Feature Stories
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Tommy Perkins: Charting His Past, Present, And Future
(October 2005 Issue) For more than fifty years, Tommy Perkins has devoted himself to performing as a full-time working drummer. At age fifteen he made his first recording as a Texas Playboy. That was the 1950 hit single "Faded Love"…
Ben Perowsky: Beyond Labels
(March 2003 Issue) The scene: a cold night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at North On Sixth, a multi-level hole in the wall jook joint where the bathroom graffiti is more political than obscene. Attracting a crowd of Manhattan intellectuals and Brooklyn…
Debbie Peterson: Doll Revolution
Debbi Peterson's solid backbeat propelled The Bangles to the summit of the '80s pop charts with five top-10 singles and double-platinum album sales. Then, at the height of their success, the band succumbed to internal friction. The personal conflicts ultimately…
Darrin Pfeiffer: Standing His Ground With Goldfinger
When we caught up with Darrin Pfeiffer to talk about Goldfinger's new record, Stomping Ground, he was on tour in Barcelona, Spain with the band. "The fun thing about making this record was that we got to work with producer…
Scott Phillips: The Vortex Of Success
(October 2005 Issue) Creed is a phenomenon. They're the first band in history to have four number-1 rock radio singles from a debut album. (By the way, that album, My Own Prison, went on to have a remarkable seven consecutive…
Mike Portnoy—No Longer The New Kid On The Prog-Rock Block
Mike Portnoy is no longer the new kid on the progressive-rock block. The once proclaimed "next Neil Peart" has proven himself many times over to be worthy of acknowledgement. This isn't so much for the commercial success of his band…
Brian Stephens: The Heart Of A Musician
"I'm a sonic chameleon," says drummer Brian Stephens. "Throughout my career, I've done so many kinds of gigs. The day before I left for a break, I did a country session during the day and in the evening played with…
Abe Laboriel, Jr.: Riding A Wave Of Success
When you meet with Abe Laboriel Jr., you can't help but smile the entire time. It's not just hearing about his success stories, it's that his presence exudes a glow and inner kindness that is both spiritual and contagious. That…
Matt Walker: From Pumpkins To Cupcakes
Though he's played drums for over two decades, Matt Walker is perhaps best known as "That guy who replaced Jimmy Chamberlin in Smashing Pumpkins." Walker was touring with Filter in support of that band's debut, Short Bus, when they opened…
Alan White: Yes Magnified
"Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, and I wrote all of the material in the studio," explains drummer Alan White of Yes about their recent album, Magnification. With a rare keyboardist-free Yes lineup, the band decided to utilize a symphony…
Abe Laboriel Jr. Recording And Performing With Paul McCartney
Abe Laboriel Jr. was floating on air shortly after the VH1 airing of the Concert For New York, where he performed with Paul McCartney. "You will never get that many amazing people on the stage ever again and I really…
Adam Pedretti: Killing Heidi's Thunder
For Killing Heidi drummer Adam Pedretti, the common link between his former band, hardcore rockers NIL, and his present group, the teen-appeal rock band fronted by seventeen-year-old bombshell Ella Hooper, was producer Paul Kosky. "Paul had worked with NIL as…
Alexis Fleisig: Series 7 Drumming
(October 2001 Issue) When director Daniel Minahan needed an edgy, suspenseful score for his film Series 7, a dark, satiric lampoon of reality-based TV focusing on a fictional game show where contestants compete to the death'the film's music supervisor suggested…
AL3 : Powerman 5000's Drummer In Revolt
(December 2000 Issue) Al 3 has gone from playing in cover and original bands in upstate New York, to blues bands in Boston, to Powerman 5000. Although they've sold close to two million copies of Tonight The Stars Revolt! and…
