Drum Roll

Mindy Abovitz Monk takes "marching to the beat of your own drum" pretty literally. Which is why she created Tom Tom, a media company centered around girls & GNC folks who make beats & break rules. 

"I'm a drummer & I didn't see enough of people like me getting credibility for making music," recalls Mindy. Adding that she, "wanted to hype us all." 

And Tom Tom brings the hype. The media company offers everything from a magazine, merch, museum exhibitions, shows, & even a podcast. 

But Mindy shares that there are challenges. "Running a media company is super challenging & tests your moral & ethical compass," she says. Stressing that she's really learned how media works in the last 9 years. 

In the end, Tom Tom is the go-to for drummers & beat makers around the globe; bringing awareness to female + GNC percussionists everywhere. And who doesn't get hyped by all that? 

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Learn more + read + shop Tom Tom by clicking here, here, & here. Take a listen to their podcast, The Beat + The Pulse by clicking here. And for more from Tom Tom, check out their Oral History of Female Drummers: 

"The Oral History of Female Drummers is designed to explore & express the undocumented history of female drummers using the oral tradition of performative exchange. The female beat boxer is the oral historian who carries the beats from one drummer to another, acting as both “mouth drummer” & “town crier.” Viewers are invited to observe this intimate expression undistracted & to participate in both the immediacy, skill & mystery of this exchange. The beats represent a lost conversation of a history unknown, the language & voices unheard that can illuminate the current drum media & conversational landscape. The heads (skins) of each of the drum kits as well as each set of drumsticks, are hand painted by the artist Itta. As the drummers communicate their individual histories at their drums, they slowly chip away at the painted heads in effect, re-writing their histories. "