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.
Simple Minds’ Mel Gaynor
Mel Gaynor may be a modest, unassuming guy off stage, but behind his intimidating black drumkit, he speaks with a loud, dominant voice. Gaynor’s percussive contributions have helped Scotland’s Simple Minds develop their distinctively rich, but nevertheless, visceral, sound. Before…
Alan Dawson
In the basement studio where Alan Dawson teaches, a concert poster shows Alan dressed in a tuxedo, looking stately on his throne, drumming with Dave Brubeck. Scrawled across the top is a note from Brubeck: “Alan—thanks for the great job…
Steve Ferrone - Not Your Average Drummer
It is a bit ironic that Steve Ferrone is still recognized most as being the Average White Band’s drummer (and only non-white), after the banner year he had for himself in 1984, He crashed the R&B charts in a big…
David Robinson — Driving The Cars
There are a lot of things I want to accomplish as a drummer. There are a lot of things I want to work out and put down on tape where my ideas can take some real form,” says David Robinson…
Reminiscing with D. J. Fontana
I knew Elvis was different by his clothes and his actions on stage. I said, ‘The boy’s got something. What it is, I don’t know.’ The first show at the Louisiana Hayride was kind of lukewarm. It was a country-oriented…
Garry Peterson — Canadian Beat
What is it about Winnipeg, the lonely western Canada birthplace of two of the country’s biggest rock bands, a city that musicians leave for success? Maybe it has to do with the deep chill of the prairie winters and the…
From the Track to the Stage: Breathing Life into a Recording
On tour with the indie/alternative/pop act Børns, Kristen Gleeson-Prata translates heavily produced and electronics-infused recorded drum parts onto the live stage. Here the drummer explains her approach and invites a few drumming colleagues to weigh in with their own perspectives…
Damian Marley‘s Courtney “Bam“ Diedrick
It might have been a chance encounter that led to his working with one of reggae’s biggest stars. But his skills are no accident—a highly developed musical sensitivity and copious practice time made him the drummer he is today. TO…
Lamb of God’s Chris Adler
On the touring front, the modern metal titan and his bandmates are spanning the globe on Slayer’s final world tour. Meanwhile, on the new Legion: XX album, released under their original moniker, Burn the Priest, Adler and company have rekindled…
Kendrick Lamar’s Tony “Rico” Nichols
For most musicians, the idea of playing with Pulitzer- and Grammy Award-winning superstar Kendrick Lamar would be a lesson in surviving the hot seat: an endless tour of stadium concerts and television shows, and globe-trotting, sleep-deprived, eye-of-the-hurricane schedules. Talk about…
Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres
Bon Jovi already had on board keyboardist David Bryan and bassist Alec John Such, veterans of the fertile New Jersey music scene. When Such told him that he knew “the baddest-ass drummer in the land,” it didn’t take long for…
Steve Schaeffer — Heard But Not Seen
Mention Steve Schaeffer around L.A. and you will probably hear comments such as these: Patty Fidelibus (Contractor, Warner Bros.): “Steve makes me feel very safe. If we have a 2:00 downbeat, at 1:30, Steve is already there, set up, ready…
