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Mona Tavakoli is a Los Angeles-based drummer, singer and performer who believes in making music that unites, elevates and connects.\nWhile Mona is equally comfortable performing as a drummer and a percussionist, she is especially known for adapting the caj\xf3n to unexpected genres such as rock and pop. She began playing the Peruvian percussion instrument as a college student taking a flamenco dance class. She\u2019s since designed a signature instrument called The MT Box. She began her professional musical career in 1999 at UCLA as a founding member of\xa0Raining Jane, an all-female rock band.\nRaining Jane co-wrote and recorded YES! (Atlantic Records) with\xa0Jason Mraz. Mona and Mraz have been collaborating for nearly a decade. They've performed as a duo on The Today Show, The David Letterman Show, Ellen and many others. Mona has also performed as a percussionist on A&E's Private Sessions with Pat Benatar and Spyder Giraldo. She has been the featured percussionist with the Pasadena muse/ique orchestra (led by maestra Rachel Worby), and played with musicians such as Andy Grammer, Colbie Caillat, Keaton Simons, Lindsay Mac, Lucy Schwartz, Natalia Zukerman, Sara Bareilles, Tristan Prettyman and Willy Porter.\nMona is a co-founder and co-director of the\xa0Rock n\u2019 Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles\xa0and also has traveled to Africa on behalf of the U.S. State Department as a cultural diplomat. When she\u2019s not banging on drums or corralling day campers, she's listening to Pema Chodron audiobooks or making\xa0creative collages.\nIn our conversation from 2017, Mona shares about:\nGentle leadership\nCo-writing with Jason Mraz & her band Raining Jane\nWhy it's more important to be interested than interesting and\nHow one person can change your whole life