Features
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.
The State Of The Art
An Anniversary is typically a time to celebrate, but it can also be a time to reflect on the past and look ahead to the future.
Kevan McKenzie: Canadian Studio Star
Toward the end of my college years, in 1974, I joined a symphonic band. Between engagements, a master class was scheduled with Ian Bernard, during which he demonstrated the finesse that got him the job with the National Arts Centre…
Nicko McBrain — Heavy Metal Perfectionist
Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain may refer to himself as "The Thrasher," adding that he has "no coordination" and "no technique." Don't believe him for a minute! Being as modest as he is about his talents, McBrain won't tell you that…
The Chicago Blues Drummers
The scene is the 1985 Chicago Blues Festival. Grant Park is brimming with people, many of whom are jockeying for seats and blanket space as close to the band shell as possible. Opening night of the city’s annual free festival,…
Paul Wertico
When you go on stage, it’s like a big conversation. Music is about what you have to say on that particular day.” So says Paul Wertico, drummer for Pat Metheny (and Chicago’s Ear Wax Control), who it seems would be…
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.…
Jan Delay’s Jost Nickel
Just when you think there’s nothing new under the drumming sun, someone like this veteran German player comes along and sheds new light on the craft. The fact that he plays with such blistering technique and sophisticated musicality only makes him that much more compelling.
Jay-Z’s Eric “Boots” Greene
He’s developed some of the nastiest funk and fusion chops. And he thinks and plays like a producer. So it’s no wonder that he flourishes on the world’s biggest stages—and in the modern studio environment.
Jake Morris
Thirty years after he cofounded the influential and inscrutable indie-rock band Pavement, Stephen Malkmus is among the most confident and compelling bandleader/songwriters of his generation. And in this drummer, he has a musician who only accentuates his greatest assets.
Nick Mason
Pink Floyd’s drummer surprises onstage and on record by revisiting the past but keeping an ear to the future.
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
Your lover did you wrong? It ain’t worth cryin’ over. Put on a Bernard Purdie record. Peelin’ fallin’ from the ceilin’? Don’t worry about it. Get into that Purdie groove. Another gray day? Go out and watch “Pretty”Purdieplaydrums. You’II feel…
Bobby Chouinard
The sonic hurricane of the Billy Squier sound and fury swirls with lacerating leads, omnipotent vocals and, in the eye of the storm, the primitive power rendered by drummer Bobby Chouinard. Favoring fire and soul over flash and technique, Chouinard’s…
Ron Krasinski
Ron Krasinski is a member of that seemingly endless fraternity of talented but unheralded drummers, without whose skills most of today’s popular recordings and live entertainment could not be produced. Not surprisingly, Ron has a strong and varied musical background,…
Chris Parker
When Chris Parker was an aspiring young drummer, he figured that if he could play with Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles, well, he’d have accomplished something truly special in his career. To be sure, it was a tall…
