69. The Pocket Queen: How this drummer built her massive following, brand, career and the Willow gig

Episode 69: The Pocket Queen. Taylor Gordon, aka The Pocket Queen has become one of the most followed drummers on social media. And for good reason—her groove is deep, her performance is engaging, and she’s built a strong brand that goes beyond just drumming. We sat down backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, where she was playing with Willow Smith, and got into all of it—how she came up with The Pocket Queen name, how she first went viral and continued her social media growth, how she landed the Willow Smith gig, and how she’s running her career as both an artist and a business. We also talked about her journey from Berklee student to full-time pro, the challenges of balancing creativity and entrepreneurship, and what she’s learned along the way. So here it is! I hope you enjoy my conversation with The Pocket Queen. ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. (00:00) INTRO (01:21) PLAYING WITH WILLOW SMITH (01:50) RECORDING BASS ON "FALSE SELF" ON "EMPATHOGEN" (02:39) HOW "POCKET QUEEN" WAS CREATED (05:03) CREATING VIDEOS, INTROVERSION, BUILDING A BRAND (07:39) VIRAL "777-9311" CLIP, SOCIAL MEDIA (11:59) COVERS, CHALLENGING YOURSELF, GROWING SOCIAL MEDIA (14:43) PQ CHALLENGE, MAKING BEATS (15:21) REACTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH (20:08) PQ'S CAREER NOW, TOURING, PERSONAL PROJECTS (20:59) MANAGING ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER (22:53) WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO POCKET QUEEN? (26:27) STRATEGY, RELEASING MUSIC, TIMING (30:12) WHAT INSPIRES POCKET QUEEN TO DRUM RIGHT NOW (31:45) TINY DESK WITH WILLOW SMITH, MOHINI DEY (32:54) WILLOW SMITH IS A NO CLICK SHOW (33:31) WILLOW SMITH (35:08) WHAT'S NEXT? Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!   Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Pocket Queen: https://www.instagram.com/thepocketqueen/ Montreux Jazz Festival Miami: https://www.instagram.com/montreuxjazzfestivalmiami/ https://www.montreuxjazzfestivalmiami.com/ Follow Go With Elmo: https://www.instagram.com/gowithelmo/ https://www.tiktok.com/@gowithelmo https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano: https://Instagram.com/elmolovano https://x.com/elmolovano Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices