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.
BE A FUSION DRUMMER
The word fusion gets a lot of use in this issue. Unfortunately, it’s become somewhat of a “bad” word in some musical circles. It’s (unfortunate) meaning has become the name of the style of music, born in the late 60s…
Bassist Antoine Fafard, Composing for the Great Modern Drummers
After ten recordings that have featured some of the greatest modern drummers ever, bassist and composer extraordinaire Antoine Fafard has a story to tell. He began by leading, touring, and recording five records with his own Canadian fusion band Spaced…
Savannah Harris: Slick, Swagger, and Swing!
When Terri Lyne Carrington goes out of her way to tell you about a drummer and Christian McBride hires that same drummer for his new band, it is someone that you NEED to check out! That drummer is Savannah Harris,…
Chris Adler Chapter Two: FirstBorne
With a new band called FirstBorne and a debut record called Lucky that is coming out in July, legendary and influential drummer Chris Adler (ex of Lamb of God and Megadeth) is starting a new chapter in his musical life.…
Brandon Pertzborn: The Relentless Pursuit of Giving the Music Exactly What It Needs
I can’t think of another drummer who has had a run as successful as Brandon Pertzborn. In less than a decade, he has gone from being a hungry young drummer on the Dallas-Fort Worth music scene to being a member…
TWO MONTHS OF COVER INSPIRATIONAND ADVICE
Modern Drummer’s last two cover interviews should act as true inspiration and advice for drummers everywhere. John Hoffman came out of nowhere to earn the gig as the new drummer for Primus. There were other drummers competing for that gig…
150 Years of SONOR Drums: A Conversation with Jeff Mulvihill
In 1875 the then 28-year-old journeyman Johannes Link founded the first drum factory in Weissenfels, Germany with the aim to produce drum skins and basic marching drums. Over the following 32 years, this endeavor would expand and grow with son…
MARCO SOCCOLI REMEMBERED
“The drum community is a community like no other. It is made up of very special people whose work (and sometime much more) revolves around drumming, drums, and music. Marco Soccoli was a very special person and a pillar of…
TONY BROCK: That Sleazy, Greasy, English Backbeat
Most might know Tony Brock as the drummer from the 70s and 80s band The Babys, but his career is MUCH more than that. He has a new band called Close Enemies, but we’ll start at the beginning. Tony started…
The Drum Community
Because of the passing of everybody’s friend Marco Soccoli, and the fact that so many drummers wanted to contribute their thoughts to Marco’s Modern Drummer tribute, I am thinking about the drum community a lot this month. The Modern Drummer…
The 2025 Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship Award
Neil Peart’s legacy, artistry, inspiration, and the impact that his drumming will forever have, is what the Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship is all about. His wonderfully constructed drum parts, his lyrics, and his commitment to drumming will always…
Janet Jackson’s Jerrod “J-Rod” Sullivan
Growing up in Georgia, 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, Jerrod “J-Rod” Sullivan is the epitome of chill, but his drumming is anything but chill, it’s all about power. Coming out of the R&B Neo-soul scene of suburban Atlanta in the…
Billy Hart Drumming from the Past and Present, and Looking Towards the Future
When you walk into a concert hall or a jazz club and see a five-piece set of Pearl drums with an 18” bass drum, 10” and 12” power toms, a 14” floor tom, and a series of overlapping Zildjian cymbals…
Drumming IS Good for You!
In the last two months we have run two features on talented drummers that have experienced drum related injuries. Last month, Mark Schulman discussed his hearing, and this month Michael Cartellone is talking about a foot injury. Although both problems…
