We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aisha Gaillard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aisha, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The most life changing risk I have taken was leaving my full-time job working at the Hilton Hotel to pursue music full-time. In 2017, I graduated from California State University Long Beach with my Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management. I chose this path instead of studying music because believe it or not I did not get accepted into Berklee College of Music or the jazz program at CSULB. I had become very discouraged by that rejection and had seconds thoughts about continuing my music career. Since I also have a passion for cooking my new goal was to own a restaurant with live music (Supper Club) in the future, so I decided to choose the Hospitality route. I began attending job fairs during my senior year of college and landed a job at the Hilton Hotel in Long Beach the same month that I graduated from college. When I started my position as a Front Desk agent, I realized that I would not be able to accept music gigs as often because my work shifts were from 3:30pm-11:30pm. I had to work on the weekends as well. Overtime I became very stressed at this job and wanted to get back to performing. After a year of working there, I took a leap of faith and decided to work full-time as a musician. I made a post on social media to announce that I was available again to perform and a plethora of gigs started to roll in. I landed an opportunity to play at the NRG Stadium in Texas for 30,000+ people. Towards the end of 2018, I began working with an R&B artist named UMI and I was able to perform consistently with her at well known venues, festivals, and tours. In 2019, I began working with R&B/Soul artist Mereba. We performed at festivals that year and filmed on NPR’s Tiny Desk. That same year, I went to West Africa to perform with multi-instrumentalist Maia for a jazz festival. Taking that leap of faith to leave my 9-5 job was very nerve wrecking but it was also one of the best decisions I had ever made.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started my music journey at the age of 3. My Aunt was a creative herself and exposed me to a variety of activities. She took me with her to a dance class and asked me if I wanted to dance. I told her no because I was very shy but I gravitated to the hand drummers that were playing for the dance class. I walked over and they let me play with them. At the end of the class they told my Aunt and I that I had a nice touch on the drums. My Aunt decided to take me to a drum workshop in Leimert Park at the World Stage. I was taught by a legendary jazz drummer by the name of Billy Higgins and learned to play drum set. I was able to take lessons with him from the ages of 3-7 until he passed away. I continued attending the workshop and my new instructor was another great drummer by the name of Cornell Fauler. Not only did I attend the workshop once a week for lessons, but I also joined the Jazz/Marching band at my Middle school and High school. What sets me apart from others is that I am not a drummer who is known to play just one genre, I can play a variety of genres which opens up the doors for more opportunities. It also helps me creatively because I can add tasteful rhythms to my playing and have my own sound. I am most proud of never given up on myself and staying the course. I’ve done recording sessions with major label artists and have been endorsed by some of the top drum companies such as Roland, Paiste Cymbals, Ultimate Ears, Audix Mics, and Los Cabos Drumsticks. I have also been able to perform at places such as Coachella, The Hollywood Bowl, The Pelican Stadium, NPR’s Tiny Desk, The Fonda, The Novo Theater, Afro Punk, Radio City Music Hall, 88 Rising fest, Smoke and Grooves fest, Gov Ball fest, Pickathon fest, Juno Awards show, The Troubadour, The Roxy, and many more venues/festivals. I have also been able to tour the world as a drummer both in and out of the country because of those who believed in me.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2020 when Pandemic happened, I had to pivot both in my life and career. Right before the lockdown I had moved into a new place, started a new position in the education field, and was about to leave for a 3 month tour which would have been in North America, Asia, and Europe. When I finished my rehearsals with UMI for the tour I got a call on my way home that we were no longer able to travel due to the lockdown. The tour was literally going to start in less than 3 days. I did not know how I was going to survive because all my financial resources were put to a halt. I had to leave my new place that I just settled in and move back with family, I began applying to music grants such as MusiCares and I found a way to start teaching drum lessons online. This pivot gave me a chance to get back into producing and working on my social media content. I was able to do an online interview via Instagram with Tom Tom Mag which is a magazine company that highlights female drummers. I was eventually able to continue working with the artist I played behind to do live stream performances and studio recordings. I recorded drums at Shangri-La recording studio owned by Rick Rubin for Umi’s album “Introspection Reimagined.” That time period of my life was filled with a lot of ups and downs but I made the best of it and was still able to accomplish some pretty awesome goals!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the ability to tell my story through my music. It is also very rewarding to see the younger generation look up to me and feel inspired to do what I do for a living. Although I don’t prefer to be labeled as just a female drummer, I still appreciate the fact that other young women want to become drummers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aishagdrums.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aishagdrums
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aishagdrums
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aishagdrums/videos

Image Credits

Natasha Ingeram
Lourdes Lasala