Featured Stories

Archive of Featured Stories

  • It’s common for drumset players to be curious about hand drumming, and to eventually decide to buy their first set of bongos…or would congas be better…or perhaps a djembe?0February 13, 2012

    What You Need To Know About…Hand Drums

    It’s common for drumset players to be curious about hand drumming, and to eventually decide to buy their first set of bongos…or would congas be better…or perhaps a djembe?

  • Drummer and producer Chris Dave has an ambitious year planned for 2012. Currently Chris is preparing for the release of his debut album as a leader, due later this year. Look for the drummer to take the reins with his band Chris Dave & Friends, which features world-renowned musicians and promises special surprise guests. Dave...0February 7, 2012

    Chris Dave To Release Solo Album, Tour With D’Angelo, and More

    Drummer and producer Chris Dave has an ambitious year planned for 2012. Currently Chris is preparing for the release of his debut album as a leader, due later this year. Look for the drummer to take the reins with his band Chris Dave & Friends, which features world-renowned musicians and promises special surprise guests. Dave…

  • As I flailed away behind my drums that chilly London evening in the early spring of 1996, I tried to put the events of the previous month in perspective. The club was packed and the crowd was rocking; it was a nice way for Superchunk to end a grueling six-week European tour. I was feeling pretty positive at that moment, but I sure hadn’t been a few days earlier...(continued)0February 3, 2012

    How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Van

    As I flailed away behind my drums that chilly London evening in the early spring of 1996, I tried to put the events of the previous month in perspective. The club was packed and the crowd was rocking; it was a nice way for Superchunk to end a grueling six-week European tour. I was feeling pretty positive at that moment, but I sure hadn’t been a few days earlier…(continued)

  • by Billy Brennan The throne is the foundation of any player’s groove and is an incredibly important purchase for any prospective customer. As is a common theme in drum-related products, there’s no right or wrong choice—round versus saddle style, soft versus firm, and spindle versus hydraulic are just a few of the myriad options. In...0February 1, 2012

    What You Need to Know About…Drum Thrones

    by Billy Brennan The throne is the foundation of any player’s groove and is an incredibly important purchase for any prospective customer. As is a common theme in drum-related products, there’s no right or wrong choice—round versus saddle style, soft versus firm, and spindle versus hydraulic are just a few of the myriad options. In…

  • The following is an excerpt from the Modern Drummer book Mind Matters: Overcoming Common Mental Barriers in Drumming, by Bernie Schallehn. The Drummer as Performer/Entertainer Q: I’ve been drumming with a band for the past five months, and the bandleader recently said I wasn’t performing enough on stage. When I asked what she meant, she...0January 27, 2012

    Mind Matters: The Drummer as Performer/Entertainer

    The following is an excerpt from the Modern Drummer book Mind Matters: Overcoming Common Mental Barriers in Drumming, by Bernie Schallehn. The Drummer as Performer/Entertainer Q: I’ve been drumming with a band for the past five months, and the bandleader recently said I wasn’t performing enough on stage. When I asked what she meant, she…

  • This article originally ran in the December 2009 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. For access to all of the great editorial from MD’s first twenty-six years of publication, check out our Digital Archive.   1. Think marketing. I made my latest record [Since 1972] on my own dime. So I thought, How can I do...0January 26, 2012

    Josh Freese: How to Promote Yourself, and Other Insights

    This article originally ran in the December 2009 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. For access to all of the great editorial from MD’s first twenty-six years of publication, check out our Digital Archive.   1. Think marketing. I made my latest record [Since 1972] on my own dime. So I thought, How can I do…

  • Two drummers working it out, face to face—trading licks, contributing to a massive groove, spurring each other on—it’s one of the great musical traditions, and surely it goes back to the very invention of the drumkit at the beginning of the last century. This group of tunes focuses on tracks where the presence of two drummers is absolutely essential to the power of the music, where it furthers a clear intent.4January 20, 2012

    25 Great Double-Drumming Tracks

    Two drummers working it out, face to face—trading licks, contributing to a massive groove, spurring each other on—it’s one of the great musical traditions, and surely it goes back to the very invention of the drumkit at the beginning of the last century. This group of tunes focuses on tracks where the presence of two drummers is absolutely essential to the power of the music, where it furthers a clear intent.

  •   by David Ciauro Perhaps the Mayans were right after all. The End of Days must be upon us when we live in a world that finds the Atlanta-based metal band Mastodon’s latest album, The Hunter, debuting on Billboard’s top ten and the single “Curl of the Burl” being nominated for a Grammy. Drummer Brann...0January 19, 2012

    Mastodon’s Brann Dailor on The Hunter: Change Is Good

      by David Ciauro Perhaps the Mayans were right after all. The End of Days must be upon us when we live in a world that finds the Atlanta-based metal band Mastodon’s latest album, The Hunter, debuting on Billboard’s top ten and the single “Curl of the Burl” being nominated for a Grammy. Drummer Brann…

  • This article originally ran in the September 2005 issue of <i>Modern Drummer</i> magazine.0January 17, 2012

    Back Through The Stack
    Teddy Campbell

    This article originally ran in the September 2005 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

  • Milestones were bountiful in 2011 for NYC thrash icons Anthrax and their founding drummer.9January 4, 2012

    Charlie Benante

    Milestones were bountiful in 2011 for NYC thrash icons Anthrax and their founding drummer.

  • A baker’s dozen of the best hard rock albums released over the past year.0January 3, 2012

    13 Tons Of Heavy

    A baker’s dozen of the best hard rock albums released over the past year.

  • VOTING FOR THE 2012 MODERN DRUMMER READERS’ POLL IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO THOSE WHO VOTED. The Modern Drummer Readers’ Poll Give It Up for the Drummers Who Rule Each year there are drummers who deserve recognition for their exceptional work on record, live, and in the educational arena. As a member of the most...74January 1, 2012

    Modern Drummer Readers’ Poll 2012

    VOTING FOR THE 2012 MODERN DRUMMER READERS’ POLL IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO THOSE WHO VOTED. The Modern Drummer Readers’ Poll Give It Up for the Drummers Who Rule Each year there are drummers who deserve recognition for their exceptional work on record, live, and in the educational arena. As a member of the most…

  • Funk music is all about the beat, and it’s no coincidence that many of our most influential drummers have made a name for themselves playing the style. If you want to learn the essence of the style, here are ten classic albums you should definitely check out.1December 28, 2011

    10 Indispensable Funk Albums

    Funk music is all about the beat, and it’s no coincidence that many of our most influential drummers have made a name for themselves playing the style. If you want to learn the essence of the style, here are ten classic albums you should definitely check out.

  • As I look back over my years of private teaching, I am proud that several of my former students have been successful in pursuing music careers. Some majored in music in college, and one is now a college percussion instructor himself. Others didn’t make drumming their profession, but they still play gigs, and music remains an important part of their lives. Our job isn’t just to turn out professional musicians...5December 21, 2011

    Teacher’s Forum: Don’t Give Up Too Soon

    As I look back over my years of private teaching, I am proud that several of my former students have been successful in pursuing music careers. Some majored in music in college, and one is now a college percussion instructor himself. Others didn’t make drumming their profession, but they still play gigs, and music remains an important part of their lives. Our job isn’t just to turn out professional musicians…

  • This article originally ran in the March 1988 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. The thoughts are those of Rick Allen, drummer with Def Leppard. The topic concerns the aftermath of a tragic car accident in the winter of 1984 that cost him his left arm, but ultimately provided those who watched and waited throughout the ordeal with a remarkable example of the resilience of the human spirit.0December 16, 2011

    Def Leppard’s Rick Allen: Perseverance

    This article originally ran in the March 1988 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. The thoughts are those of Rick Allen, drummer with Def Leppard. The topic concerns the aftermath of a tragic car accident in the winter of 1984 that cost him his left arm, but ultimately provided those who watched and waited throughout the ordeal with a remarkable example of the resilience of the human spirit.

  • The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz on longevity, the Wrecking Crew, and that wacky setup of his.1December 15, 2011

    Micky Dolenz

    The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz on longevity, the Wrecking Crew, and that wacky setup of his.

  • In his January 2012 <i>Modern Drummer</i> cover story, we dig deep with the drummer into the mentality of what it takes to be one of the most in-demand session players of the past twenty years.0December 6, 2011

    Matt Chamberlain on the Making of a Career in the Studio

    In his January 2012 Modern Drummer cover story, we dig deep with the drummer into the mentality of what it takes to be one of the most in-demand session players of the past twenty years.

  • Mike Watt is a flesh-and-blood superhero to anyone who’s followed the do-it-yourself alternative music scene over the past twenty-five years. This interview originally ran in the December 2006 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.0December 1, 2011

    Mike Watt: Pouncing On Opportunities

    Mike Watt is a flesh-and-blood superhero to anyone who’s followed the do-it-yourself alternative music scene over the past twenty-five years. This interview originally ran in the December 2006 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

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