Bernard Purdie
Excerpted from the November 1985 Cover Story Known as the “Father Time” of modern drumming, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has drummed up an almost unbeatable record of more than 3,000 album credits—many of them smash hits. He has cut across all…
Russ Miller
Building an Empire One Brick at a Time Russ Miller is known throughout the music industry as a go-to session musician, top-level music creator, in-demand educator, and an incredibly successful businessperson. He has spent his nearly 40 years as a…
Johnny Kelly
Filling In the Noize I’ve played guitar in Quiet Riot off and on since 2004, and permanently since 2010. Before my band mate and drummer Frankie Banali passed away from cancer in 2020, he made it clear he wanted Quiet…
Matt Sorum
New Book, Celebrating Vinyl, Saving Animals, and Producing Billy Gibbons Matt Sorum has had about as cool a drumming career as one could possibly hope for. In a business that can be notoriously hard, Sorum has navigated the often-perilous world…
News
Keep up to date with the drum world via news items, interviews, lists, and more
Sonic Temple Festival 2023: Recap + Photo Gallery
Festival season for Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) continued with Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival (formerly Rock On the Range) throughout Memorial Day weekend (5/25-5/28). The festival returned to the Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH after a three-year hiatus…
Johnny Kelly Talks New Supergroup Eye Am, Debut Single, and Type O Negative Reissues
Johnny Kelly will not sit still, but he has a very good reason. In 2010, when Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele passed away, Kelly was confronted with both the loss of his best friend and possibly his career. It…
Gretsch's 140th Anniversary Concert in NYC: Photo Gallery
On May 23rd, 2023, Gretsch drums returned to New York City for a remarkable 140th anniversary celebration. The South Carolina-based drum company organized a special one-night-only concert at The Cutting Room in New York City to honor the rich history…
Remembering John Bonham: Drummers Pay Tribute to the Led Zeppelin Legend
Heavy Consequence contributor Greg Prato is also the author of several rock books. His 2020 oral history, titled BONZO: 30 Rock Drummers Remember the Legendary John Bonham, pays tribute to late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Below he shares excerpts…
Videos
Rig rundowns, play-throughs, interviews, and more featuring your favorite drummers
Mike Portnoy: The Winery Dogs' Tour Kit Rundown
Join The Winery Dogs drummer and Modern Drummer's May 2023 cover star Mike Portnoy as he gives us a rundown of his drum kit. Portnoy is currently on tour with The Winery Dogs, and in typical Portnoy fashion, his kit…
Gear
Detailed assessments of the latest drum kits and accessories
Tone Wings Add Some Focus to Your Drum Tone
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first saw Tone Wings by Liquid Sound technologies. It’s not your every-day drum product. At first glance, you might think they fell off a piece of expensive furniture. However, garnering my…
Evans Hybrid Sensory Percussion Sound System An Open Canvas for Sonic Expression
As a product that began as a successful Kickstarter campaign by Sunhouse Technologies, Sensory Percussion™ has matured and evolved thanks to a partnership with EVANS drumheads. The joint venture has created the new EVANS Hybrid Sensory Percussion Sound System. This…
Outlaw Drums Sound Control Technology Snare A Clean Sounding, Extremely Stable, Stave Constructed Snare Drum
Outlaw Drums are known as high quality stave construction drums that are built from centuries-old wood. They ooze with history. For anyone who owns one of these drums, they know how great they sound. Yet, in some circumstances and environments,…
beyerdynamic Reimagines its Classic M Series Microphones
beyerdynamic – the preferred audio brand for live music and studio professionals globally – is unveiling a redesign of its storied M Series mics at NAMM 2023. The iconic M Series, which has recorded Jimi Hendrix’s explosive guitar riffs and…
Latin Percussion Launch Panderos De Plena Folkloric Puerto Rican Drums
Latin Percussion is pleased to present its new Panderos De Plena, a collection of handheld drums to honor the rhythmic heritage and culture Puerto Rico. This further expands the brands extensive range of professional world and ethnic percussion instruments. Latin…
Gretsch Drums Launch Limited Edition 140th Anniversary Kit
When Friedrich Gretsch opened a small music shop in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1883, no one expected his drums would become one of the most respected, iconic brands in music history. To celebrate, Gretsch is proud to present the Limited Edition…
Kit of the Month
Taurus Lovely’s “Crown of Thorns” kit
Taurus Lovely is the touring drummer for the Tina Turner Broadway show entitled Tina. For Modern Drummer’s Kit of the Month, Taurus has brought us his Treehouse custom “Crown of Thorns” drum kit.…
Continue ReadingPodcasts
Host John DeChristopher goes in-depth with the biggest names in drumming
John DeChristopher Live From My Drum Room With Simon Kirke
From the archives, this episode of Live From My Drum Room with Simon Kirke of Bad Company originally aired live on November 22, 2021. Simon joins John for a fabulous conversation including the London music scene in the 1960s, "Free"…
John DeChristopher Live From My Drum Room With Cady Zildjian
John’s guest is Cady Zildjian. Cady is the Vice Chair Board of Directors for the Zildjian Company. She is the eldest of the 15th generation of the Zildjian Family and the daughter of Debbie Zildjian, granddaughter of Armand Zildjian and…
John DeChristopher Live From My Drum Room With Vinnie Colaiuta
From the archives, this episode of Live From My Drum Room With Vinnie Colaiuta! originally aired on January 29, 2022. John’s guest is legendary drummer, Vinnie Colaiuta! John and Vinnie discuss Vinnie's years at Berklee College of Music and living in…
John DeChristopher Live From My Drum Room With Cindy Blackman Santana
John’s guest is the incomparable Cindy Blackman Santana! Cindy talks about her formative years as a drummer and hearing Max Roach for the first time, and shortly after, the great Tony Williams and the influence Tony has on her playing.…
Hall of Fame
A look back at the legendary drummers elected to Modern Drummer’s Hall of Fame
Gene Krupa Elected to Hall of Fame in 1979
Excerpted from the October/November 1979 issue “I’m happy that I succeeded in doing two things: I made the drummer a highpriced guy, and I was able to draw more people to jazz.” The above quote of drum master Gene Krupa…
Buddy Rich Elected to Hall of Fame in 1980
Excerpted from the January 1977 issue When it comes to interviewing Buddy, one must learn to expect the unexpected. You can end up with a first rate story, or no story at all. He’s a very intense human being, with…
John Bonham Elected to Hall of Fame in 1981
Excerpted from the John Bonham tribute issue, July 1984 John Bonham played, for the most part, a very simple drumkit, consisting of a 14x26 bass drum, a 12x15 small tom—at first mounted on a snare stand and later on the…
Keith Moon Elected to Hall of Fame in 1982
Excerpted from the September 2003 issue In his last interview, published posthumously in October 1978, Keith told International Musician and Recording World, “You can’t work out things too much. We do certain build-ups and things, but you can run into…
