Scott K Fish

Donna Culley

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Drummer Allison Gulley credits faith and family as basis for pursuing career
Posted: Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Ebony Davis, Business Reporter

Gulley, who grew up in Mobile, said she started playing drums at age five after watching her two older brothers play multiple instruments in their church. Gulley said her first opportunity to perform outside her home as a drummer was at age 6, when she played the drums after a church service.

Gulley said her parents purchased her first drum set at age 10. Before then, she said she used encyclopedias and other items to practice.

Gulley said the only female drummer she knew of growing up was celebrity drummer and percussionist Sheila “E” Escovedo.

“When I was younger there weren’t many women who played drums that I was exposed to, so I was more influenced by how men played the drums – how it was a harder, more aggressive beat and you could feel it,” she said.

Her advice to women interested in playing instruments that have traditionally been considered gender-specific is to “go for it.

“Don’t second-guess. If you have a desire to do something meaningful, I believe that God put it there,” she said. “I’ve been told before that a drum is a man’s instrument, but my love for it wouldn’t let me leave the skill.”

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