New CSArts-SGV student Yoyoka Soma (PM, ‘28) is balancing her studies and career as she prepares to release her first album, For Teen on Oct. 11. At only 14 years old, the Japanese born-and-raised drummer’s musical career has already included hundreds of shows with star-studded performers.
Soma’s passion for drumming started before she was two years old and was cultivated by her musical family members.
“My house was also a recording studio, so they had a lot of instruments,” said Soma. “They said I was looking at the drums all the time and thought I wanted to learn.”
A few years later, at age eight, Soma posted a video of herself playing the drums to Led Zeppelin's ‘Good Times Bad Times’ as a submission to the Hit Like a Girl Drumming Contest.
The video was praised and re-shared by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. From there her career quickly skyrocketed, landing her two interviews on Ellen and the opportunity to perform as a guest drummer for renowned artists, such as Cyndi Lauper, Fall Out Boy, and Jack Black. She has since been praised by drummer Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and covered in publications such as NPR, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and more.
Soma moved to the United States to further her music career and education, and is now in her first year at CSArts-SGV.
Soma said that she is still trying to figure out the complexities of balancing both her career and being a freshman in high school.
“I do my best, but sometimes concerts can go really late,” said Soma. “After coming back home I would do my homework until 1 a.m. in the car on the way home from a concert.”
She credited the teachers at CSArts-SGV for helping her learn to juggle both school and her career because of their understanding of how demanding and time intensive a profession in the arts can be.
The countless hours of work and dedication put into her craft has now led to the culmination of her first album. For Teen is a multi-genre album that features a variety of artists, such as Grammy award-winner Narada Michael Walden, accomplished bassist Marco Mendoza, and Roman Morello, son of guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.
The album title is a play on the album being entirely written, recorded, and produced while she was 14, and a nod to the album's 14 tracks. Touchingly, it will be released the day before her 15th birthday.
Soma is set to host an album release party at The Bourbon Room on October 13, where she will perform tracks from the album with select featured artists. Guests can expect to hear the works of herself, along with Mendoza, Rachel West, Charlotte Milstein, and many others.