Moni Lashes @ Woodshed, Royal Park SA 9/10/2025
Thursday night saw us heading along to Adelaide’s premier hard rock venue, The Woodshed at Royal Park, for the launch of local legend Moni Lashes’ new book: The Art Of Hard Rock Drumming.
For the uninitiated, Moni is the drummer extraordinaire and stick spinner, for Adelaide underdog rock band The Babes, Moni is also endorsed by some of the world’s most iconic drumming brands Pearl Drums, ProMark Sticks and Evans heads, no mean feat for a fellow Adelaidian. Oh, and it would be remiss of me not to mention that way back in 2015, Moni also set a world record, drumming non-stop in Rundle Mall for twenty four hours without taking a break, as part of a fundraising event to assist with her dad’s treatment for a rare form of multiple sclerosis. Superstar!
Kicking things off for the launch with a belting drum along to The Babes It Ain’t Easy, complete with bonus drum solo, Moni proceeded to talk about her new book in detail, discussed career highlights to date, handed out some amazing giveaways thanks to the aforementioned endorsement brands and even worked through some practical exercises from the book with members of the audience on practice pads.
To the book itself and it’s a drumming theory goldmine. Speaking to the crowd, Moni explained how it came about as an extension of her passion for teaching her drum students and a gap she identified in the syllabus for her year eleven and twelve students as they work towards their SACE goals. Providing an alternative, to ensure her students don’t lose their passion due to the limited song selections currently available. The book clocks in at over one hundred pages, with exercises, drum charts and so much more, each page also featuring a QR code, which will take you to videos of Moni working through the exercises with you, teaching you how to play each piece, with multiple speeds for you to learn at your own pace, over four hundred and twenty five videos all up.
What really struck me the most throughout the course of the launch with Moni, is her passion for all things drumming, it comes through in her playing, but when she talks about it, her passion is infectious. As a sometime drummer myself, for local unknowns Rock Bottom, I wish I’d had a teacher like Moni at the start of my drumming journey, that said it’s never too late. The moment the formalities ended I was straight over to the merch stand to purchase my copy and with Moni’s book tucked up my sleeve, it’s safe to say the little spark inside me is well and truly motivated once again to take my skills to the next level. Thanks Moni!!
Live Review By Peter Lanyon