Patty Schemel

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Patty Schemel bigraphy, stories - American rock drummer

Patty Schemel : biography

April 24, 1967 –

Patricia Theresa Schemel (born April 24, 1967) is an American drummer, most notably known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. In the early 2000s, Schemel performed with Hole bandmate Courtney Love during Love’s solo career, and later drummed for Juliette and the Licks. As of 2010, Schemel continues to play music and gives drum lessons, in addition to owning a dog daycare/boarding business.

Music career

Early career

Schemel learned to play drums after her father bought her a drum kit at age 11. Her influences were listed as Echo & the Bunnymen, AC/DC and Wire, among other punk rock bands, and at age 15, along with her brother Larry, formed her first band, Sybil, which was later renamed Kill Sybil due to the artist of the same name.

In 1987, she joined Doll Squad, an all-female punk rock band from Seattle, Washington. Along with bassist Annette Billesbach, lead guitarist Cathy Watson, rhythm guitarist Helen Halloran and vocalist Mara Dralle, Schemel was one of the original members of Doll Squad before their 2008 reunion. The band was initially active from 1987 to 1989 gaining an indie following in Seattle, playing alongside Nirvana, and releasing one self-released demo tape.

Hole

It has been noted that Schemel was considered by Kurt Cobain as Nirvana’s drummer after the departure of their drummer, Chad Channing.Love, Courtney. Interview with Kurt Loder for MTV’s Courtney Love: The Hole Story, September 1, 1994. However, after Dave Grohl’s audition, Schemel became Cobain’s second choice, but he and Schemel developed a close friendship.

After the departure of Hole’s original drummer Caroline Rue, frontwoman Courtney Love recruited Schemel and she joined the group in 1992. Schemel’s first work with the band involved the recording of their fourth single, Beautiful Son, on which she also played guitar on the b-side "20 Years in the Dakota." Most notably, she played drums on Hole’s sophomore and most successful album to date Live Through This. She later went on to tour with the band for the promotion of Live Through This, which featured dates at the Reading Festival, Big Day Out and Lollapalooza. While on tour in April 1995, Schemel became the first woman ever to appear on the cover of Drum World magazine. Around this time, she also recorded with Phranc, playing drums on the Goofyfoot EP. In 1996, Schemel played drums on Hole’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s song Gold Dust Woman, which was the first song on the soundtrack to The Crow: City of Angels. She also sang backing vocals and appeared prominently in the video for the song. During this time, Schemel and Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur formed a short-lived side project called Constant Comment. The band played a small number of shows before disbanding.

Patty Schemel appeared on the cover of the March 1995 issue of [[Drum World and was the first female musician to be featured on the magazine’s cover.]] Hole became active again in 1997 and entered the studio to record Celebrity Skin, the follow-up to Live Through This. Schemel worked on the writing of the album’s material – especially "Awful", which she composed most of – with Love, guitarist Eric Erlandson, and Auf der Maur, however, left the band before the album was recorded. All her parts on the album were performed by a session drummer provided by producer Michael Beinhorn and she was eventually replaced by Samantha Maloney for the album’s tour. However, due to her contribution to the writing of the album and its demos, Schemel’s name and photo were still included on the album sleeve.

Reasons for Schemel’s departure from Hole were disputed, with Courtney Love claiming that Schemel’s then drug habit was to blame, which supported circulating rumours at the time,"Rumors are swirling about the status and sobriety of drummer Patty Schemel. At press time, the only semi-official comment is that Schemel is ‘on vacation’ and will not appear in the video for ‘Celebrity Skin.’" From a 1998 article entitled FEATURED SOUNDBYTE: HOLE: THE CELEBRITY SKINNY. however, Schemel insisted it was due to "musical differences." In fact, Schemel left Hole due to personal and musical differences between her and Celebrity Skin producer, Michael Beinhorn. She claimed that Beinhorn was "totally psyching [her] out in the studio" and after a meeting with the band, Beinhorn brought in session drummer Deen Castronovo, to which she felt "betrayed by the band." She subsequently left before the final recording sessions for the album.