Today we’d like to introduce you to Reece Herrera.
Hi Reece, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started playing drums at the age of 7, I remember banging on my mom’s pots and pans and completely denting all of her kitchen wear until they decided to actually buy me a real drum set. Quickly after that, I found my dad’s album collection and would try to play every drum part to his Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, and Grand Funk Railroad discography. It was a total blast, but nothing really changed me like finding punk rock for the first time. The first time I heard Green Day’s Dookie album, I finally felt like I found the soundtrack to my life, it was incredible! All I wanted to do was play hard and fast and get all my rage out!
As I got older, I started working at a few music shops and was the only womxn/non-binary identifying person working in the drum shop at the time. The moment that my passion became crystal clear to me was when a little girl timidly walked into the drum shop. I could tell she was awkward, and almost carried shame for being there, I then jumped on the drum set and started playing, she looked like a deer in the headlights, she was intrigued and curious. At that moment, I knew that I wanted to help womxn gain confidence to play their instruments loud, and unapologetically. I wanted to not only help them carry this mindset in the musical world but in general.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been an easy road leading up to where I am today. I can’t tell you the amount of times that I have seen womxn being treated as novelties for playing music. Or, my favorite… the backward compliments like “you’re pretty good for a GIRL” being casually announced by straight, cis-gendered men at venues.
My favorite example, when I was working at the drum shop, cis men would walk in, and even though I would greet them and ask if I could help them with anything, they would turn their cheek and ask my male colleagues whatever they were needing help with. What was interesting and so frustrating about this was I had been working there longer than the men in that shop and knew a lot more, to the point that I was basically training them.
As you know, we’re big fans of Femme Rock. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Femme Rock is an Austin-based community, providing a safe space for women and non-binary adults ages 21+ to gain confidence and empowerment through music. Our community encourages love and empathy, helping womxn explore their creativity and natural talents. We provide inclusive music offerings for all instruments and experience levels, including 1:1 instrument lessons, workshops, band classes, songwriting, original bands, home recording, studio recording, showcases, and guest performances.
We’re also the winner of Austin Chronicle’s Best in Austin 2019: Best Incubator of Musical Sisterhood
We’re more than a music school; we are a community. We are a family. And we’re working hard every day to create a revolution and for it to finally be our turn to take up ALL THE SPACE!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Two lessons learned since starting Femme Rock are: 1) self-care is important, and 2) the community is strong and resilient. Even though Femme Rock is my full-time job and I’m madly in love with it, I still need to take a few breaks and vacations to re-energize, that way I can be the best leader for this community. The pandemic hit the community quite hard in 2020, and we had to take a break from playing in-person, shifting to online learning for about a year. But our students are very resilient and the community has come back stronger, and more empowered than ever.
Contact Info:
- Email: femmerockatx@gmail.com
- Website: http://femmerockatx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femmerock/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/femmerockatx
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCocOZbbE9Ovz08G3ZPqXAEw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/femme-rock-austin
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/femmerock
