‘Pinch me I’m dreaming:’ Calgary drummer pulled from crowd to play with the Arkells

For young musicians, to be up on stage in front of thousands of people, would be a dream come true. That’s exactly what happened to a Calgary girl, after being invited to play with Canadian rock icons The Arkells.

Ainsley Frasca and her family travelled from Calgary see the band on their "Big Feelings Tour" at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Nov. 14.

Halfway through the show, the lead singer Max Kerman, suddenly stopped the set.

“He pointed at me, and he was like do you want to come play the drums? It was crazy, it was so surprising, and it was really exciting,” says Frasca.

 The  then 15-year-old (she turned 16 on Nov. 22) didn’t hesitate. She got up on stage, introducing herself to the 5,000 people in the crowd, and began to drum her heart out.

“It was just purely muscle memory, and I was just in that moment locked in on the fact that I was playing for that many people with such an incredible band,” she adds.

Frasca in concert with the Arkells on Nov.14 in Kelowna, B.C.

Her family captured the entire moment on video, one they’ll remember forever.

“We’ve watched her perform several times in many other performances she’s done in the past, so we’re really just tuned in to the performance and the music and just incredibly proud,” says Frasca’s dad, Jose.

“The moment happened so quickly but it was almost slow motion at the same time,” he adds.

Frasca and her dad celebrate after her jam session with the Arkells on Nov.14

Frasca attends Calgary’s School of Rock and also teaches drums to young aspiring musicians at Rock U Canada.

She’s only been behind the drum set for five years, after deciding classical piano and hours of theory each week, weren’t her thing.

Frasca says if asked, she’d drop everything to join the Arkells on tour, but for now, she’ll keep working to master her craft.

“I’m going to keep doing my thing, keep on working on music, I would love to pursue a life or a career in music, that’s always been a life-long dream of mine,”

 The Arkells have three shows left on its tour, all taking place in Ontario.