Katy Elwell – drummer with the band Lizzard – talks to BeatIt
Drum Fest – an annual drumming event organized in Opole, Poland – is one of the most important events of this type in Poland and quite a remarkable one on a European scale. The 25th edition of the festival was held even with a bigger bang than usual. As there were quite a number of outstanding drummers present there, we simply couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to invite them to our interrogation room. You have already had the opportunity to see and hear what Jason Sutter (Marylin Manson, Chris Cornell, Foreigner) had to say about his own career, technique development, education, gear and many more things.
Now, it is time for Katy Elwell – a female drummer, who is a member of the French progressive/alternative/metal outfit Lizzard. She conducted a drum clinic and performed with her band, which is why we could also host Mathieu Ricou – the band’s singer/guitarist/composer.
In the first episode, we talk about Katy’s impressions from DRUM FEST, her clinic, the concert with Lizzard, her approach to drum clinics as well as the message she wants to convey to those who attend her clinics. Here are a few of Katy’s thoughts from this part of the interview:
“There’s so many technical drummers who can do all this amazing stuff, which I’m working on and one day I hope to do, but at the moment, my approach would be to try and maybe show people that just playing for the music is important as well. If you’re trying to play really musically, then your technique wil develop. If you have great technique, then your musicality might not develop, so trying to serve the music is vital.”
“You start playing when you’re younger and you’ve got all this energy. You’ve got no technique but you play because you’ve got something to say and you’re angry. And then, you start learning technique and you forget why you were playing in the first place. It seems to be what happens, I think. So, for me, it’s like trying to never forget what your message was to begin with and stay true to that. Hopefully, technique will come, which it does to serve the music.”
We should point out that Katy served Lizzard’s music with the help of a DW Performance kit (the clinic) and a DW Collector’s Maple kit (the concert), UFIP cymbals, Evans drumheads and Vic Firth sticks.
Drummers and Drummerettes! We give you Katy Elwell – drummer with the band Lizzard – in the first part of an exclusive interview for beatit.tv! Enjoy!
