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.
Derek Mixon Tone Chasing with Chris Stapleton
When I interviewed Russ Kunkel last year, I asked him what younger drummers he was checking out and impressed by. He didn’t hesitate, saying, “I think Derek Mixon is one of the best drummers out there, I think we have…
I’m Just Like You!
After the last three years with Modern Drummer, people now seem to be asking me a lot of questions. During my interviews, more drummers are asking me about “me,” and I have NO idea why. I’m just like you, a…
Drums and Sports
Let’s start here. Music is not a sport, and any attempt to make music or drumming into a sporting event where there are winners, losers, best, and worst, is something that I am (basically) against. Healthy competition can be advantageous…
Vinyl Me, Please
Matt Fiedler is the CEO of Vinyl Me, Please (VMP.) But what is Vinyl Me, Please? It is a combination of a record retailer, a reissue label, and a music distributor. But more than anything, Vinyl Me, Please is a…
EL ESTEPARIO
TRUST THE PROCESS Photos courtesy of Alesis Drums / El Estepario With over 5,000 online drumming video clips and millions of subscribers, Valencia, Spain’s El Estepario (Jorge Garrido) has become a worldwide drumming sensation. Today it seems like every drummer…
Obsession
Last month I suggested the idea of becoming “obsessed” with music and drumming. Unfortunately, the word obsession has gotten a bad reputation. Obsession is defined as a “compelling motivation.” Compelling means, “evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible…
Yamaha’s Matt Rudin and Drummer Charles Ruggiero Talk About the EAD10
There hasn’t been a product that is as intriguing and as mystical as the Yamaha EAD10 in quite a while. The EAD10 came out at NAMM 2018 and the product had been building awareness prior to the Covid lockdown. The…
Gerry Brown: Groove Reverence
In this business NOTHING beats longevity, a big gig or two doesn’t hurt either. Drummer Gerry Brown has had all of that plus a whole lot more. Gerry had early aspirations to become a classical percussionist, but after seeing the…
Nick Buda Created a Path and Kept Going
From Dolly Parton, to Lionel Richie, to Taylor Swift, to Kenny Chesney… Coming to Nashville from South Africa is a unique musical path. Nick Buda’s mom didn’t want their family to have anything to do with apartheid, and she didn’t…
Dave Elitch
Getting and Staying Out of the Way Talking in-depth to Dave Elitch has been a long time coming. He’s a successful working drummer with credits like The Mars Volta, M83, Killer Be Killed, Miley Cyrus, and Weezer. He is a…
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Both, Dave Elitch and Nick Buda uttered this phrase in their interviews this month, and it’s an important one. The older readers of Modern Drummer probably know what this phrase means and have heard it a million times. But the…
FLORRIE
The British Pop Drummer is Lost No More! Photos by Archie Campbell Florrie is a true multi-instrumentalist, but at her core, she is a drummer, singer, and songwriter. Her journey through the music industry reads like a rollercoaster ride. Starting…
Marlon Simon
Blending Jazz with the drumming of South America There is a long tradition of fantastic drummers who have created the Latin drum set tradition and applied it to the jazz lineage. It started with Guillermo Baretto and Walfredo de los…
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Trying to Dial Back the “King of Yes” Photo by Christian Germoso In 30 years, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has evolved from a drummer to an influential drummer and bandleader, to part of the music establishment, to now becoming a respected…
