[Courtesy of Trenton O'Neal]

All That Jazz: Rock Drummers

07:00 January 14, 2025
By: Sabrina Stone

Bang on the Drum All Day

A running joke in bands is that drummers are the "loose" members. It's not rare for a drummer to play in three bands at any given time.

Jazz drummers, especially, who play in multiple musical groups are pretty common. That's because, while there are thousands of songs in the genre, a lot of underlying principles rule them all, so the amount of jazz variations in the world are finite. Part of what we expect from a great jazz drummer is their fluidity and ability to sit in as a "session" musician, regardless of what the set list is. Drummers of other genres are a bit different. There's tens of thousands of "standard" rock songs to memorize, so playing a pop/rock setlist for a wedding or an afternoon cover show can easily require learning two dozen new songs each time. Those are the instrumentalists we're focusing on.

The quality of New Orleans' working musicians is of such a high caliber, and the compensation is so inconsistent, that "gigging musicians" do varied performances all the time, and the best drummer you've ever seen could be playing backup for a karaoke band, sitting in as a ringer with a funk tribute band, or shaking percussion behind a guitar-weilding singer-songwriter.

Jazz-adjacent drummers that were tempting to feature: Alfred Jordan; Thomas Glass; Simon Lott alone performs with Context Killer, Very Cherry, Jumbo Shrimp, Trixie Minx, Betty Shirley, Mike Fulton, Miss Sophie Lee, Amber Rachelle, Good Enough for Good Times, but it was hard to draw the line of which gigs were practically improvised, because they're all such masters of the genre. Benny Divine performs with the rock bands Natural Child, Sick Thoughts, Schizos, Morbid Torment, Fat Savage, Soviet, Doom III, Gary Wrong Group, but he plays multiple instruments, so he isn't drumming in all of them, and indie-rock darling Dreaux Gerard of Painted Hands, Butte, Kelly Duplex, Amelia Neville, Juno Dunes is also a talented singer/songwriter and frontman.

So while each one of those artists deserves recognition for the ridiculous amounts of bands they're in, the three drummers we've chosen for this article—Trenton O'Neal, Ana de Ferreira, and Rob Lovell—are unique because they can play many genres, mainly on drums, have been in dozens of bands, are currently each in more than five, and most of the bands they perform with have original songs, which means that they have either been the writers and original creators of the parts they play or are learning the whole back catalogs of each band, which somehow live in their heads along with the hundreds upon hundreds of standard rock songs that also occupy space. Without further ado, here are three of the hardest working and hardest hitting drummers in New Orleans.

Ana de Ferreira

[Courtesy of Camilla Calnan]

Ever since Ana de Ferreira moved to New Orleans in 2018 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she has been playing on every single stage that needs a drummer, including stages as big as Tipitina's, Maple Leaf Bar, and the Toulouse Theater. She started playing drums as a teenager and, basically, never stopped. In Rio, she recorded with bands Indiscipline and Melyra, who opened for large International touring artists including Arch Enemy. Ferreira plays snare in the marching group Skinz n Bonez and sits in or regularly performs with dozens of bands, usually on a full kit but sometimes on the cajon and percussion. Growing up in Brazil, American music was something she discovered and fell in love with over time, so she's game to play it all. As well as performing in cover bands for rock, country, blues, and all sorts of genres, Ferreira is in four original rock bands: Strange Roux, Jamie Lynn Vessels, High Black River, and WAR BUNNIES.

Rob Lovell

[Courtesy of Rob Lovell]

Unless Lovell is sleeping in his home, you can pretty much always find him in the rock scene. Born and raised in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle, he's been playing bass since he was 16 years old and drums since he was 18 years old. He has been performing for 20+ years in 40+ bands. Lovell has been living in New Orleans since 2011 and, in that 13 year tenure, has played with over a dozen local bands, including Fat Camp, Ossacrux, Glut, Wishful Thinking, Level Head, Torture Garden, Romasa, Witch Burial, GOREgeous, Paprika, Dracula, Big Smile, Wizard Dick, STFAH, and UT/EX—many of which are still on the scene and he is the primary or second call drummer for. Until its recent demise, you could see him collecting tickets at the door of Gasa Gasa. These days, he's often in the back of Siberia, helping out with the Que Pasta Latin Street Food pop up that has now made a more permanent home there, with the addition of a glow-in-the-dark encephalopod mural by Lillian Aguinaga. When not at Siberia or onstage, Lovell is also a recording engineer in Mid-City at High Tower Recording.

Trenton O'Neal

[Courtesy of Trenton O'Neal]

Trenton O'Neal was introduced to music in the Southern Baptist Church, but it didn't take him long to break free into the rhythm-filled streets of New Orleans. He's been marching in parades since elementary school. In college, he played with Loyola University's wind ensemble. He's earned his way all the way up to a Grammy nomination in recent years. O'Neal is the main drummer for the high-energy Mardi Gras Indian fronted funk project The Rumble, featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. He also formed experimental side-project Kapow!, travels to Ecuador and all over the United States with funk-rock-blues outfit Deltaphonic, and backs up soul queen Quianna Lynell and famed trombonist Stephen Walker. O'Neal also goes by the artist name The Parayd for a solo project, which is, more accurately, a "collaborations project" with wild promise and features a bunch of New Orleans greats.


Change Through Music

There are few things more noble than using your platform, as an artist, to fight for a cause.

Consider this the beginning of a series, as picking just three artists to represent all of the artists who speak out loudly and proudly about important causes that affect our local community is not possible. We've started with three artists—Derrick Tabb, Big Freedia, and Alynda Segarra—who are inseparable from the movements they champion—music education, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigration reform, respectively.

Alynda Segarra

Alynda Segarra [Courtesy Wikimedia Commons/ Abby Gillardi]

Alynda Mariposa Segarra has been singing about the plight of others (and their own struggles) since they first picked up a guitar. Raised in the Bronx until moving to New Orleans in 2005 and strongly connected to their Puerto Rican roots, every moment holding a mic has provided a moment to speak up for Segarra. On PBS, Segarra explained how even their band name, Hurray for the Riff Raff, was derived from activism, "The people who have gotten me through my life are the weirdos and the poets, the rebellious women, and the activists. They were considered the riff-raff by people in power, and they're the ones that make history."

Where many artists allude to what they care about, Segarra has many songs that are unequivocally about immigration rights, notably, "Rican Beach," "Pa'lante," and "Precious Cargo." The newest one, "Precious Cargo," puts Segarra in the narrative shoes of two young survivors they met through their advocacy work throughout Louisiana. Segarra has spent time at immigration centers, interviewed people who have made the journey and highlighted their real stories, raised funds for the Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention, and has spoken loudly against anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies.

They've been quoted on NPR saying, "I'm on stage because I want to fight fascism," and "I felt from a very early age that the personal is political." Already having made a difference, it will be exciting to see the effects of Segarra's voice as they continue to gain popularity and notoriety throughout what seems poised to be a long career.

Big Freedia

Big Freedia [Courtesy Gustavo Escanelle]

Big Freedia is in no way the only gender-nonconforming New Orleanian artist to be outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights. She's not even the only one in bounce (we see you, Katey Red). However, she is one of the brightest and loudest in our stratosphere because, as she told Billboard Magazine, "People can see my story and know my story and know that through hard work and determination, anything is possible. I'm steady knocking down doors and breaking down barriers."

Born in the '70s and musically active since the '90s, Freedia was already getting recognition back in 2011 for both her music (with Best Emerging Artist and Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist in OffBeat's Best of the Beat Awards) and her work in the Queer community (nominated for the 22nd GLAAD Media Awards). She's had multiple billboards, TV commercials, reality shows (Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce and Big Freedia Bounces Back), and a successful autobiography, God Save the Queen Diva! She even set a Guinness World Record—for twerking, of course. Freedia has collaborated with so many megastars: Kesha, Lizzo, Boyz II Men, Drake, Lil Wayne, and even Beyoncé.

In 2020, she released a documentary called Freedia Got a Gun, examining the dangers of gun violence in New Orleans, and she has endorsed Democratic candidates for office. While choosing to stick with "she/her" pronouns throughout this article, a big part of what Big Freedia does is allow her fans the freedom to refer to her in "whatever way makes you feel comfortable." She actively and consistently fights the pressure for people to feel forced to gender themselves, while putting out music that makes it impossible not to dance.

Derrick Tabb

Derrick Tabb [Courtesy Wikimedia Commons/ Tcrossbow]

A lifelong musician from Tremé, Derrick Tabb has provided opportunities for thousands of local children in the nearly two decades since he co-founded the Roots of Music. In the '90s, Tabb was one of the founding members of the Hot 8 Brass Band. When he left to join Rebirth Brass Band two years later, he found his tribe. Tabb holds a Grammy from his time in Rebirth, a Top 10 Hero Award from CNN for his efforts with The Roots of Music, and was an essential part of HBO's Treme. Tabb has used his personal success to open as many doors as possible and to hold them open for generations.

The Roots of Music is about so much more than just arts education (which would be valuable enough on its own). Roots employs teachers, tutors, bus drivers, and makes sure children ages 9 to 14 are given a safe space to play, grow, and learn. The students get help with their homework, nutritious meals, pick ups, drop offs. Parents know their children are safe, seen, and supported in the afternoons after school and all summer long. The Roots of Music comes blasting through so many parades with their joyful music. One class of Roots students even got to perform for former President Obama. Roots provides 2,500 hours of music education, 30k+ hot meals, and 1,400 bus journeys, all free of charge to students.

In recent years, the Sprouts of Music has popped up for even younger children, and the Roots Studio Academy has been making a difference in career-building, music theory, and industry certifications, over at Artisound Productions, for youths ages 14 to 18. With an average of 140 students a year in the programs, that is literally 8,000 students who have been affected by Derrick Tabb's consistent commitment to the cause. The Roots of Music is still, in large part, community funded, so if you want to join, you can get involved by donating time, money, expertise, or old instruments.


Three NOLA Trombonists

The trombone has played an essential part in New Orleans music since the 1800s. Trombones have such warmth, deep tones, versatility, and a bit of humor. They're splashy instruments and the people who play them often come with big personalities. They're the reason for the tailgate-style of playing—that slide needs room. What would a second line be without one?

Picking just three players to feature was a brutal process of elimination. Preservation Hall alone is filled with options: respected elder Maynard Chatters, the legendary Freddie Lonzo, Grammy-award winning Craig Klein (also of Bonerama and The New Orleans Nightcrawlers), Finnish artist Katia Toivola, and the infectiously joyful Ronnell Johnson. There's the excitingly experimental Jeremy Phipps of People Museum, the steadfast Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson of The Soul Rebels, the powerful Big Sam (of his self-titled Funky Nation), the ever-touring Emily Frederickson, who got her big break in Hadestown, and Charlie Halloran, who you can catch performing five days a week and see featured on nearly every New Orleans TV show.

Ashley Shabankareh [Courtesy Ashley Shabankareh]

We've decided to feature the ones who have been chosen by artists to represent the sound and spirit of our city on festival posters: Haruka Kikuchi (French Quarter Fest 2024 poster, painted by Monica Rose Kelly), Ashley Shabankareh (Bayou Boogaloo 2024 poster, created by Lillian Aguinaga), and Trombone Shorty (the subject of one of the most recognizable and collectable posters for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival, done in 2012, by Terrance Osborne).

Haruka Kikuchi

Haruka Kikuchi [Courtesy Haruka Kikuchi]

Originally from a town outside of Tokyo, Japan, Haruka Kikuchi moved to New Orleans a decade ago and has made a huge mark on the city. Though she started on piano and violin, by the age of 15, she had gotten her hands on some old Dixieland jazz and excitedly picked up the horn. After many years of playing, performing, and receiving a degree in Music Science, she sought out the source of the music that inspired her. She's now known as the "Queen of Tailgate" because she plays the genre with such reverence and joy.

She has released several albums of traditional music under her own name (Music Granola and Japan: New Orleans Collection Series) and she is a featured artist on so many others. She plays in Shotgun Jazz Band, the Preservation Hall All Stars, the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Kermit Ruffins' band, and, a personal favorite, the all-female trad-jazz group Shake'Em Up Jazz Band. An ambassador for our city and our sound, she has spent her time bringing New Orleans flavor all over the world.


Ashley Shabankareh

Ashley Shabankareh [Courtesy Ashley Shabankareh]

Ashley Shabankareh's musical résumé is as long as a CVS receipt. As a permanent member of Marina Orchestra and Bra's Band brass band, a previous member of the Asylum Chorus, and a guest artist for many local bands, they've played every festival in town. They lead with a love of the trombone. They were the inspiration for artist Lillian Aguinaga's 2024 Bayou Boogaloo festival poster, a festival both of their current bands performed at; however, Shabankareh's contributions to New Orleans extend far past their musical chops.

They're an adjunct professor at Xavier and Loyola universities, a curriculum writer who just released the "Take Me to the River New Orleans" curriculum via Berklee PULSE and the curriculum resource guide "Embracing Arabic Popular Music in the Classroom." Shabankareh is the board president of Folk Alliance International, the board secretary of Second Line Arts Collective, and the chapter governor of the Recording Academy Memphis Chapter several years running. During Carnival, you can catch them dancing with the Camel Toe Lady Steppers. While all of that occurs in Shabankareh's spare time, during the day, they are the director of operations and programs at the Trombone Shorty Foundation, providing opportunities for many future trombonists.


Troy Andrews

Trombone Shorty at age 5 with the Carlsberg Brass Band, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1991 [wikiwand]

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is to the trombone what Louis Armstrong is to the trumpet, what Allen Toussaint is to the piano, and what Stanton Moore is to the drums. There is no one more famous, more beloved, and more proudly representative of New Orleans culture. Andrews played his first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 4 and has performed there nearly every year since. A graduate of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, he has been in films, TV shows, and documentaries. He's toured with Lenny Kravitz, the Foo Fighters, the Dave Matthews Band, Hall & Oates, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 2012, the same year he was featured on the official Jazz Fest poster, he performed at the White House, alongside B.B. King and Mick Jagger, for the Obama administration. A few years later, while still in his 20s, he played at the GRAMMYs with Macklemore, Madonna, and Queen Latifah. He's returned to the White House for performances four times since. In the past decade, his career has continued to sky rocket, signing to Blue Note Records, releasing two albums, building his own recording studio, leading a Mardi Gras parade with a float made to look like him, and even getting his own Sesame Street muppet. What Andrews does for his community, though, might have the biggest impact. He has committed to over a decade of the Trombone Shorty Foundation, been an educator and mentor, written multiple children's books, opened doors and made connections, and raised so many funds. Andrews doesn't just bask in his success; he makes sure that what he's built provides a platform and opportunities for generations of talented young musicians to come.

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