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Martina Axen (July 2005 Issue)
Drain STH's Power PlayMartina Ax'n of Drain
STH loves
a big drum sound. To get that sound she plays a big kit- 26"
bass drum, 14" mounted tom, and 18" floor tom. And she plays
hard.
"Last time we played Phoenix, they practically had to carry me off the
stage," she says.
Like many other
drummers, Ax'n lists John Bonham among her
major influences. "I grew up listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin," she
says.
"That's what I like about drums - when they're heavy but not
distracting to the music. I like drummers like Tommy Lee
and Bonham.
They don't put too much stuff in there that doesn't need to be there.
The sound is simple, but
big."
Ax'n has a second motivation for keeping things simple'she
sings backing vocals while she plays. "I
have to focus on drums and
vocals at the same time," she says. "So I have to know my drums as good
as I can so I can
really focus on singing. Otherwise it gets
confusing."
Though Drain STH shares a heritage with pop legends ABBA -
both
bands hail from Sweden'drain STH owes much more musically to American
bands like Metallica. "Our sound is
pretty dark and heavy, but it's
melodic," Ax'n says. "There are so many bands that are aggressive or
melodic, but
we wanted to combine both."
The band's hard edge earned it a spot in this year's Ozzfest, though
the hard rock
tour was just a small portion of a very busy year. Drain
STH played 205 shows without a break, according to
Ax'n.
Along with playing hard and strong every night and adding
back-up vocals, Ax'n writes all of the
band's melodies and has penned
about half of their lyrics. Axen says she is pleased with the band's
most recent
album, Freaks Of Nature, though modestly notes that she
doesn't find any of her drumming to be worth significant
attention.
"There are no songs where I am particularly satisfied with the
drumming," she says. "I just try to play what fits the
music."
Harriet
Schwartz
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