19: Linda Pitmonįormerly part of the underrated Minneapolis band Zuzu’s Petals, Linda Pitmon is now part of a floating collection of hipsters that includes R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck, The Young Fresh Fellows’ Scott McCaughey, and her husband, Steve Wynn. Listen to any of YLT’s jammier tracks for proof that she is one of the best female drummers, but her subtle brushwork on their ballads is also a thing of beauty. In their early days, Hubley was pegged as a Moe Tucker-type drummer (simple parts, perfect feel) but she’s long since transcended that with a jazz flexibility that her role model never had.
Together for more than a quarter-century now, the trio line-up of Yo La Tengo has the kind of synchrony most bands would die for, and it allows them to get into the mystic improvisational zone on a regular basis. Seeing Plakas and bassist Jennifer Finch locking back into groove was one of the many pleasures in L7’s recent reunion tours. Nobody who’s ever played in L7 is anything less than a complete badass on her instrument: the band’s mix of musical ferocity and subversive humor demanded nothing less. Check the power on “Hazy Shade Of Winter.” Extra points for singing backup or lead vocals on virtually every tune, truly cementing her place among the best female drummers.
Debbi Peterson’s playing grew as the band branched out, but she always kept their roots in mind. And The Bangles were very much a garage band in their formative days, when they regularly covered The Seeds and The Yardbirds onstage. 22: Debbi Peterson (The Bangles)Įver heard a good garage band without a killer drummer? We haven’t either. Lately, Thomas has been playing with another first-rate writer, Jenny Lewis, in her side band Nice As F_k. Drummer Tennessee Thomas and singer/guitarist Z Berg were the nucleus of that band, whose songcraft was stellar and whose playing was highly inventive. It’s perhaps the single most overlooked album in that genre for the past 15 years. Power-pop fans need to immediately do themselves a favor and check out Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? by The Like. 23: Tennessee Thomas (The Like, Jenny Lewis) The one available video clip of her comes from 2013, and she must have been one of the best female drummers in her younger years if she can do this kind of elegant brushwork at the age of 84. Like Viola Smith, Dodgion never recorded much, aside from one vocal album released in 1996. She became a fixture at West Coast jazz festivals in later years, playing with the Brecker Brothers and others. Another jazz innovator whose work is largely lost to history, Dottie Dodgion began a 50-year career during the 50s, playing briefly with Benny Goodman’s orchestra.
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