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.
Frank Ferrer
It’s 98 degrees at Music City’s Titan Stadium, and Modern Drummer has been invited on stage to sit behind the kit of the world’s most dangerous band, the reunited, unrepentant group of misfits known officially as Guns n’ Roses. TO…
On The Cover - Chris Dave
The iconoclastic rhythm auteur is readying his hotly anticipated new album. MD contributor Ken Micallef got an early listen, and, transfixed by its contents, presses its creator for explanations and looks for clues to his self-expression. TO READ THE FULL…
Rat Scabies
He hasn’t been a member of THE DAMNED for twenty years. But the impression he made on fans of the legendary British punk band was indelible. With a current documentary hipping legions of younger listeners to the wild and wonderful…
Opeth's Martin Axenrot
Listening to the airy, floating, Baroque-style “Persephone,” the opening track from 2016’s Sorceress, one would never imagine that when Opeth was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, back in 1989, it was an out-and-out death-metal band. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
Dave Weckl
In 1985, Chick Corea, who had helped usher in jazz-fusion with Miles Davis in the ’60s, introduced a completely new sound. Appropriately naming his project the Elektric Band, the keyboard legend enlisted up-and-coming drummer Dave Weckl to see how much…
George Thorogood and the Destroyers’ Jeff Simon
Forty years ago he went electric with his guitar-slinging, blues-wailing childhood friend. Since then, millions of albums have been sold and as many miles traveled, and he’s still the unstoppable heartbeat of his good buddy’s band. TO READ THE FULL…
Great 80s Drum Performances, Part 2: Jazz and Fusion
The ’80s might not be anyone’s first reference point for the golden age of jazz, but a closer examination reveals wonders under the surface. Sure, traditional acoustic jazz was no longer in favor, though some of the established innovators of…
On The Cover - Kenny Aronoff
This is one of life’s simple truths: The more you learn, the more you realize how much more you have to learn. Here is another simple truth: Kenny Aronoff understands this better than almost anybody. It’s a key reason he’s…
Daryl Hall and John Oates' Brian Dunne
If you’ve ever seen Live From Daryl’s House, it’s a good bet that you’ve thought to yourself at least one time, Now that’s one gig I’d love to have. And to be sure, the enormity of performing with pop and…
Little River Band's Derek Pellicci
Derek Pellicci of the successful Little River Band, speaks candidly about his responsibilities with the band versus his other love, session work. Pellicci is happiest creating under studio session pressure. The drummer also discusses the importance of sound in regards…
Neil Peart
For his (record) ninth MD cover-story interview, Rush’s drummer holds a typically fluid and intense discussion of soloing and set lists, the very real differences between his drumming past and present, and the much-speculated topic of his band’s future. TO…
The Future State of the Art
So what of drumming’s future? What will happen when computers become even further integrated into our daily lives and playing routines? How will such buzz phrases as “the Internet of Things??? and “Industry 4.0??? change the way drummers interact with…
Modern Drummer: The First Decade
In the mid-’70s, a relatively unknown drummer named Ron Spagnardi had a big idea: to create the first independent magazine for and about drummers. He had no funds to speak of, and even less experience in publishing. He did, however,…
40 Years of Innovation - A look at Drum Gear Then...and Now
As Modern Drummer celebrates its fortieth anniversary, we thought it would be fun to look back at some of the important milestones in the history of drum gear—especially those that came on the scene during the MD years. Enjoy! TO…
