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.
Catching Up With... Albert “Tootie” Heath
Catching Up With… Albert “Tootie” Heath The essence of jazz is evident on his latest, Philadelphia Beat—and that means swinging and searching. by Ken Micallef “Art Blakey always said, ‘It’s not what you play in between, it’s how you start…
Catching Up With... Brendan Hill
Catching Up With… Brendan Hill Blues Traveler has helped define the jam-band aesthetic since well before the genre existed. The group’s latest foray, however, is down a road previously untraveled. by Bob Birouard Blues Traveler’s sound is so closely tied…
Setting Sights: John Tempesta
Setting Sights John Tempesta The heavy-rock journeyman takes Motor Sister for a Ride. by David Ciauro John Tempesta has been a constant presence on the hard rock and heavy metal scenes since the ’90s, playing with the iconic thrash bands…
Get Good: Anger Management
Get Good Anger Management Dealing With Difficult People Without Losing Your Cool by Juels Thomas As musicians and support staff, we work in an environment with so many different personalities and egos constantly swerving around. It’s impossible to avoid a…
9 Reasons to Love Simon Kirke
It’s a short list of rock drummers who’ve made their mark as a member of two successful bands, as Simon Kirke did with Free and then Bad Company. Kirke’s love of American soul and R&B, particularly the sounds coming out…
Shinedown's Barry Kerch
“So heavy” and “So pro” are two typical compliments paid to Shinedown’s founding drummer. But as the group’s latest album, Threat to Survival, makes clear, “So smart” and even “So subtle” are part of his essence as well. MD contributor…
Catching Up With Rod Morgenstein
“The concept of jam band totally applies,” the famed drummer with fusion greats Dixie Dregs says of his latest album with Jazz Is Dead, “meaning go for it, challenge yourself, and don’t be afraid to take chances.” TO READ THE…
Catching Up With The Aquarium Rescue Unit’s Jeff Sipe
When Jeff Sipe met underground art-rock icon Col. Bruce Hampton in the clubs of Atlanta in 1984, his life—and drumming—changed forever. “From the very first time I played with Bruce,” Sipe tells MD, “I felt that I’d found my calling…
John Legend and Jill Scott’s Rashid Williams
Rashid Williams has always been attracted to powerful people. When he was seven years old and attending church in Jersey City, New Jersey, the drummer with the best groove nabbed the drum chair, whether it was Rashid or the other…
Spock’s Beard’s Jimmy Keegan
Fueling the Flame Story by Will Romano Photos by Alex Solca When frontman and main songwriter Neal Morse left Spock’s Beard in 2002, drummer Nick D’Virgilio assumed the lead role, pulling triple duty as singer, drummer, and guitarist for studio…
A Different View: Merrill Garbus
A Different View Merrill Garbus She describes her band as “a three-person rhythm section where two people are making up the drumkit for a lot of the time.” The leader of Tune-Yards is obviously willing to go pretty far out…
A Different View - Steven Wilson
A Different View Steven Wilson The modern-prog giant has the skills and musicality to manipulate sounds like it’s no one’s business. Which makes it all the more wondrous—and honorable—how little futzing he actually does with the drum tracks on his…
On the Cover - Gil Sharone
On the Cover Gil Sharone Many have been seduced by his mind-boggling drumming excursions with Dillinger Escape Plan, Team Sleep, and Stolen Babies. Others know him as the creator of the Wicked Beats DVD, the most insightful and pragmatic methodology…
Jonathan Schang
Features Jonathan Schang District 97 and its one-of-a-kind drummer/bandleader steer modern progressive rock to some very unlikely places. Of course, it never hurts one’s sense of adventure when a couple of classic-prog heroes offer their emotional—and vocal—support. Story by Will…
