January 2015 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 1
Articles in January 2015
The Commandments of the Half-Time Shuffle by Zoro
In The Pocket The Commandments of the Half-Time Shuffle Part 3: 10 Classic Tracks Welcome to the final installment of my three-part series on the half-time shuffle. I thought it would be fitting to end with some transcriptions of a…
Strictly Technique - Consecutive Flams
Strictly Technique Consecutive Flams Part 2: Adjacent In part two of this series, we’re going to take out the taps between the flams so that the flams are adjacent. When you do that, the challenge becomes playing the consecutive flams…
Concepts - Where's the Art?
Concepts Where's the Art? Thoughts on the Current State of Affairs I thought I would throw myself right into the fire for the New Year with a heated topic. I’ve experienced a lot of discussion regarding the artistry in music…
Bebop Pioneer Stan Levey
Jazz Drummer's Workshop Bebop Pioneer Stan Levey Style and Analysis The great bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie affectionately referred to Stan Levey as the “original original.” The two met in Philadelphia in the early 1940s, a time when many jazz musicians…
Samba Songo
Around The World Samba Songo Hybrid Grooves Blending Classic Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Patterns The Afro-Cuban songo rhythm was created in the 1970s by the Cuban band Los Van Van and its drummer/percussionist José Luis Quintana, aka Changuito. After many years…
Solid Soloing, Part 2: Changing Note Rates
Drum Soloist Solid Soloing Part 2: Changing Note Rates In this miniseries we’re utilizing my “glue” method to gain freedom and flow while soloing. In the first installment we discussed how to connect two ideas without hesitation, using a specific…
Concepts - Where's the Art?
Concepts Where's the Art? Thoughts on the Current State of Affairs I thought I would throw myself right into the fire for the New Year with a heated topic. I’ve experienced a lot of discussion regarding the artistry in music…
Up & Coming: Bryan Carter
Up & Coming Bryan Carter He’s been tearing it up in New York and well beyond with some bona fide legends of jazz. But he knows as much as anyone that the learning never stops. It can be frustrating for…
Basics - Radio Beats by Rich Redmond
Basics Radio Beats 7 Real-World Applications of Essential, Time-Honored Grooves by Rich Redmond In this month’s article we’ll take a look at some popular grooves on country radio right now. All of them are variations of what I call “money…
Sebastien Grainger
Feature Sebastien Grainger Death From Above 1979 made a bold statement with its 2004 debut full-length, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. Drummer Sebastien Grainger and bassist Jesse Keeler created a unique sound together that was bigger than most would…
Devin Townsend's Ryan Van Poederooyrn
Feature Ryan Van Poederooyrn No one’s ever going to accuse Devin Townsend of being a slacker, and you can be damn sure the metal icon’s collaborators work their fingers to the bone just trying to keep up. That goes double…
On The Cover - Dave Weckl
Photo taken at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood on 08/19/14. Dave Weckl For more than thirty years, his drumming has been put under a microscope so often that it might as well be given its own genus and…
Devin Townsend's Ryan Van Poederooyrn
Feature Ryan Van Poederooyrn No one’s ever going to accuse Devin Townsend of being a slacker, and you can be damn sure the metal icon’s collaborators work their fingers to the bone just trying to keep up. That goes double…
Up & Coming: Bryan Carter
Up & Coming Bryan Carter He’s been tearing it up in New York and well beyond with some bona fide legends of jazz. But he knows as much as anyone that the learning never stops. It can be frustrating for…
Catching Up With... Lady Antebellum's Chris Tyrrell
Catching Up With... Lady Antebellum's Chris Tyrrell After twenty years as a pro drummer, Lady Antebellum’s Chris Tyrrell has developed a certain worldview. “My strengths revolve around my desire for each song to feel good,” he says, “so my philosophy…
Catching Up With... Godsmack's Shannon Larkin
Catching Up With... Godsmack's Shannon Larkin The massive success of Godsmack’s 2010 comeback album, The Oracle, kept the band on the road for nearly two years and produced the tour document Live & Inspired, which includes a four-song bonus disc…
Catching Up With... Godsmack's Shannon Larkin
Catching Up With... Godsmack's Shannon Larkin The massive success of Godsmack’s 2010 comeback album, The Oracle, kept the band on the road for nearly two years and produced the tour document Live & Inspired, which includes a four-song bonus disc…
Catching Up With... Lady Antebellum's Chris Tyrrell
Catching Up With... Lady Antebellum's Chris Tyrrell After twenty years as a pro drummer, Lady Antebellum’s Chris Tyrrell has developed a certain worldview. “My strengths revolve around my desire for each song to feel good,” he says, “so my philosophy…
Encore: Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Encore Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road No matter how far out the pianist/singer takes things on this classic double album bursting with fresh ideas, drummer Nigel Olsson adds just the right touch. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)Funeral for a…