Being a female drummer in a modern hard-rock band is a challenge, said Shift's Samantha Maloney.
"While no one has told me things to my face, I do get second-hand comments about our band not being hard-core because I'm playing drums," Maloney said during a phone call somewhere between Arizona and California."Some comments I will hear are, `They aren't very good because they have a girl playing drums.' That's before they see and hear us. After they do, they tend to change their minds."
Shift - featuring Maloney, guitarist/vocalist Joshua Loucka, bassist Brandon Simpson and guitarist Mark Holcomb - will play Club DV8, 115 S. West Temple, Wednesday, Nov. 12. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Maloney, who isn't ashamed to admit that she was inspired to play drums by watching MTV glam-metal bands in the '80s, said she had to literally beg her parents to allow her to play drums.
"I originally played clarinet in school," Maloney said. "But after I saw how much fun it could be playing in a rock band, I convinced my parents to let me try out the drums."
Other music Maloney liked then (and still does) includes Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bjork, Goldie and classical artists.
"I attended the Performing Arts High School in New York and studied percussion," Maloney said. "As you can see, my inspiration comes from all corners."
That, she said, is important because if you only listen to the style you play, you can't branch out and experiment.
Shift began playing around when Loucka and Simpson were 15 and 16, respectively. That was five years ago. "We played around New York for a while and landed an East-coast tour. We learned real fast the need to respect each other's opinions while touring together."
Now that the band is signed to a big label (Columbia), Maloney said that respect must be stronger for the band to carry on.
"There isn't much of a change in our attitudes. We hold each other's opinions up high. And when things get crazy on tour, that helps us maintain a little sanity."