TCZ: Can you tell us a little bit about what influenced you the most in pursuing a career in music?

Sally: It's hard to pinpoint that one moment, but for me it was definitely the Go-Go's. At the time when they came about, there were really no "female" bands out there. The Runaways had done their thing, but it had ended when the Go-Go's hard started and being a 12 year old kid drummer girl. . . this just sent me reeling. I would get sooo excited to see them playing on TV and I just wanted it to be me. That's when I knew that this was my dream and my future.

TCZ: In the past you have repeatedly credited Gina Schock from the Go-Go's as one of your biggest influences. Can you tell us about that and how she may continue to influence you today?

Sally: Hey, good lead in :). It's true, if it wasn't for Gina Schock I definitely would not be the drummer I am today. Gina has always been just a really solid drummer and she just came up with some really innovative fills and stuff. I started playing drums when I was 6 years old and there were no "famous" female drummers at that time really. Not for the music I was into - the punk rock stuff. I can remember sitting in my room in this small Texas town, listening to my AM transistor radio and this beat came on. . .

I was completely in awe and a woman's voice started singing and the song was so catchy - it was "We Got The Beat" and after the song was over, the DJ came on and said "that's the new one from the Go-Go's, an all girl band from LA" and I was just like "no way man"!!! I ran to my mom and begged her to take me to the record store and I bought "Beauty and the Beat" on cassette and learned all the drum parts immediately. I was gone by then - completely sold on the fact that I was going to be a drummer in an all-girl punk band. One of the most defining moments for me was when I read an interview with Gina in the magazine "Modern Drummer" and she said "I always hit my drums as hard as I possibly can" and that's when I just started beating the crap out of my drums and still do today.

TCZ: Do you remember the first song you ever wrote and performed and what does that song mean to you today?

Sally: Oh hell yeah - Down the Drain - I wrote that after I had bought my first guitar at a pawn shop. I was 20 years old and had just gone through my first real heartbreak and I just sat down with my guitar and it flowed out of me. And I've been playing it in bands ever since then, so it just stuck with me. It still means the same to me today as it did back then - angst and getting even and moving through emotions via the music.

TCZ: What was the most difficult aspect of learning to play drums for you and did you have any professional training?

Sally: As crazy as it sounds, the drums just came sooo naturally to me. My cousin started playing drums in her school band when I was 6 and she showed me some rudiments and I just picked them up and ran with it. I got my first kinda "real drum" when I was 7 and then my first kit when I was 12. I think I was a drummer in a past life or something. I never took a lesson and it's almost like I just picked up the sticks and knew what to do. I can't explain it really. And it's the opposite for me with other instruments - it took me forever to learn the guitar, but the drums. . . no idea how it was just a part of me.

TCZ: What has been the biggest obstacle you have faced as a female drummer during your long career?

Sally: Definitely having to prove myself every single night. Let's face it - most female drummers just aren't so great (to put it nicely!) and so people always see a girl setting up the drums and think right off the bat - she's gonna suck. I remember my first show, I was 15 years old and was about to play this really established, underground punk club. When I loaded in, all the young punk guys just gave me soooo much shit. Saying things like "oh brother, another girl who thinks they can play but will suck" and "girls can't play drums" and crap like that. My guitarist and bassist just smiled at me because they knew I was gonna blow everyone away. So after the show, I had a LINE . . . an actual LINE of punk guys wanting to help carry my stuff out and kissing my ass like nothing I had ever heard before. They were apologizing and saying how I'm the only girl they've ever seen play drums like that and blah blah blah. I just made them my slaves - hah!

TCZ: Can you tell us a little about your bandmates in Fabulous Disaster and what each of them brings to the band?

Sally: What? Those bitches?? haha - just kidding. Best chicks I ever had the pleasure to play with - truely. First there's Lynda. . . not only a sweet girl and another rocker who's been paving the way for girls in punk rock for years, but a really talented musician all around. She was the guitarist in FabD for 6 years but switched to vocals after Laura quit. She's also an amazing songwriter and I adore her completely.

Squeaky has been playing guitar for FabD for over 2 years now and she's brought the most intense energy to the band. I feed off her every live show we do. She's pretty much my "dream guitarist" to play with because she's as crazy on guitar as I am on drums. And also, a great songwriter and fun chick to tour with.

Lastly is our newest member, Liz. . . she moved to SF from NYC a few months ago and just clicked right in with us. She's a heavy bass player and I can't wait to get out on the road with her (you know, she's a fellow "lesbo") - gonna be a blast to have her in the van to joke around with.

TCZ: Along with bandmate Lynda Mandolyn you have watched Fabulous Disaster change and evolve with some member changes over the past few years. In what direction do you feel Fabulous Disaster is going today with their sound with the addition of Squeaky and Liz?

Sally: I think our sound is going more towards a heaving "rock-n-roll" style and not quite as poppy/punk. We still have the great harmonies but the music is just not as "mainstream" in my opinion. We have so many influences to draw from and Squeaky & Liz are definitely more "rock" than "punk". It's great to feel the band evolving and not just being stuck in a rut, ya know? Lynda and I have more of the old school/punk rock back ground and Squeaky and Liz draw from more rock-n-roll and that's a great combination to have.

TCZ: Besides being a drummer in Fabulous Disaster you're also one of the chief songwriters. Can you give us a little insight into any habits or rituals you employ while writing music?

Sally: Drinking a lot of Jaegermeister - hah! Noooo, really. . . I just draw from emotion really. I tend to write more when there's turmoil in my life. I love to write and music for me comes really naturally. . . but lyrics are another story. I can pick up my guitar and write the music for a song in 5 minutes, but then I will struggle for weeks to come up with lyrics. I think I've written lyrics to maybe 6 songs in my career so far, and that has always been when I'm really pissed off or emotionally charged. But FabD has always been a "collaborating"e type of band, so if I don't feel the words flowing, I hand it over to Lynda or Squeaky and they will take care of that part for me.

TCZ: Run us through a day in the life of Sally Disaster before taking the stage.

Sally: Oh dear - it's really quite boring! hahaha I just have normal days like anyone else. Then when I get to the club, I like to take a few shots of Jaeger to get me going and then just rock. I used to take like 30 minutes to warm up before a show - just tap my sticks on my shoe or something but then I got lazy and just stopped doing it and I found that I play a better show if I don't warm up. I guess the Jaeger took the place of that ritual - heh heh heh

TCZ: Describe Fabulous Disaster to us in one word.

Sally: POWER

TCZ: In the past few years indie bands such as yourselves have seen an explosion of internet based services that can be used to bring your music to a larger scale audience than you might have been able to reach before. What would you consider the biggest advantage services like podcasting offers an indie band such as Fabulous Disaster?

Sally: Reaching people who normally wouldn't be able to have access to your music. Mainly people from countries maybe where your stuff isn't distributed I think is the biggest advantage. I'm all for downloading and internet piracy to get music - why not? We make music for the people. . . it doesn't matter to me how they get it, as long as they do and can enjoy it. Fuck all those crybaby major label bands who are challenging the internet and downloading. It's a good thing for smaller bands for sure!

TCZ: Recently Neil Young released an album considered to be very political, how do you feel about the current political environment and do you believe entertainers should be voicing their political opinions in their music?

Sally: Oh yeah, most definitely - that's what it is all about, whether it's music or writing or painting. . . it's important to use it as a positive way to express yourself. That's the beauty of it all. Who wants the damn status quo? How boring. All those lame songs on mainstream radio and MTV singing about high school and girls. . . YAAAWWWWWWNNNN. Our goverment is more backwards than ever right now with Bush in office and we're stuck paying for a war that never should have happened. The only way for the "minority" to be heard is to raise awareness and music plays a big part in that. Otherwise we're just complacent and living by what the media is feeding to us. Music wakes up people's asses. It creates dissonance - it's important.

TCZ: You've toured the world extensively during your long career is there any particular country you prefer to perform in and why?

Sally: I really love parts of Eastern Europe like Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. But on our last Euro tour, we played in Finland and man oh man. . . it was off the hook! I'd have to say Finland is now my favorite country to play. We played 3 shows there and had never been any where near there before and all 3 shows were packed and the people just went crazy. Big pits like in the old punk days - hah! And they are by far the heaviest drinkers too! I never drank so much Jaeger in my life - whew!! Thank You FINLAND!!!

TCZ: Tell us about one show that stands out in your mind and what was so special about that night?

Sally: I think it's the first show we ever played with NOFX. It was in Tempe, Arizona and we had just signed with Fat Wreck Chords and that was our first big show. We were going on first and all the guys at the label were saying stuff like "NOFX fans are only there to see them" and "you'll get spit on" - real encouraging stuff like that! So we decided we would do like 7 songs (one right after the other) and get off as fast as we could. We got on stage, hit the first song. . . and within 1 minute, there was a huge pit right in front!! We were in complete shock and everyone screamed and clapped after that song. . . it was so great - we conquered those bastards!! haha

TCZ: What are your goals for the future and is there anything you have not yet accomplished in your career that your looking forward to??

Sally: I feel like we've really paved the way for women in punk rock. We're one of the few "girl" punk bands out now who tour nonstop and keep going at it. For me, that's as good as it gets. Of course, I'm really looking forward to getting back into the studio with this newest lineup and putting out another great record. It's been 3 years since a "full length" release and it's finally time. Then I hope to get picked up by a really great and established label and be able to tour the world again.

TCZ: What advice would you give an upcoming female drummer today?

Sally: Go for it . . . and if you're gonna do it. . . do it right - HIT HARD, PLAY HARD and bust ass to let people see you out there.

TCZ: What can we expect from Fabulous Disaster in 2006?

Sally: A new full length release and hopefully live shows all over the US and Europe!!

TCZ: Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans??

Sally: Thank you for supporting what we do. . . you make it worthwhile and thanks for all the shots :)

TCZ: Is there anything we haven't asked that you would like to share??

Sally: You asked me about Karen Carpenter, so here's something on that. ... She was kinda before my time and I never really thought of her as a drummer, but more as a vocalist. I mean, the Carpenters music was so about the vocals and the harmonies. I respect her for what she did though because I've seen some video clips and she could play drums for sure. I mean, she was truely probably one of the very first female drummers in the mainstream.

Interview by GWGS © The Cover Zone June 2006