Mark Griffith
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.
WE PLAY. WE GIVE. WE ARE LOYAL
From building SJC Custom Drums to building the next generation of musicians, Mike Ciprari is rethinking what a drum company can be. Mike Ciprari knows what it takes to build a drum company. He co-founded SJC Custom Drums with his…
Joe La Barbera: Playing for a Lifetime with Legends
Joe La Barbera comes from a legendary musical family and played his first gigs at five years old with the family band and over a 78-year lifetime in music, has become a jazz drumming legend in his own right. His…
Charlie Benante: Busier than EVER!
Charlie Benante is entering a new phase of his life and career as a songwriter and a drummer. Anthrax has a new record out called Cursum Perficio, and it is one of their absolute best records yet. Benante is still…
Musical Tricks and Treats
It’s (relatively) easy to recreate some of the ideas and vocabulary of the past or to lean on your natural strengths and musical assets when you are creating new music. And there is nothing wrong with either of these artistic…
Cindy Blackman-Santana Talks About Her New Record, Coherence
Cindy Blackman-Santana’s new record is called Coherence. It’s her biggest and most ambitious record yet. Coherence includes special guests like Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, bassist Matthew Garrison, keyboardist Ray Angry, and string arrangements from Dave Eggar. But it is Cindy’s…
Godsmack’s Sully Erna and the “Battle of the Drums”
At every Godsmack concert, there is a point during the show where the energy, the groove, and the drumming heat is turned up to 11. Suddenly, a second drumset rolls onto the stage, and there are two drumsets and two drummers on stage. That’s because Godsmack’s singer Sully Erna is as much a…
We Can (and Should) Learn from Everybody!
As drummers, it seems like everyone always wants to give us advice, whether we asked for it or not. “You should use a smaller set,” or “You need a bigger kit.” There is always someone suggesting that we, “Lay back…
Sasha De León of The Violent Hour
The Violent Hour is a great new band led by singer-songwriter Carla Harvey, their new record is co-written and produced by Charlie Benante. Although Benante plays drums on all the tracks on their debut EP and upcoming self-titled album, it…
Vive La Difference
In the last few years Modern Drummer has featured several drummers that have filled a famous gig after the original drummer has left, retired, or passed away. The most recent example is our last two cover features, Gregg Potter and…
Cathy Rich: The Other Side of Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich is the greatest and most influential drummer ever, but he had many sides. People, like diamonds, have many facets. Nearly 40 years after his death, more recordings keep being released that continue to show his many sides. Buddy…
Gregg Potter: Sitting on the Hottest Drum Seat EVER! Playing Drums in the Buddy Rich Big Band Machine
Following in the tradition of the legendary Buddy Rich Memorial Concerts founded and started in 1989 by Cathy Rich, Buddy Rich’s daughter put her father’s band back together in 2011 with Gregg Potter at the helm, and they started to…
Modern Drummer Remembers: Buddy Rich, 40 Years Later
Welcome to Modern Drummer’s Tribute to Buddy Rich on what will soon be the forty-year anniversary his passing. Yes, it is nearly forty years after his last jaw dropping solo, and drummers are still talking about him, shaking their heads…
Indie Rock Meets Jam Band: Mt. Joy’s Sotiris Eliopoulos
Since the very beginning of “indie rock,” bands like the Kinks and The Talking Heads were always combining their musical influences and creating shocking new approaches to rock music. The indie attitude is what pushes rock music forward. With the…
Nate Smith: Looking for the Dance in the Rhythm
Nate Smith is one of the most influential drummers and musicians of today! Stylistically, his music, his drumming, his collaborators, and his influences go everywhere. Talking about and finding the musical connections between Betty Carter, Michael Jackson, Dave Holland, Bill…
