Kate Schellenbach, The Beastie Boys backbone Drummer

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Kate Schellenbach was not different from a lot of hip New Yorkers of the late 70s. She found herself in a good band that recognized funk and punk as the backbone of their existence.

Kate Schellenbach
Kate Schellenbach

They opened their ears to new sounds happening in the South Bronx. Her band was called Beastie Boys, and their star was shining bright. From the way they performed and the greatest female drummer’s presence, it was evident nothing out stop them from reaching the top. She played within their punk times and went ahead to do more.

Kate Schellenbach involved herself in groundbreaking, genre-blurring work, but her major works are linked to the 1990s Luscious Jackson. The alt.girl outfit band became her major success story as it took her to a different level of her excellent drumming skills.

Kate was born on January 5, 1966, in New York City. She is an American drummer and TV producer who has seen her better days with some of the best bands in history.

Beastie Boys
beastie boys

Her work with the Beastie Boys between 1981 and 84 laid the ground for her success. And she helped the group grow from strength to strength until it was disbanded in 2000 and reformed in 2011. At the same time, she was a reliable member of a punk band the Lunachicks for a few months at the rise of 1993 but left after the recruitment of Chip English.

Kate is more than just a great drummer of the 21st century; she is a woman of many talents, with different skills that help scale her career’s heights.

She became an Emmy-Award winner in her later year as a segment producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She was then playing bongos alongside Ellen DeGeneres. As if that was not enough, she went on to work as a producer on many occasions.

Kate Schellenbach attended high school at New York City’s math school and Stuyvesant High School. She was to become a scientist or a mathematician, but her fate changed when she met Josephine Wiggs, who was then the Breeders, bassist.

Even though Kate has already shown a great interest in drums, she was not drumming yet, and her major focus was on education. Her romantic involvement with Wiggs led her to feature in an article in The Advocate, a national LGBT magazine in the US.

Lusciousjackson Bydougseymour
Lusciousjackson Bydougseymour

They formed their band called Ladies Who Lunch, but it did not last long.  Kate was playing drums for Luscious Jackson‘s side project, Kostars.

Kate is considered among the top female drummers because of her energy and stamina. She has a metronomic speed that no one else can perform. And when she strikes, her drums seem to be speaking the same language as her audience.

She is also an inventor who comes up with different styles at every performance. To her, drumming is all about passion and the need to make your audience smile wherever. And she seemed to achieve this goal without much struggle. She is a natural.

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Andrea

Andrea is a music lover and an experienced drummer with more than 15 years of drumming with different bands and music projects, such as Seditius and Hermano & the Marines.