Encore Archives - Modern Drummer Magazine

Encore

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.

Fanny Hill, Fanny 1972

Fanny became the first all-female rock band to release an album on a major label when mega-producer Richard Perry signed the act to Reprise in 1969. Often missed is the other culture-changing element of Fanny—that, with Philippines-born sisters June (guitar)…

By Michael Molenda
May 17, 2021

How It Feels to Be Something On

Sunny Day Real Estate From the cover art alone, you get the sense that something was burning at Sunny Day Real Estate’s core when they released How It Feels to Be Something On in September 1998. The sun image on…

Mar 26, 2021

Vinnie Colaiuta on Bromberg Plays Hendrix, Session Work, Retirement, and More

Legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix passed away fifty years ago. This seems unimaginable, as his music, message, and influence are just as powerful and relevant today as they were during his few short years leading a musical revolution for freedom of…

Feb 26, 2021

The Go-Go’s’ - Beauty and the Beat

Among the facts that the band’s recent Showtime documentary made clear: Without the crucial early leadership of drummer Gina Schock—or her crack drumming—we likely wouldn’t be talking about them forty years later, and the history of rock would be a…

Oct 1, 2020

Billy Cobham’s Spectrum

The ex-Mahavishnu phenom was out to prove he had the drumming and writing chops to stake his own claim with his 1973 solo debut. By the early 1970s, Billy Cobham had spent time drumming with several legendary jazz artists, including…

Jul 9, 2020

Dave Weckl’s Master Plan

A monster debut from a monster talent, and the beginning of a series of game-changing fusion recordings as a leader. By 1990, Dave Weckl was the talk of the drumming world. A headlong dive into the New York jazz scene…

Ilya Stemkovsky
Sep 30, 2019

The Lounge Lizards’ Voice of Chunk

Dougie Bowne gave up a perfectly good regular gig with a world-famous artist to follow his muse. Those in the know have been thanking him ever since. Dougie Bowne exudes harmony. He speaks with a gregarious enthusiasm, punctuating stories with…

by John Colpitts
Apr 30, 2019

Talking Heads’ Remain in Light

A hybrid of rock, funk, African, and dance music, their fourth studio album, 1980’s Remain in Light, has often been cited as the pinnacle of their musical experimentation. TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99 /month or…

by Rajasri Mallikarjuna
Mar 27, 2019

David Bowie’s Never Let Me Down 2018

Sadly, Bowie died before he could have another crack at the album. But some trusted Bowie associates, including Campbell TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99 /month or $49.99 /year SAVE 15% Digital Monthly Magazine 47 Years…

by Patrick Berkery
Jan 30, 2019

Jawbox’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart

After emerging from Washington D.C.’s legendary late-’80s post-hardcore scene, Jawbox came of age on their 1994 major-label debut—thanks to the addition of powerhouse drummer Zach Barocas. Jawbox was under a great deal
 of scrutiny when For Your Own Special Sweetheart…

by David Jarnstrom
Dec 27, 2018

Jethro Tull’s Stand Up

As the drummer for the progressive/folk/hard rock band Jethro Tull in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Clive Bunker infused the group’s music with a frenetic, raw energy. Body twitching, using the butt end of his sticks, Bunker beautifully brutalized…

by Will Romano
Aug 29, 2018

The Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72

The Grateful Dead’s traveling party on 1972’s European tour numbered fifty strong, and they took advantage of every opportunity to pull off prankster hijinx in the stodgy Old World. TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99 /month…

by Keith Carne
Feb 28, 2018

ZZ Top Tres Hombres

A heinous decision in the ’80s to remix ZZ Top’s classic early tracks didn’t totally diminish Frank Beard’s funky grooves, but it sure was a buzzkill. Fortunately, that call was reversible, and Beard’s beauteous beats were presented in all their…

by Patrick Berkery
Feb 14, 2018

THIN LIZZY Live And Dangerous

An apt title for one of rock’s most fierce and formidable concert albums.   With Live and Dangerous, the crushing aggregate of drummer Brian Downey, singer/ bassist Phil Lynott, and lead guitarist/ vocalists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham delivered one…

by Jackie Fuller
Oct 24, 2017

Yes’s Close to the Edge

In the long list of accomplishments that led to Yes’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, Bill Bruford’s final statement with the band surely ranks as highly as any. TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG…

by Will Romano
Aug 30, 2017