Meet Simone Tisshaw-Baril, drummer supreme

Simone Tisshaw-Baril remembers when she was first mesmerized by the drums. 

"When I was around six," she recalled. "That was the one glaring instrument where you couldn't find any females playing."

So her mom rented a snare drum for her for Christmas that year.

"I remember going downstairs and seeing this shiny beautiful drum," she explained. "It just blew my mind."

She now plays drums with several Toronto bands. And while Tisshaw-Baril isn't the first female drummer, she does point out there still aren't very many.

Tisshaw-Baril says people are often surprised when she shows up to gigs.

"It's bizarre and it's kind of disappointing," she said.

"It's like you have to prove yourself, that you actually know what you're doing, especially being a female drummer." 

Once people hear her play though, they come around. "They say, 'Wow you're really good — not just because you're a girl!'"

But she says drumming is her passion.

"It definitely gets me going," she said. "I get a little excited and shaky. My heart starts going. It's like I'm in my place."