An Editor’s Overview
Hidden Treasures
Hello, everyone in MD land. I hope your summer went well. There were so many classic and new bands out on the road; hopefully you got to enjoy a few of those live shows. And hopefully you didn’t miss last month’s “Alive and Kicking!” theme issue, in which we interviewed players who power the world’s biggest musical acts. We talked to the drummers with Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Jovi, Damian Marley, and Lamb of God about their daily routines, their nightly responsibilities, and what it takes to play at the very highest levels of stage performance, where it’s not just the skills that matter, but the consistency.
Clutch’s Jean-Paul Gaster
A quarter century in, he can lay claim to some of the most beastly and brainy drum tracks of the modern era. And with each new recording, he just gets better and better.
Nick Mason
It’s safe to say that fans of psychedelic pioneers Pink Floyd and their cofounder Nick Mason weren’t expecting the sonic riches that have been bestowed upon them this year. It’s also safe to say that neither was Nick himself, at least not until fairly recently.
Jake Morris
With all of the rock ’n’ roll self-help books, articles, and websites available at the click of a mouse these days, it can be strangely comforting to learn that a musician can still land a dream gig armed with not much more than a healthy obsession for the artist and music in general.
Jay-Z’s Eric “Boots” Greene
Eric “Boots” Greene is a prime example of the contemporary drummer, an amalgam of classic musical influences and contemporary career approaches, which demand skill and creativity whether it’s a drumstick or a computer mouse that he’s got in his hand.
Jan Delay’s Jost Nickel
Whether supporting superstar German pop artist Jan Delay, conducting a clinic, or recording one of the dozens of albums he’s cut since the early ’90s, Jost Nickel plays with delicacy, subtlety, and skill. He also exhibits great invention, incorporating techniques like dead-sticking and grabbing/muting of cymbals, seamless 16th-note snare and bass drum rolls, complex full-set figures, and a panoply of flam-infused ideas.
8 Reasons to Love Whitesnake
Whitesnake formed soon after the dissolution of the Mark IV lineup of Deep Purple, when singer David Coverdale combined his love of blues, rock, heavy metal, funk, and soul into a blustery amalgam of white-hot riffs and soaring vocal pyrotechnics.
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