Astrid Holz she/her

I asked her how she came to play for these incredible artists:

Holz: Most of it is word of mouth… Just through playing so much and being everywhere. And I started getting asked to play for other people here and there. Like if they needed a fill in, they would just be like, “Oh, well, we saw Asti on this gig. We know she can play, maybe she can fill in for this, fill in for that.” 

…And so, through that and posting on socials. Like I always, it's annoying, but you have to post on Instagram a lot about your gigs. That's when people within this industry will be like, “Oh, I need a drummer for this” or “I need a drummer for that.” And then because you know so many other people, they'll be like, “Oh, you should ask Asti.” And so then maybe someone like Horrorshow will go to my Instagram and he'll have a quick look through and just be like, “OK, so she's played with this person. I know them. She's played with this person, I know them. They wouldn't have someone who is going to flake out on them in their bands. So I can ask her.” That kind of thing. And that's just kind of the way that I've gotten all my gigs. Which is a bit sh*t to be honest.

“Why do you say that?”

Holz: I don't like the fact that it's all just who you know in this industry. That drives me nuts, because it's a huge popularity contest when it comes down to it.  And then if you don't get the gig or you like, you get kicked off a gig or something like that, it's also down to, “Oh, we don't like hanging out with you,” or, you know, “We don't like something about what you've been doing.” And usually it's an emotional thing.  And yeah, there's just so much unreliability in the work as well because of that.  So yeah, that's why I think it's a bit sh*t.

“Yeah. That's not great... You mentioned that you’ve played in bands that are like, all-female bands or female-fronted bands. What is your experience of gender equality in your music scene?”

Holz: I think it goes kind of two ways. So, I either get booked by a female artists because they want a tour to just have some female energy on it, rather than a whole bunch of boys… That's one thing that I've noticed a lot. I always get booked by women. 

I also I found this little weird niche in the hip-hop world where there's like… there’s this artist Urthboy who, when he does perform, I get to drum for him and Horrorshow. These two particular guys are really progressive in their rapping as well. Like, they rap about like, you know, gender equality and, you know, they do long speeches in their gigs about trans rights and, you know, Free Palestine and all that kind of stuff. Like they're really like, beautiful humans from that perspective. And so, for them, it was very important that if they were white guys at the front doing some rap, that they had some kind of representation at the back. And I'm queer and female, so that kind of ticked a few boxes for them as well.  And also, I have this technical ability that helps them put their shows together. 

So, not to downplay my skills, but also I'm sure there are many, many men who can do the same kind of thing. But I do feel very lucky in one way that I, you know, I am representing a much smaller group because it does kind of open doors every now and then as well. So yeah, it's an interesting thing being in the scene as a female. You definitely deal with a lot of different types of people and some more negative experiences. But also it can open doors as well, particularly in this moment when people are trying to get more diversity in their lineups as well.

Not only does she work as a drummer, but Holz also puts together backing tracks for artists and is a sound engineer. I asked her, “Do you think that helps you to get gigs?”

Holz: 100% yeah. I feel like I would not get booked as just a drummer these days. There's a certain level of drumming that you kind of need to be at to be booked just as a drummer. And I know where my skill level is at, and it's not at that level.  It's like, I'm very much like, you know… I can happily play with click. I can do some pretty fast beats if they need to be done and you know, that kind of thing. But as far as like chopping out and soloing and that kind of thing, that's not the kind of drummer that I am.

And so because I can bring that extra skill, I feel like it's a bit of a weigh up of like, “Do we want the choppy-outty, like amazing fancy pants drummer, or do we want someone who's solid, who's gonna play the songs and also be able to bring us this extra element of playback?” So, yeah.

“What do you think has contributed most to you being here now and doing what you do?”

Holz: Always just taking gigs and not giving up is really the only reason that I am where I am. 

There's this guy in this band called Cosmic Psychos and they have been around for like 40 years or something. They’re an Australian punk band. And he was asked like the same question basically, like, “What was it that got you guys to where you are today, still performing live, still doing festivals and that kind of thing?” And he said, “If you stand in the same place long enough, people will start noticing.”

And I feel a little bit like my career is like that. You just keep doing it and keep doing it, keep doing it. And people… It’s just like advertising, you know. You see the same thing three times and you start remembering it. And it's the same kind of thing for me. Like, “Oh, that drummer, she was playing with Urthboy at this thing. Oh, now she's playing with Horrorshow here. Oh, maybe like, we can use her to do this and this and this for us as well.” And that's kind of the way that I've gotten to this point. 

“Have you thought about giving up a lot?”

Holz: Oh, absolutely!

“If you feel comfortable, could you expand on like, what made you think about giving up?”

Holz: There are moments in this career where you are working really hard but not earning much money. And then there are moments when you're not working hard at all and you're also not earning much money and things are looking a little bit bleak. And you will inevitably like, pick up a part time job or something like that. 

I worked for Apple part time while I was on tour with [a band] every weekend. So, I'd work like Monday to Thursday with Apple and then it was like four gigs a weekend. We’d do two on a Saturday and just like tour. And Apple, they trained me up and I ended up like fixing computers for them and that kind of thing. And that that could have been a career, to be honest. And I would be earning so much more money. And I did seriously consider it, at the time. It's like, “Oh man, what am I doing?”

But then, I got offered a position with Drummer Queens and this was like near the end of COVID, I think. And I was like, “Oh, I'm definitely gonna do this Drummer Queens tour. This is gonna be sick.” And then so, I went to Apple and I was like, “Oh, I wanna do this two month tour. Can I have like unpaid leave?” Blah, blah, blah...

Because I'd already taken a lot of leave and there were like, “You really need to decide whether you want to do this or whether you want to pursue that. Because that sounds like a great opportunity.” And I was like, “OK, cool, I'm going to go with the great opportunity.” And so I quit Apple. And then the Drummer Queens tour was cancelled! And I was like, “Oh God. What have I done?”

But that really just pushed me into just doing this full time now. And there is a big element about like, letting go of your safety net a little bit. And once you are available full time for things, people start asking you to do things more.  They don't think, “Oh, she's got a job during the week, she probably won't want to do this. Let's ask this other person.” Once you're doing it like all the time, people are like, “Oh, OK. Let's ask her if she's available on a Tuesday during the day,” kind of thing. So, yeah.

“Cool! What made you choose drumming over the other careers?”

Holz: It's so much more fun!

There's like an element of when you're performing on stage, right? And you are with other people and there's like this connection that you get, you know. And you might have a hit that is just, everyone's at the same time. Or you might have like a thing that you've fallen over on a few times during rehearsals and then you nail it on the stage. Or, you have a hairy moment on stage and you all somehow recover together or the audience is with you, or something like that. And that little adrenaline hit, that connection with humans is just like, it's like a drug to me. That's what I absolutely love. 

I asked Holz, “Could you tell me about any role models or mentors who have inspired or helped you to pursue your career?” She spoke of a bandmate who had inspired and encouraged her throughout the early stages of her career:

Holz: We both just had these dreams, like, we had a similar dream where we just wanted to get better at our instruments. We wanted to play on bigger stages and we wanted to just like, chase that excitement of being able to play live with other people and all that kind of stuff.

She was always a huge support and influence for me as well. We kind of shaped our careers together in a way. It felt really good having like a mate by my side, and a female friend by my side, who was also experiencing the same kind of sh*t. Cause it's not an easy thing, you know, this career. Like, to be able to just debrief with someone who was close to me and understood from a really deep level.

And of a teacher who she learnt from in the Philippines:

Holz: I stayed in the Philippines for a while in 2015, I think. And I had a drum teacher over there that I hung out with heaps and he taught me so much that I'd never learned about drums. And yeah, he was incredible… The Philippines has a huge amount of amazing musicians over there. So, he was really incredible too. And he just kind of brought all the elements of drumming down into like, palatable kind of pieces that I then understood what I had been doing wrong, you know, in my playing and was able to just get to that next level.

“Awesome! Have you been involved in any music programs or workshops or anything like that? Or have you run any workshops for any drummers or musicians?”

Holz: I do this thing called APRA SongMakers, which is like production workshops for kids. APRA basically sends myself and a couple of other musicians/producers to regional schools and - or not, not always regional, but public schools and - we do a two-day workshop with them.

The first day we help them write a song and I talk to them about my experience in the industry, particularly being a drummer and what songwriting kind of entails if you're a drummer. And how to make sure that you are like - if you're in a band or that kind of thing - to make sure that you are adding to songwriting as well. Like, I really always try and get everyone to add. And I make sure that kids understand what songwriting is and royalties and copyright and all that kind of stuff. And then, yeah, we help them write a song that day.  And then the next day I usually act as a producer and, like, produce it up and they have a song by the end of the day on MP3. So yeah, SongMakers is a thing that I do at least once a month at the moment.

“Have you had any feedback from any of those students?”

Holz: I have been doing it for a bit over a year now, so I'm starting to see the same schools again. I generally get feedback from the teachers. I went to one in Newcastle two months ago and the teacher was like, “You had this girl and she would have been really quiet the whole time, but she's now, you know, doing this and this and this and this and this. And it's definitely because of those couple of days.” And that's always super exciting. And yeah, it makes me feel like I'm making it some kind of a positive impact there.

“What has helped you gain confidence on your instrument over the years?”

Holz: Listening back to recorded gigs and trying to improve the things that you hear that aren't great. And then, yeah, consistently listening back to things and, and hearing that, you know, you can actually do things, you can actually nail things. It's never as bad as you think it is if you make a little mistake. That has always kind of boosted my confidence a little bit... And lots of practise.

“What is the role of your gender in your own musical practice, if any?”

Holz: As far as performance is concerned, it's changed a little bit for me as I've aged.  When I was younger… when I played in an all-girl band that was like… Our role of our gender was to look hot and also play really cool rock music, you know. Like, there was certainly a role there.

Now, I feel like my gender does help me get hired for things because, rather than having all the boys there, they want a bit of diversity. Lots of artists like having that diversity on tour as well because it chills this like ‘macho man’ kind of situation out a little bit. And on stage, I think I connect with women in the crowd as well. Particularly when you do an all-ages gig, the young girls, they just stare at you on drums. They - not all of them, but some of them - are just staring at you like, “What is going on here?” And that is a huge role to me. That's like, you know, super important. And being able to make eye contact with them during the show and smile and that kind of thing is also just like, I love, you know, having that little role there.  

Holz expanded on the impact that body image in the music industry had had upon her own mental health:

Holz: I mean, there's already so much pressure on your image in this industry anyway. And then to add it to your job is… I mean, unfortunately like, we're in the entertainment industry, so, you know, that's always going to be an element as well that you have to take into account. But yeah, it doesn't help with the mental health, that's for sure.

“What is one thing you would like to tell young, gender diverse or women drummers that you wish you had heard when you were growing up?”

Holz: Like, I guess if I'd been able to talk to myself, for example, I would have just said, “You can do it. Just don't like, don't ignore the passion.” You know. Don't listen to people that are just gonna say, “Oh, that's a nice hobby, but you should get a real job.” Because I feel like unless you throw yourself 100% into it, you're never going to get where you wanna get to.  That's the one thing. Yeah.

“Did lots of people tell you that drumming was just a hobby?”

Holz: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. But I mean, it's not even tell you. They just assume. They're just like, “Oh, that's nice that you do that on weekends.” Like, yeah. But I guess like, you know, particularly people of my parents’ generation, like they're all boomers, right? So, you know, being a musician is not like a, it's not a real job, you know, to them. Unless you're maybe like a classical musician or something like that.  So yeah, it's kind of trying to escape that mentality and just believe in yourself, you know? 

I think now, it now definitely is a job for me. But there's always an internal little voice that's just, you know, kinda hard to ignore. 

“What types of programs would you like to see in your scene to better empower and inspire future drummers?”

Holz: I would love to see a program that connects session musicians with aspiring performers.  Yeah, if there could be some kind of a program where you could get together with them. Maybe some kind of mentoring program that is - I would say it would need to be like, people would need to be paid, you know. Because every spare minute of my time is, you know, planning or practising or that kind of thing. But if there was some kind of initiative, perhaps from APRA or from the government or something like that, where anyone that is interested in pursuing music as a career can come and talk to these people that are already doing it. I think that would be a really great program. Particularly based around gender diversity as well.

There seems to be a lot of that for singers and songwriters, to be honest. Like, I see a lot of opportunities for people doing that in those circles, but I don't feel like there's like, much at all in the pop/rock session worlds or hip-hop session worlds that allows for anyone who's interested in that to really find out how the heck to do it, you know?

“Is there anything about your experiences of gender equality or being a drummer that we haven't covered that you wanted to tell me about?”

Holz: Another thing - like just don't be a d*ckhead. That’s just like the biggest career advice I can give you as far as like, if you want to get into like touring on drums and that kind of thing. Just be a good hang.

Yeah, because I have to put bands together a lot, like when I'm musical directing – I have a few artists that I musical direct and I put bands around them. I’m not necessarily drumming for them. I’ll sometimes do front of house for them and have the band I’ve organised. And 50% is like, technically they can do it and then the other 50% is like, are these people all going to get on and also get along on stage and complement each other and that kind of thing.  So that's a big one as well.