BANGING HER OWN DRUMS

       Jureeporn Gamontummagul of band Abuse the Youth talks about the hands that rock the sticks Astereotype exists in rock music about girls being sexiest with a bass guitar. Yet, they never seem to be associated with the drums. The drums are a masculine instrument. They require the biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles of a man to master. And let us tell you that "mastering" is as much about the weight of the sound measured by the intensity of each stroke as it is about rhythm and timing.
       Jureeporn Gamontummagul, drummer of indie rock outfit Abuse the Youth, seems to have such muscles and they seem to have enabled her to beat the stereotype and become a rare gem of the Thai indie rock scene - a female drummer who can really bang the drums. "It's down to two tricks," she said, smiling proudly while showing us her toned forearm.
       "I have worked a lot, rather than work out. My family runs a factory that produces and distributes sweets. Like all Chinese families, we all have to work. I've been helping my parents with everything, most of all with manual tasks such as carrying huge sacks since I was young. That's how I don't get tired easily on stage."The second trick is practice. I have been practising every day for years and when you do that, your muscles remember and become familiar with the intensity and the stroke. Then, you become comfortable with it."
       In person, the 28-year-old drummer is polite and courteous. She's communicative, but not chatty. During conversation, she would drop some funny remarks, but not tell a long joke. Jureeporn is not the type of charismatic rock personality who commands great presence onstage and glides like a white swan amongst a flock of rock chicks and the wannabes at an after-show party. She looks more like an ordinary music enthusiast until she grasps the sticks. Buried behind her Ludwig kit, the brand for which she was hand-picked as the ambassador for by local distributor Intermusic, Jureeporn provides the beat that is the backbone of Abuse the Youth's much-revered raw and intense live energy.
       Growing up in a large, extended Chinese family, Jureeporn has familiarised herself with her music lover uncle's instruments since she was seven, playing first the guitar and later settling with the bass in a band comprised of family members. Her stint with the sticks began during her middle school years when a cousin and former band member quit and left a drum set at her home. Jureeporn started playing with them and learned the basics from a friend.
       "I never took any official drum courses," she said. "Apart from informal lessons from a friend, the rest was trial and error. I would listen to a song and figure out how the drum part was played and copy it. I learned to play it by heart."
       The nearest thing Jureeporn had to a formal music lesson was a three-year training scholarship awarded to her and her all-girl band by GMM Grammy's Meefah Music School. The programme trained the band to play better together. Jureeporn, back then a student at Abac University, travelled for kilometres from her university to the city centre every evening to take the invaluable lessons.
       "The training focussed on music theory and practical things such as how to make music and play together in harmony. I never got tired of it. Once, I had to take a motorcycle taxi all the way from my university to the school at [Soi] Nana to be on time."
       It was also during this period that she met her mentor, Crescendo drummer Ekpong Cherdtham, who Jureeporn credits as the one who taught her about the theoretical knowledge that enabled her to become a professional musician. When Ekpong was occupying the studio next to the one she was practising in, Jureeporn would knock on his door and beg for a drum lesson.
       "I learned a lot from him, both about theory such as drum notes and, more importantly, something that he never actually verbalised - to enjoy playing music. He taught me this just from the way he would play the drums and I took it that if you enjoy playing, the audience enjoy it, too."
       When her scholarship was discontinued after three years, which coincided with her graduation, Jureeporn put down her drum sticks and started working as a graphic designer for a year until she was summoned to audition for Flure when the band's drummer took leave to study abroad. She got the part, quit her full-time job and has since become one of the most sought-after drummers in the Thai music scene, playing back-up drummer for the likes of Flure, Ornaree and Crescendo.
       Despite playing with various top groups, Jureeporn didn't find a band of her own until she was introduced to Mick Voranisa and Suppaphong "Toonz" Preunglumpoo who would soon become her Abuse the Youth band mates.
       "I was told about this rock band who was looking for a drummer. Mick sent me some samples of songs he had written and I was soon hooked. They have this 1990s indie rock feel that reminded me of the very first time I heard the sound.
       "From the very first time I played with them, I knew this was the band I would be committed to."
       Unlike playing as a hired drummer for other bands, her commitment with Abuse the Youth requires much more professional and personal chemistry.
       "We had a honeymoon period of about six months," she recalled with a laugh. "I would be doing everything they wanted and after six months, I had more courage to voice my opinions and ideas. We would argue more but the good thing about boys is that once we left the rehearsal room, we would drop any work-related arguments and start having fun. They would not hold a grudge."
       Although Jureeporn and Abuse the Youth have already earned a five-year contract with indie record Mind the Gap, released one album, titled Under Skin, and toured extensively in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, the drummer insists to young music aspirants who would always come to her for advice after gigs that they do not need to give up everything to do music, nor do they need to obtain an official music degree in order to be a professional musician.
       "It's still difficult to make a living as a professional musician," she said, not with a sigh of regret but with an understanding of a person who sees and accepts the realities in life.
       "If playing music is your dream, you don't need to give up everything for it. You might need to work and make a living doing something else in order to sustain that dream. I still work as a freelance graphic designer and also help my family with their business from time to time and I still play in this band."
       Relate Search: Jureeporn Gamontummagul, GMM Grammy Meefah Music School, Abac University, Ekpong Cherdtham, Mick Voranisa, Suppaphong "Toonz" Preunglumpoo