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.
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…
The Power of Yes and No
In this month’s feature interviews, both Questlove and Florrie mention the merits of saying “Yes,” and learning the benefits of saying “No.” Peter Erskine has loosely addressed this in his Modern Drummer Jazz Insights column as well. When a musician…
Whom Gods Destroy’s Bruno Valverde
From Maracatu to Metal Brazil is known for its rhythmic contributions to the music world. In music you can’t ignore the Brazilian styles of Samba, Bossa Nova, and Maracatu. But recently Brazil’s contribution to Heavy Metal drumming has been overwhelming…
Tina Raymond - Musical Divinations and Educational Heritage
Tina Raymond is a musical force of nature. With over 20 records (as a leader and a side person) to her credit, she can play anything. Her newest record called Divinations is one of the best drummer-led records I’ve heard…
Patrick Wilson - Ergo Fuego, I Just Want to Play!
Weezer’s Patrick Wilson is a drummer just like many of us reading this article right now. He loves Rush and Van Halen. He says things like, “I buy so much gear based on demos that I see online, and then…
Community, Scene
It’s a subject that comes up often in my interviews— Being part of a community or a scene, and I can’t stress its importance enough! All drummers (should) know about how supportive the drum community is for one another. It’s…
Joel Selvin - Drums & Demons, The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon is so much more than the drummer in Eric Clapton’s band, Derek and the Dominos. Jim played drums on the soundtrack to many people’s lives. He had a remarkable studio drumming career that was unfortunately eclipsed by the…
Dave Abbruzzese - Gets Back to the Woods
In the critically acclaimed cult television series Twin Peaks, which was based in and around Washington state in the early 90’s, Special Agent Dale Cooper stated, “When two events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object of inquiry, we must…
