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.

Advertisement

Triumvirate: Earth, Wind & Fire's Ralph Johnson – Freddie White – Philip Bailey

The name of the group perhaps best describes the music. The rock and substance of the earth, the light, free breeze of the wind and the explosive, igniting spark of fire—Earth, Wind & Fire. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…

by Robyn Flans
Jun 19, 2017

Stix Hooper: Finding The Groove

When Nesbert Hooper was twelve years old he spent so much time practicing on an old parade drum that his friends in Houston's Fifth Ward began calling him "Stix." At fifteen he put a band together with other teenage musicians…

by Cheech Iero
Jun 19, 2017

Philly Joe Jones

In the early '50s, Tony Scott hired a young drummer from Philadelphia named Joe Jones. To avoid confusion with Count Basie's famous drummer (Jo Jones), Scott would introduce his drummer by saying, "This is the Joe Jones from Philly." TO…

by Rick Mattingly
Jun 19, 2017

Jim Keltner

Trying to establish a representative interview with Jim Keltner requires a sense of humor. The way he plays drums and the way he is seem to be so alike. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

by Scott K. Fish
Jun 8, 2017

Ed Blackwelll — Singin' On The Set

Superlatives are like chuff before the wind in describing the drumming of Ed Blackwell, I'm sure I could speak with him for days and still walk away feeling like we'd never even got started. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…

by Scott K.Fish | photos by Tom Copi
Jun 8, 2017
Advertisement

Terry Bozzio: Burnin'

Terry Bozzio has the chops to be an orchestra percussionist, a jazz fusion burner, or a rock and roll showman, and he's shown off each of those sides of his talent during an eventful career. TO READ THE FULL STORY:…

by Robin Tolleson | photos by Paul Jonason
Jun 8, 2017

Sonny Greer: The Elder Statesman Of Jazz

William "Sonny" Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on December 13, 1903. "I wasn't no rich kid." He remembers, "but I was always comfortable. We were a happy family. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…

by Scott K. Fish
Jun 8, 2017

Yuval Lion

A concept will take you far—in this case, across the sea from Israel, through New York City’s labyrinthine underground music scene, and then high above the stage in David Byrne’s Off-Broadway production Joan of Arc: Into the Fire. TO READ…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by John Fell
May 31, 2017

Deep Purple’s Ian Paice

Deep Purple's drummer riffs on Made in Japan, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Long Goodbye. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Interview by Mike Haid
May 31, 2017

Casey Cooper

Dream big. Work hard. Influence many.

Story and photo by Mike Haid
May 31, 2017

The Drum Thing

The most exciting thing,” photographer Deirdre O’Callaghan says, “is to be around passionate people with a drive to master an instrument. It’s truly magical.” That drive and passion come across crystal-clear in the images and words of the ninety-six drummers…

Text by Armine Iknadossian and Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017

Sounds and Setups

1967 was a year when wild was in. And of the rock bands commanding the world’s attention that year, it didn’t get much wilder than the Who, Cream, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The same could be said for the drummers who made them go—and the kits on which they did it.

by Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017
Advertisement

On Ringo Starr

The Shock of the New

by Billy Amendola
May 31, 2017

Swinging London

THE ZOMBIES and THE MOODY BLUES might have originated in St. Albans and Birmingham, respectively, but few groups more fully captured the urbane and artsy edge of the British Invasion’s London HQ—even if one band was on its way up and the other on its way out.

by Ilya Stemkovsky and Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017
Advertisement