Yeah, it’s a godsend.

BiTS: When you first started, you were
mostly playing with your dad and your
brother. When did you start playing with

other people and how difficult was it?

LP: I think my first band was when I was 16 at college because I started meeting other creative
people. I went to a private school before college and music was never really on my radar apart from
having private drum lessons, but when I went to college, it brought me into contact with all these
different people, which was amazing for getting involved with stuff that I hadn’t had the option of,
being in quite a strict private school. The music at the private school was all orchestras and jazz

bands and I felt like it was way beyond me and very theoretical. Yeah, my first band was not blues,
it was kind of pop punky. From that, from starting to perform just around Exeter, I guess I gained
some attention because back then, I mean we’re talking 12, 13 years ago, there was literally no
other female drummers around. I was way more rare back then than now. Now there’s so many
more, which is great and it’s quite frustrating at the same time because I’m not so niche anymore.

You said about how was it with my first band, well I was ultimately playing with my friends in that
first band which kind of eased me in to the musical world, but I used to be petrified. So shy,
nervous on stage it was literally I just didn’t want to be up there but something, I think probably
the fact that I was playing with my friends and we’d written our own material, yeah, some kind of
shift happened and there was some kind of drive as to why I was going up on stage even though I
hated it. I’m not sure.

BiTS: When you were first learning to play, who did you listen to? What kinds of drummers did
you listen to?