Today we’d like to introduce you to Yoyoka Soma
Hi Yoyoka, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a 14-year-old drummer born and raised in Japan. Back in Hokkaido, my home had a little music studio where my parents and their friends practiced and recorded their band every day, and I would just watch and learn. (I don’t really remember it, but) apparently, I showed interest in drums when I was just 1 year old, and I started playing. Of course, I couldn’t reach the foot pedal back then!
Every day, I would jam along with my parents’ original songs on drums, and I started performing live when I was 4 years old. By the time I was 5, I formed a band with my family and we played at different places every weekend. Most of our setlist was original songs, and when I was 6, I produced my own CD and wrote songs for it.
My life changed dramatically when I was 8 when I uploaded a drum cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” to Vimeo, and suddenly, I was featured by NPR. I received responses from my idol musicians like Chad Smith, Sheryl Crow, and Hayley Williams from Paramore. I was so surprised when Robert Plant complimented my video! Performing live with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin has always been one of my dreams.
Then in 2019, I got to appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” twice when I was 10 years old!
I’ve done a lot of drumming work, and I’m proud to be the youngest drummer chosen by Drummerworld as one of the “Top 500 Drummers in the World.” I was also the youngest selected in Newsweek Japan’s “100 Japanese people the world respects.” I had the chance to perform with artists like Cyndi Lauper and Fall Out Boy, and I even collaborated remotely with Ian Paice and Billy Sheehan during the pandemic.
One of the coolest projects I’ve worked on was recording 18 tracks for the role-playing game “Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster” series. It feels amazing to hear my drums coming from that game!
A big decision I made was to move to the U.S. with my family in September 2022 when I was 12, all to pursue my passion for music. I really wanted to challenge myself on a global level, and I knew that starting to learn English at a young age would help me. Plus, I wanted to do music in L.A., where so many talented musicians gather.
When I first arrived in the U.S. in 2022, I stayed at a friend’s place in Oakland, California. I attended an art school there, learning bass in middle school and studying drums in high school. It was a great time for discovering various music genres. At the end of June 2023, I moved to Los Angeles and really got into my music career. I have been performing at various places such as Whisky a Go Go, The baked Potato, Avalon Hollywood and others in LA.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first major challenge was the pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit right after that and all kinds of exciting project offers and scheduled events got canceled, which was really sad. Furthermore, I was unable to leave Hokkaido, Japan, and all my concerts were called off and some of them were canceled at the last minute. I couldn’t even go outside of my home, and those days were very sad for me. Incidentally, when I appeared on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show,’ I received a video message from Dave Grohl, but I still haven’t had the chance to jam with him. That is one of my dreams that I hope to achieve someday.
The second challenge was moving to the U.S. from Japan in 2022. To fulfill my passion for music, my parents quit their jobs in Japan, sold our house, and I left the talent agency I was with in Japan. We moved to the U.S. with just three days’ worth of clothes and a few instruments, without even knowing where we would live. It was also a struggle to obtain my artist visa, which I secured with recommendations from Ian Paice, Cyndi Lauper, and Marie Kondo. At first, we didn’t have a permanent place to live, so I bounced around friends’ houses. One of the houses we had to live without gas for two months! We also lived in a defective house and was scammed by a malicious landlord, and even experienced a landslide that trapped us for five days!
Living in California, where the cost of living is several times higher than in Hokkaido, Japan, was really, really tough, especially since we had language barriers and faced different cultures and customs. I’m managing to get by with the support of many friends and fans.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a drummer. That’s what I specialize in and what I am known for.
I have done a lot of drumming work, and I am proud to be the youngest drummer selected as one of the “Top 500 Drummers in the World” by Drummerworld. I was also chosen as the youngest among the “100 Japanese People Respected by the World” by Newsweek Japan. I have had the chance to perform with Cyndi Lauper and Fall Out Boy, and during the pandemic, I collaborated remotely with Ian Paice and Billy Sheehan.
Now, I am collaborating with various producers and musicians such as Narada Michael Walden, Marco Mendoza, and Roman, the son of Tom Morello. I am actively participating in various recording and live performances with my family band and a jazz fusion band.
Additionally, I am set to release my first full album, “For Teen,” on October 11, 2024. To celebrate the release and my 15th birthday on October 12, I will be holding a solo concert at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood on October 13. This concert is very important to me, and many guest musicians will be joining, so I really hope everyone can come!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
My favorite apps are Shazam and Google Translate. I use Shazam when I want to know what song I am hearing right now. I always use Google Translate because I am still learning English. Sometimes, I can’t understand some English words and what they mean. Also, I love Google Translate’s camera translation. It’s a really great function.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yoyoka.jp/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoyoka_drums/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaneaiyoyoka
- Twitter: https://x.com/yoyokadrums
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yoyoka_soma
