Peter Erskine
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.
What Drummer’s Don’t Like
There are reminders, and then there are painful reminders. I was on the receiving end of a most-unpleasant reminder recently concerning what I don’t like, and I thought it would be useful to pivot the negative experience into a teachable…
“The Little Things”
First impressions can be deceiving, but they can also be quite revealing. When it comes to music, we will often form an opinion or judgement based on just a few notes’ worth of playing. Most recently, I auditioned a drummer…
Back to School
“School days, school daysDear old golden rule daysReadin’ and drummin’ and ‘rithmeticTaught to the tune of a signature stick …” Most of you may not be old enough to remember the tune, and my apologies for changing a couple of…
The Next So-and-So!
I’m tempted to begin each of my new Modern Drummer columns by writing “With everything else that’s going on in the world…” because the unrelenting news cycles force me to question the relative importance of an artistic particular or a…
“Where Am I Going?”
More often than not, I preach precision while espousing specificity when it comes to expressing our ideas on the drumset. In simple terms, that adds up to, “saying what we mean and meaning what we say.” That approach, however, runs…
Peter Erskine-Lauren Ellis: Women in Drumming, Mentorship
This month’s Jazz Insights column focuses on my former USC student and teaching assistant Lauren Ellis. Her bio informs us that, “Lauren is a drummer, composer, and educator from Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. There, she studied at the Te Kōki…
My Manne, Shelly
Shelly Manne was one of my first drum heroes, and he remains a hero to this day. A swinging drummer in any context, he personified eclecticism while remaining a singularly unique musician. Shelly could do it all. Since the term…
Going to the Movies, with Peter Erskine
Scene 1: Jam session, rehearsal, or a gig. Bandleader’s Line: Let’s play “Green Dolphin Street” … and… Drums, how about you play an intro? Spot Quiz: A.) Do you ask, “How long?”B.) Do you ask, “What tempo?”C.) Do you ask,…
Putting Ideas Into Action
My dear old friend, the late John Abercrombie, used to say when drinking his favorite breakfast beverage, “You know, there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee in the morning … and this is nothing like a good cup of…
Words Versus Nuts and Bolts
I’m literally happy to be sitting in the jazz-drumming-column chair for Modern Drummer. It’s a well-worn seat that I’ve occupied from time to time over the years. If I stand accused of being too wordy, well, then I plead “guilty…
Gallery of Groove
Photos from the 2021 Modern Drummer Festival For the second year in a row, the global pandemic chased the Modern Drummer Festival to an online venue. But we were unbowed. Presented by the MD team and produced by Thom Mozloom’s…
Ex Libris
“Ex Libris” means “from the library of.” There are many words whose first two letters are “ex:” excellence, excess, extra, extravagance, and expedience. And it would seem that much of our energies are expended towards adding one or another of…
Peter Erskine Excerpted from the January 1983 issue
If Peter Erskine isn’t careful, he’s going to start giving jazz, musicians a good name. I mean, we all know about the reputation jazz players have with the general public, right? The stereotypical jazzer is perceived to be a sullen,…
Remembering Neil
Some of the worlds greatest drummers and industry members share their memories of what Neil Peart has meant to them. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
