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.
Mike Reid - Playing the Patterns with Justin Timberlake
In today’s pop music world, why does it seem that there are only a handful of drummers who are doing all of the top gigs? Why do pop stars like Janet Jackson, Rihanna, Charlie Puth, Alicia Keys, Demi Lovato, and…
Listen to What the Music is Telling You to Play!
In this month’s Modern Drummer, legendary songwriter Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake’s Mike Reid, and Chic’s Ralph Rolle all allude to the phrase, “Listen to what the music is telling you to play” in their interviews regarding the subject of how…
Michal Miskiewicz - Playing ECM’s Air with Feeling
Jazz is a truly American artform, as is jazz drumming. However, that doesn’t mean that this important resource hasn’t been exported to the rest of the world. Poland was an importer of American jazz in the 1950s and 60s. But…
Dirty Honey’s Jaydon Bean - Can’t Find the Brakes
Dirty Honey is going full speed ahead, keeping the rock and roll flame burning and breaking the rules. Their song “When I’m Gone” was the first single by an unsigned band to ever reach #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock…
Mikkey Dee - Playing Heavy Music on the Drums
From 1985 through 1989 drummer Mikkey Dee created a modern style of progressive hard rock drumming with the band King Diamond. The recordings and the drumming on Abigail and Conspiracy laid the groundwork for many of today’s most extreme metal…
Four Generations and Four Countries
As we were assembling this month’s issue of Modern Drummer, I discovered a hidden theme. It was not obvious to me until just now. It turns out that this month’s issue features four generations of drummers from four different countries.…
Stickman - Music and Drumming Inspired Art
As drummers, we inspire other drummers and other musicians, but our creativity and our beats also inspire and entertain many non-musicians. That is (perhaps) the most important part of playing music. That inspiration can manifest in many ways. Therefore, why…
Cymbal Swap - Try Before You Buy
As a lifelong cymbalholic (and a longtime member of that defunct website) I don’t know why someone hasn’t thought of the idea of Cymbal Swap before now. But thankfully two drummers and cymbal lovers named Justin Netti and James Saullo…
Inside Drum Workshop’s DWe
Now that the Drum Workshop DWe kit has been around for a few months, and people are starting to play them, Modern Drummer had some questions that we wanted to ask about possibly the most groundbreaking advancement in modern drumming.…
Greg Hutchinson - The Pocket is the Pocket
The music world has been aware of drummer Greg Hutchinson for a long time, through his jazz work with legends like Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, and Michael Brecker. His work with his contemporaries like Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove,…
Eric Singer - Prelude to a KISS
Why would the title of an interview with KISS’s Eric Singer draw a title from a classic Duke Ellington composition? Well, I’ll let Eric explain that,“ I have music playing 24/7 in the house, it’s usually the Sinatra station on…
Cooking! Drumming!
As the holidays continue, we continue eating our favorite foods, and as ALL of my students know, I love to use food and cooking as a metaphor for music and drumming. Any musician is like one of your favorite prepared…
Transcriptions. Vocabulary.
This month Modern Drummer is glad to welcome Marc Atkinson. Marc’s transcription of Vinnie Colaiuta’s drumming on Frank Zappa’s “The Deathless Horsie” will astound you and leave you laughing and bewildered. Marc’s precision, attention to detail, and his ability to…
Introducing...
My name is Mark Griffith, I am a professional musician who happens to play drums. I tour, play locally, record, do clinics, masterclasses, teach, and I write. I started writing for Modern Drummer under Ron Spagnardi’s leadership 25 years ago,…
