Issue 10 - Sarah Thawer - October 2019

Julianna Mascia
I currently am rocking a Tama Silverstar
Kit (22” x 18”, 16” x 16”, 10” x 8”)
with an Orange County Percussion 13x7
Snare. I play Zildjian cymbals – a mix
of A and K Customs, the Oriental Series
and the A series. I’m a sucker for
stacks. I’m constantly mixing around
my cymbals. I think its super important
to change your set up every month or
so to inspire new ideas and strengthen
technique. I also use DrumTacs to and
a silver chrome Snareweight to help
dampen my drums to get rid of additional
hums. If you catch me wearing
any drum-themed apparel, it’s from
Destroy A Drum, the sickest and most
comfortable drum apparel out there.
For drumming shoes, I prefer the VRA-
TIM Drum Shoe II for an additional grip
on the pedals.
“I want to show you can
come from a dream – you
can come from no musical
background at a
young age – you can come
from a small town on the
focusing on overall musicality. After
searching to purchase my Tama Silverstar
kit, I discovered Dillinger Escape
Plan’s Billy Rymer, who had demoed the
kit out in a video. Shortly after, I found
Matt Gartska as well. Rymer and Gartska
eventually became two of my biggest
influences, especially in opening my
mind to polyrhythms. Currently, my
absolute favourite drummer is Aaron
Spears, not only for his superior playing,
but his love and spirit he spreads
everywhere he walks.
What have been some of the highlights to
you career so far? Played any interesting
shows? Any amazing experiences? Met
any people that you wouldn’t have met
otherwise?
I was fortunate enough to sit in and
jam with Bernie Williams on multiple
occasions with his all-star band with
legends such as Richie Cannata. Ultimately,
NAMM 2019 changed my life
both musically and personally. I was
able to perform with Williams, perform
four times at the Roland booth
while demoing the TM-6 Pro and improvised
a set at the Drumeo booth. I
remember looking at the camera for a
brief second and couldn’t believe I was
seeing myself behind that iconic blue
background I had watched for endless
hours when practicing. I’ve been fortunate
to meet so many awesome players
and meeting so many other drummers
I have inspired in-person. There’s no
greater feeling in the world than someone
taking time out of their day to not
only support you, but to tell you their
story and how you’ve helped make them
better in some way. That to me is something
that continues to change my life.
Where to from here? What are your longterm
goals?
From here, I grow and continue to grow.
I have concepts I want to build toward
and eventually introduce throughout
my career, aside from touring, studio
work, clinics, lessons, workshops, etc.
As I build toward these ideas, ultimately,
I want to lead a change. I want to
show you can come from a dream – you
can come from no musical background
at a young age – you can come from a
small town on the East Coast. I am in
full-gear, taking a chance toward my
dream. I live with a faith that someone
will take a chance on me and I can continue
that chance in the future to another
aspiring drummer.
East Coast.“
“I’d like to leave you all with something: it takes time.
It takes effort. It’s not going to always be easy and expect
Who were some of the most influential
drummers for you in your early days of
playing?
It all started after listening to Paramore’s
Zac Farro’s style. When I started
jamming to Paramore on the guitar,
I noticed my focus started to shift toward
the drums. The way he accenting
his grooves and fills was a way that my
ears have never heard. Eventually, this
led to searching YouTube and discovering
Cobus’ iconic “Pop” by NYSNC
cover. Additionally, Guitar Center 2012
Drum-Off Champion Juan Carlito Mendoza
helped open my mind to incorporating
hybrid drums while playing and
frustration. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had lost an
awesome session, had lights falling on my head, etc. But it
can be done. I promise to be living proof of that and we can be
that living proof together. If you have found what you truly
love to do, whatever that may be, why not spend the rest of
your life getting better at it?
Thank you for your time, SA Drummer and special thanks to
Evans Drumheads, Vater Drumsticks, Roland, MeeAudio, Drum-
Tacs, Snareweight and VRATIM. Much love to all of my drummers
and musicians”
22 | SA DRUMMER | September 2019