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.

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Get Good: Listening

Becoming a truly great listener will improve your value as a musician. We ask the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Brian Chase and MD Pro Panelist George Marsh to help get you there. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…

by Elizabeth Walsh
Nov 30, 2017

Jaimoe

The 2017 deaths of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks and singer/keyboardist Gregg Allman hit the rock world pretty damn hard. But few could have felt the loss more than the man who was there from the very beginning.

Story by Robin Tolleson | Photo by Kirk West
Nov 30, 2017

Chris Cohen

The multi-instrumentalist claims to develop his chops only as far as the music dictates. But only is a deceiving word, given the distinctness and the success of the work he’s created with many important contemporary artists, and in many different…

Story by Keith Carne | Photo by Dominick Mastrangelo
Nov 30, 2017

Jon Epcar

Being in the band for the infamous Spider-Man show on Broadway required him to nail his cues as packed houses hung on to every wild moment of a sensational live-action musical circus. It’s all in the bag of tricks for…

Story by Ilya Stemkovsky | Photos by John Fell
Nov 30, 2017

The New Pornographers’ Joe Seiders

The popular Canadian band knew he could play the drums. When they learned he was a good hang—and a great singer—the deal was sealed. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Story by Patrick Berkery | Photos by Alex Solca
Nov 30, 2017
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Chad Sexton

Everything about 311 seems epic: their longstanding lineup, their semi-annual concert/celebration, their throngs of dedicated fans—not to mention the grooves of their founding drummer.

Story by Stephen Bidwell | Photo by Iron Mike Savoia
Nov 30, 2017

Ibeyi

These dynamic siblings derive much inspiration from their ancestry. But the direction of their art is undeniably full speed ahead.

by Robin Tolleson
Nov 30, 2017

The Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins

The biggest band in the land tears up the road map and comes up with its most ambitious album to date. "We're usually like Motörhead meets the Beatles," the group's drummer says. "But this one is really Motörhead meets Sgt.…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Alex Solca
Nov 30, 2017

Artimus Pyle Free Spirit

The name Artimus Pyle conjures up the image of a guy in cut-off jeans all frayed at the ends, hair hanging down the middle of his back, tucked under a wool hat, and a long, long beard that hides half…

by Scott K. Fish and Paul T. Riddle
Nov 21, 2017

The Pros: On Bass Drums

Certain reader questions seem to repeat themselves. Several of them involve the ins and outs of bass drums. What size? What kind of heads? How do I tune them? TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Modern Drummer
Nov 21, 2017

Gary Chester: Taking A Stand

Photo by Rick Mattingly (NEW in 2022: Two brand new episodes in the video lesson Series "Students of the Master, Teach One2One!" featuring Chris Harfenist and Corey Roberts. Aspiring drummers have the incredible opportunity to tap directly into the lineage…

by Scott K. Fish
Nov 21, 2017

Warren Cohen: Under The Big Top

SF: What does it take to become a circus drummer? WC: You have to be familiar with every style of music and drumming. Latin, rock, shows, marches, contemporary, disco. You have to have all those in mind and be comfortable…

by Scott K. Fish
Nov 21, 2017
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Larry Tolfree & Sue Hadjopoulos

Watching Sue Hadjopoulos on percussion and Larry Tolfree on drums, one would think they’d been playing with Joe Jackson for eons, and certainly working together for even longer. Neither of the above assumptions is accurate. Tolfree has been working with…

by Robyn Flans
Nov 21, 2017

Kenny Jones

I was blown away by a Who concert as a 15-year-old, and for all the subsequent years, claimed that as my favorite live performance. Little has changed. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Story by Robyn Flans | Photos by Lissa Wales
Nov 16, 2017
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