As Dorothea Taylor stated in one of her videos earlier this year, “Drummers come in all ages, sizes, shapes, ethnicities. And regardless of how good you are, how old you are, we’re all still part of the drumming family.” Taylor has become a social media favorite, rocking it behind the kit on drum covers of Slipknot and Disturbed and also recently earning a shoutout from Paramore‘s Hayley Williams.
Taylor’s Instagram bio states that she’s a private drum and drumline instructor, has been drumming for 56 years and is also her church’s organist. In addition, according to a Drum Magazine profile, she’s got her own classic rock / new country band called Badlander, she drums for the All City Choir and subs in with a couple of bands when needed.
She’s recently started gaining popularity on the TikTok, where one of Paramore’s fans found her taking on “Ain’t It Fun” playing to the tiniest of surfaces and still rocking the bounciest of tracks. When it was brought to the attention of Hayley Williams, she stated, “Love her, she’s a badass.”
Paramore, “Ain’t It Fun”
Taylor’s social media channels show her not only doing drum covers but sharing some basic techniques and even jamming out with her grandson. For hard rock and metal fans, you’ll enjoy seeing Taylor behind the kit rocking Slipknot’s “Psychosocial” (be sure to scroll to the second Instagram video as well) and Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness.”
Dorothea Taylor Covers Slipknot, “Psychosocial”
Dorothea Taylor Covers Disturbed, “Down With the Sickness”
As Taylor revealed to Drum Magazine last year, she started playing drums at the age of 13 when she joined a drum and bugle corps in her hometown in Michigan. She got her first set of drums as a junior in high school and joined a band after she graduated. She began teaching drumline for her school when she was 17 and has taught on and off since then.
Taylor has an account on YouTube, but seems most active posting to Instagram and TikTok.
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