San Cisco is the “it band” on everyone’s radar and Scarlett Stevens, are our girl crush and new favorite drummer. Beginning as a high school pastime, Scarlett truly fell in love with playing the drums three years ago and has since found herself traveling the world as part of the buzz-worthy Australian indie-rock group, San Cisco. Scarlett serves as yet another inspiring example for women looking to pave the way in music. While there are tons of talented females dedicated to their drum sets, a woman playing the drums in a band still registers surprise for many people.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise that women succeed at their instruments.”
There are many extraordinary drummers out there who just happen to be female; take Scarlett’s personal favorite performer Chloe Saavedra, of Chaos Chaos. However, there is still a huge amount of surprise that accompanies quite a few people when seeing a woman drumming in a band. “I occasionally get ‘it’s great to see a girl who can actually play’, which I find insulting more than anything,” Scarlett said. So while it’s undeniably true that in the current mainstream music scene it’s rare to see a female playing the drums; the focus should be about changing the perception of people who find shock in women being just as capable and talented. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that women succeed at their instruments but that’s not to say we shouldn’t celebrate female musicians,” Scarlett said.
“Don’t let anyone talk down to you because you’re a girl.”
There’s much to celebrate about the strides that women have made in music over the past several years and the women who continue to serve as role models to a new generation of badass girls playing their instruments. “I think it’s rebellious for girls to play drums because it’s something that’s historically been reserved for men,” Scarlett said. And because of this, there’s even a unique touch that a woman can bring to the art of drumming. Scarlett noted, “I feel like women bring an attitude or perspective to drumming.”
Among Scarlett’s favorite San Cisco songs to play, she has a special affinity for performing “Too Much Time Together” – not only because of the cool tom pattern but because it’s a crowd-pleaser that gets people dancing. For a young band, San Cisco has already gained a devoted fan-base along with a supportive artistic community. “I’ve always had friends around me who are creative in their own right,” Scarlett said and working with San Cisco has allowed her to extend her network of friends with fellow musicians whom she is always keen on getting advice from.