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.
On The Clinic Trail With Roy Burns
After a lifetime of vast musical experience, Roy now devotes most of his time in the capacity of clinician for the Rogers Drum Company, a job which takes him to cities all across the country. He's very much in demand…
Ed Soph
"When I was four or five", remembers 30 year-old drummer Ed Soph, "I started taking piano, but I was also fooling around with the drums. I was lucky to have a supportive family; my father would put on his Dixieland…
Alan Dawson – Chops And Brains Equal A Boston Master
Dawson hears of Roach's praise midway through a lesson with one of the 30 students he teaches each week in the studio of his rambling split-level home in the Boston suburb of Lexington. "That's real nice of Max", he says…
Ehart Energy: Movin' Up
And from out of the state of Kansas, they came. A group of six talented musicians choosing to call themselves, aptly enough-KANSAS, a mixture of high-energy progressive rock and classical music complete with abrupt yet precise key and time signature…
Butch Miles: Drivin' The Basie Rhythm Machine
It would probably be difficult to name a big band that swings and pulsates more than the dynamic Count Basie Orchestra. For over forty years. Basie has kept his aggregation alive and swinging with his inimitable brand of big band…
From The Past: Chick Webb
The story of Chick Webb is more than the story of a dynamic drummer of the swing era. It's the story of a gallant little man who overcame physical deformity, hardship and pain. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO…
Beyond Forever: Lenny White
Lenny White was born in Queens, N. Y. and travelled to Forever. Excuse the forced pun, but it was with Chick Corea's Return to Forever, that Lenny made the reputation that engendered his foray as a solo act."I got a…
Terri Lyne Carrington: She's Only Just Begun
Why a feature story on a twelve year old little girl in a drummers magazine? Very simple. Terri Lyne Carrington of Medford, Massachusetts first off is not your average twelve-year-old girl; and she's not just an average little drummer. She…
Garry Marshall: Hollywood Producer Reminisces
This is a Cinderella story that should bring comfort to any drummer who has feared leaving the music business. It's the story of a man who had to hang up his sticks because fate decreed that he should become something…
Tabla Talk: Badal Roy - Jazz Tabla Master
After coming to this country from Pakistan in 1968, and meeting up with McLaughlin, Roy has gone on from virtual obscurity to play with some of the major figures in jazz. After achieving notoriety on McLaughlin's breakthrough My Goal's Beyond…
North - Directional Drums Strive For Unconventional Sound
The shape of the instruments is the first noticeable departure from conventional drums. Below the head* of each tom-tom, for instance, the drum continues downward in a cylinder then curves ninety degrees to end in a wild looking open flared…
Catching Up With... Chad Smith
It’s apt that Chad Smith is driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in California as he catches us up on his recent activities. Smith recently returned to the West Coast after four years in New York City, and he’s excited…
Catching Up With... Willie Green
Willie Green’s artful grooving mesmerized fans of the New Orleans institution the Neville Brothers for over thirty years, during which time Green likewise elevated music by Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, and Elvis Costello. The latest representation…
Catching Up With... Neal Smith
Known for his blistering attack on hits like “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen,” and “Billion Dollar Babies” by Alice Cooper, with whom he played between 1967 and 1974, Neal Smith has since expanded his skills to include producing and composing. TO…
