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.
AHEAD Armor Cases Launches New Website
To support the growing interest in their groundbreaking line of drum, cymbal, hardware and accessory cases, Ahead Armor Cases has announced the launch of a new, completely redesigned website at AheadArmorCases.com. The interactive site includes extensive information on the full…
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Timesby Jerry Prochnickyand Ralph Hulett
BOOK LEVEL: All $35 Zeppelin fans, you may not have seen all there is to see of your favorite group after all. Whether you learn much from the text of Good Times, Bad Times depends on how much you’ve already…
The Snare Drummer's Toolbox by Chris Crockarell & Chris Brooks
BOOK/DVD LEVEL: BEGINNER $5 You play drumset…but how are your snare drum basics? This educational and entertaining eighty-page method book covers it all in ten comprehensive lessons, from explanations of how to hold the sticks and read music to…
Toontrack Blues MIDI Library
Toontrack’s latest MIDI collection—Blues MIDI—includes breaks, fills, and twelve-bar groove variations in various tempos, feels, and time signatures. The library works with the company’s drum software EZdrummer and Superior Drummer 2.0. Toontrack.com
Wicked BeatsFeaturing Gil Sharone
DVD LEVEL: ALL $24.99 Wicked Beats lives up to its name. Gil Sharone’s enthusiasm for Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae is contagious, and he offers ample practical and technical knowledge here. Sharone keeps it all within reach, demonstrating, for…
John Guerin: All-Around Powerhouse
John Guerin was one of the most prolific and influential drummers of the L.A. studio scene, contributing to recordings by Frank Sinatra, the Byrds, Thelonious Monk, Lou Rawls, George Shearing, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, George Harrison, Nelson Riddle,…
What You Need to Know About...Cymbal Alloys
by Billy Brennan An alloy, in its most basic sense, is a blend of two or more metals. Since metals are not chemically bonded in their natural state, they are fused—and alloys are created—in a molten state, through melting…
Eric Choi of We Came As Romans
My name is Eric Choi, and I play drums for We Came As Romans. I was born in Detroit and raised in a nearby suburb, Troy, where the band and I got together early summer of ’06. Despite our young…
How to Play Drums in a Big Band by Rich Thompson
BOOK/CD LEVEL: BEGINNER TO ADVANCED $25 Digging for pay dirt, Rich Thompson surpasses the typical “play this groove, then hit this hit” approach to big band chart instruction. Offering insightful commentary on the arrangements, Thompson stresses an awareness of…
Realistic Drum Fills: Replacementsby Carmine Appice
BOOK/CD LEVEL: ALL $15.99 Rock legend Carmine Appice continues his award-winning Realistic instructional series with this seventy-five-page guide to creating more interesting drum fills by developing hand/foot combinations. Famous for this technique, Appice starts with basic 8th-note sticking patterns…
The Complete Guide to Playing Brushesby Florian Alexandru-Zorn
BOOK/DVD LEVEL: ALL $29.99 Setting the bar for one-stop brush manuals, The Complete Guide to Playing Brushes aims to set your hands free. The typical circle-and-arrow diagrams are here. But, in a brilliant stroke, the focus is not on…
Nick Crescenzo of the Dear Hunter
It’s been a while since my last blog for Modern Drummer, and a lot has happened with the music of the Dear Hunter since then. I’ve also upgraded my drumset and cymbals. Since my last update, the Dear Hunter has…
What Do You Know About...? John Weathers
by Will Romano John Weathers is one of the unsung drumming heroes of the 1970s’ progressive rock era. Weathers’ ability to maintain a steady pulse as a dense, musical matrix unfolded around him helped ground the complex compositions…
Vic Firth Carter Beauford Signature Stick
Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford’s new signature stick combines a 5B shaft with an extended taper and elongated oval wood tip. The result is said to provide superior response, sound, and versatility. For a distinctive look and feel, the…
