Cindy Blackman

My mom used to take me to see classical concerts," says Blackman. "My dad was into jazz -- Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, people like that." Blackman's first introduction to the drums happened when she was seven years old in her hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio and attending a pool party at a friend's house, she went to use the bathroom and saw a drum set and just hopped onto the set. "It was incredible," says Blackman. "Just looking at them struck something in my core, and it was completely right from the second I saw them," says Blackman. "And then, when I hit them, it was like, wow, that’s me. That’s completely natural for me. It’s like breathing for me. It didn’t feel awkward at all."

After her first introduction to drums at her friend's house, Blackman began playing in the school band and was able to convince her parents to get her a drum set of her own while she was still only seven. "Of course those would be broken up in a matter of days," Blackman says. "The only thing I heard at home was, 'we don't know if you can play drums because one, they're noisy, and two, they're very expensive." Some people ask why she didn't study violin or flute like other girls. "I learned very early on -- when I was 13 -- that when I concentrate on those attitudes, I don't make progress for myself," says Blackman. "If they're not paying my mortgage, I don't care what they think." Read Less