When Barb "Thee Animal" was a little girl she saw Karen Carpenter playing drums on TV, sparking her lifelong love of Karen and the drums, and the fire to be a professional drummer. During her formative teen years, Barb (as were many young women) was not encouraged to pursue the drums, including by her music teachers in high school, which only set her resolve even greater to prove doubters wrong – thus began her quest to not only teach herself to play the drums, but to start her own all-female rock band. Teaching herself to play drums by ear while listening to Motley Crue and Judas Priest, in the early 90s she fulfilled her promise by co-founding the much beloved and award-winning all-female Arizona rock band, Whiskey Blu. Whiskey Blu signed a record contract in the early 90s, and continued their success well into the 2010s, playing to packed houses every show. Barb then began writing and performing drum parts for guitarists and bands through referrals, as well as guest drumming for some of her favorite local bands. She has never stopped teaching herself to learn the drums! In 2019, Barb and her sister Cathy formed Wicked Kiss out of a long-spoken passion project between them, wanting to play fun and energetic songs that they grew up listening to! Barb is an avid bodybuilder, loves the Dallas Cowboys, muscle cars, reading, and animals.
Barb is a heavy hitting and energetic 4-on-the-floor player, straight ahead rock drummer, who is happiest holding down a tight pocket. She is currently playing a Dixon-racked 10-pc double bass 1984 Tama ImperialStar . Her gear includes Williams Target Blue and WMB series heads, Mapex low snare stand, Roc N Soc and Porter & Davies BC2 thrones, Gibraltar and Tama hardware, remote hi-hat stands, Trick and Axis pedals, Zildjian Platinum Blue cymbals, custom snares including the Bonham Ludwig Supraphonic, COB "Dark Chasm" and a rare Premier Stage 1.
She endorses and exclusively uses Williams Drumheads, JK Drum Systems drum mats, ProPlayer Art bass drum cover art, No-Nuts cymbal sleeves, SkyGel damper pads, and Diemondstar Rock series drumsticks. She is a proud member of the Phoenix Area Drummers group!
Barb's drum style and drum setup influences include Karen Carpenter, Bev Bevan, Mick Tucker, Mick Fleetwood, Sandy West and Denise Dufort. Her music loves include the Carpenters, ABBA, ELO, Sweet, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, the Runaways, Collective Soul, Gladys Knight, and everything 70s!
Barb still thinks of (and thanks) Karen Carpenter every single time she picks up her sticks and plays the drums…
Nickname
Thee Animal
Birth City
Phoenix
Current City
Payson
Gender
Female
Eye Color
Green
Zodiac Sign
Leo
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