The Beat + The Pulse Tom Tom Magazine

In this episode, Mindy Abovitz Monk talks with her friend and fellow drummer Fred Armisen about his early 80’s punk band Trenchmouth, incorporating his love of music with his career at Saturday Night Live, his being Sleater-Kinney’s number one fan to co-starring in Portlandia with Carrie Brownstein to his hilarious Netflix Special Standup for Drummers. And he’s been cheerleading Tom Tom since the beginning. At the end of the show, Fred and I take the jokes to the kit and double drum our way through corny laughs. Stick around and enjoy.
"Getting involved with things -- it's like a reason to be alive in a way. You know like when I first started doing comedy on stage it was because I wanted to get involved. I was like oh I want to be with these people performers like me. My way of being closer to them is to do the same thing. So for me it's like being a fan of something and then you know how can I help? How can I get involved? How can I show my appreciation?" - Fred Armisen

Special thanks to: Bedrock Studios, KamranV and Claire Morison.
 
Relevant links:
Fred Armisen: http://www.fredarmisen.com/
Standup for Drummers: https://www.netflix.com/title/80159028
Portlandia: https://www.netflix.com/title/70185015
SNL: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/fred-armisen-15101

In this episode, Mindy Abovitz Monk talks with her friend and role model Andre Torres about his transition from record collecting to re-discovering, and the creation of Wax Poetics magazine and where he is now at head of Urban Legends at Universal Music. Then, Valerie Scroggins of the legendary South Bronx band ESG and her daughter Chistelle join Mindy to talk about passion, sampling, and the power of music and family.
"It’s just amazing to see this multitude of voices and the way that young artists are able to express themselves." - Andre Torres
"Right now, I would tell anyone to start with your heart. I don’t care who you are, just do it." - Valerie Scroggins
Special thanks to The Secret Drum Band for this episode’s tunes.
 
Relevant links:
Urban Legends: http://www.urbanlegends.com/
ESG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmnq3fqFK18
Secret Drum Band: https://secretdrumband.bandcamp.com/

In this episode, Mindy Abovitz Monk reminisces on getting her first Bikini Kill tape and talks to Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney about being a drummer whose records have spanned decades. PLUS we hear from Female:Pressure’s Leah King.
 “It’s so shocking when people do say “oh you play good for a girl” or “oh you’re my favorite female drummer.” It’s like close your eyes, can you tell with your eyes closed the sex of the drummer if they're not singing? I think not.” - Janet Weiss
"I’ve been a part of a lot of different affinity groups because I inhabit a lot of different minority identities and I think all of that come into why I’m a musician and a creator." - Leah King
Additional links:
Janet Weiss and Sara Lund Drum Battle video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YkpRP3fCLU
Female:Pressure
http://www.femalepressure.net/
C.O.C.K. Podcast:
http://www.leah-king.com/live/
Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus:
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061806360/girls-to-the-front
 

In the premiere episode, Tom Tom Magazine Creator Mindy Abovitz Monk speaks to visual artist Shantell Martin about art, identity and sneakers. Bonus: hear Shantell's first ever drum lesson PLUS Japanese teen drumming sensation Kanade Sato.
"I want to say to my younger self, 'At some point, a pen will pay your rent and introduce you to really amazing people and help you do all these amazing collaborations and will be this gift that you can share with the whole entire planet!'" - Shantell Martin
Shantell Augmented Reality video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3jsI8Yd-OI
Kanade Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzAcPF1HRCE

The Beat + The Pulse is Tom Tom’s new monthly podcast, featuring Mindy Abovitz Monk in conversation with incredible beat makers, cultural visionaries and breakthrough creatives with an agenda. Not just talking about what they do, but who they are and what matters to them most.