Across two ambitious DVD sets, the performer and educator captures the fascinating development of our beloved “contraption,” providing historical and practical knowledge that every modern drummer can apply. Will Romano reports.   Just prior to the dawn of the twenty-first century, retro music was trending, and trending big time. While so called alternative rockers extolled the virtues of ’70s sludge and ’80s indie rock, and neo-jam bands launched countless journeys reminiscent of the spiritual sonic sojourns of the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band, acts such as Royal Crown Revue (RCR), Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra reached back even further into the past. In doing so, they introduced, and in some cases reintroduced, audiences to pre- and post-WWII popular music forms such as swing, early jazz, jump blues, and rockabilly. Although pop culture trends continually shifted throughout the late ’90s and early […]

January 2013 Issue