Name: Anysia Kym Batts

Where you are from/live: From Bronx/Westchester, live in Brooklyn 

Pronouns: She/Her

When and how did you get into playing the drums? 

 It wasn't a linear course at all. I grew up in the Bronx, and was on recreational dance teams from elementary to middle school until left the team when my family moved to Westchester County. At that point, cheerleading was just the coolest thing to me since all I knew about it was what I saw in movies (I was trying to live out my dreams of being a Clover like in "Bring It On"), and it was the closest thing to the dance team, so when I got to high school I tried out and made the competitive cheer team. Cheer was my first experience competing, but also winning together, losing together, and being surrounded by people every single day who made a commitment to a specific interest.

When I was 18 and it was time to think about college, I decided to go to a fashion school back in the city. At that point in my life, I was so certain I had to go to college or I'd never qualify for a "stable" job (ha!). Fashion was and is such an elusive, vague industry to me, but growing up in New York and having to stay as fly as possible in order to be respected by your peers, it felt like a no-brainer. I interned a bunch for different fashion brands, but it was my internship at a hip-hop magazine and seeing people, black people predominately, making a career out of what they actually loved doing that sparked something in me.

After college, I began messing around with FL Studios and making beats and flipping samples. After a while though, I didn't want to borrow and flip other sounds because it kind of felt like cheating in a weird way. But I really, really liked laying down drum beats and wanted to make my own sounds. I started taking drum lessons from people and places I searched on Facebook, anyway I could get access to a kit, but not having constant access was becoming a real barrier in my progression. After saving up enough money to hold myself down, I decided to quit my corporate job and pursue a full-time education in music (both performance and theory). I was skilled just enough to be awarded a scholarship to attend, and so I made a GoFundMe asking for support in matching my scholarship. I was clearly on a vulnerability trip, but the support from family and complete strangers alike were really affirming and I was not about to spend my life thinking "what if?" Even though I didn't quite make my goal, I attended the school for as long as I could afford and really locked in.

Why did you choose the drums over another instrument?

I think the idea of a perpetual challenge is why I chose the drums over another instrument. You can't cheat the drums (or any instrument) and playing is both extremely humbling and rewarding. I've always enjoyed playing my position behind the scenes while steady making my contribution to the bigger thing, the way the drums serve as the heartbeat of a track. 

Do you have any family members that influenced your interest in drumming? 

My younger brother is probably my biggest influence. He’s one of my best friends and when we were little, we'd always write songs together, come up with melodies and beat box. Kid shit that we never took too seriously, just for straight fun. He's also a musically inclined dude in general and taught himself to play guitar at like nine years old and I remember going to his middle school band shows and thinking he was so cool, just never saw myself in that role. I think the internalized misogyny was definitely on 10 back then. Plus, instruments are expensive— I grew up with three siblings and we weren't wealthy. Overall, my family is really supportive and I’m taking the time now to honor the parts of myself I was reluctant to back then.

What are you feeling on stage when you are performing? 

A cocktail of excitement and fear. I’m in between my own thoughts and listening to my body, but also listening in to my bandmates’ cues and how all the sounds are combining then and there, improvising based on mood and sound. And then it's over too soon.

Who are some of your musical inspirations?

In no particular order: The JB's, The Meters, Funkadelic; production on any Little Dragon or Mick Jenkins project; Chris Dave, Hiatus Kaiyote, Erykah Badu. I’ve been listening to Jane’s Addiction a lot recently, too. That’s a really small few.

What is it like being a woman, specifically a Black woman in a rock band? 

I recognize that my existence in the world as a Black woman is political, generally speaking. It's something I owe to myself and Black women before me not to question whether I belong in this space just because it’s dominated by cis, heterosexual white men. I also don’t take for granted that my bandmates are incredible people; we each have different upbringings but we're still so similar in many ways. We respect and cherish our differences instead of ignoring or downplaying them. I don’t restrain any parts of myself.

What advice would you give younger girls who are interested in following your footsteps?

Try everything you think you might be interested in. Don't get in your own way. And have fun. Pleasure is not a privilege, it's a right you owe yourself to exercise.