May 2025 – Volume 49 • Number 05
On 01st May 2025
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Articles in May 2025
The Drum Community
Because of the passing of everybody’s friend Marco Soccoli, and the fact that so many drummers wanted to contribute their thoughts to Marco’s Modern Drummer tribute, I am thinking about the drum community a lot this month. The Modern Drummer…
Clearly, Daniel’s Dream Kit
This month’s Modern Drummer Kit of the Month comes from Daniel Fleischmann of Germany. He writes, “This is my dream kit just because of how it sounds. Acrylic is such a modern material but I was fortunate enough to do…
Have You Been Practicing?
I’m no stranger to the mental time machine, going back a few or many years to revisit something I said or a choice I made. Of course, life does not allow us to go back and change history, but we…
NEW VATER STICKS, EVANS HEADS, DDRUM E-FLEX BT8 ELECTRONIC SET, CLEARSOUND BAFFLES, ORANGE NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES
New Vater Chad Sexton Signature Stick Vater has been quietly working with Chad Sexton on an updated stick model to perfectly align with his newfound needs as a player. Although it is the same width as his previous model, the…
ALESIS STRATA CORE
In October of 2024, Alesis Drums announced the launch of the Strata Core, a compact yet fully featured addition to their Strata Series of e-kits. With a 30% reduced footprint compared to its sibling the Strata Prime and a lower…
THE DRUMMER WALLET 2.0
I’m not sure why drummers often double as inventors. Maybe it’s because, unlike guitarists or keyboard players, we can pretty much hit anything to make music. That type of freedom tends to spark some wild ideas and endless experimentation. One…
The Journey of Primus’ John Hoffman
Last year, many of us were surprised when Primus announced that drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander was leaving the band. It had happened before, but this time seemed different. Soon after, Primus announced that it would be holding the Interstellar Drum…
TONY BROCK: That Sleazy, Greasy, English Backbeat
Most might know Tony Brock as the drummer from the 70s and 80s band The Babys, but his career is MUCH more than that. He has a new band called Close Enemies, but we’ll start at the beginning. Tony started…
Les Claypool: Inside the Interstellar Drum Derby
When Primus lost their drummer (again,) this time it was different. For a band that’s always had a knack for finding unique and brilliant rhythm players, there was suddenly… no plan. No backup. No “oh, we’ll just call this guy.”…
MARCO SOCCOLI REMEMBERED
“The drum community is a community like no other. It is made up of very special people whose work (and sometime much more) revolves around drumming, drums, and music. Marco Soccoli was a very special person and a pillar of…
150 Years of SONOR Drums: A Conversation with Jeff Mulvihill
In 1875 the then 28-year-old journeyman Johannes Link founded the first drum factory in Weissenfels, Germany with the aim to produce drum skins and basic marching drums. Over the following 32 years, this endeavor would expand and grow with son…
Primus "Eleven" from Sailing the Seas of Cheese, drummer Tim Alexander
This month’s transcription honors Primus and their “old” drummer Tim Alexander, with the Primus track “Eleven” from their album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. As the title implies, the song is based in an 11-beat groove. To make the rhythm easier to read…
SIMPLICITY WINS: The Go-Round Grooves
What is groove? Think of it as an empty cup that you pour your own meaning into. A name is like this. How many Chris’ do you know? The name is the same, but every time you think of that…
Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming: The Ladder
For the last several months, we have been excerpting chapters from the new and revised edition of the Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming by Bobby Rondinelli. The new and expanded edition of his book includes nine new double bass drumming…
Master Studies II: Paradiddles with Fill-Ins Using Double Strokes
As a follow-up to Joe Morello’s legendary Master Studies book, he released Master Studies II in 2006. Joe was a masterful teacher and helped many great drummers with their musicality, technique, and touch. Joe was also masterful at creating exercises,…
The New Breed
This month, Modern Drummer will start excerpting sections of Gary Chester’s groundbreaking book The New Breed. This book, and Gary’s teaching methods are deeply intertwined, it is a lifelong commitment of dedication, study, and development. Before we start reprinting Gary…
Rhythm Vocabulary Development Series Part 2: Filling in the Spaces in 7/4
Rhythm as Space: Unlocking Your Creative Flow in 7/4 In our last installment, we explored how rhythmic vocabulary can be expanded by understanding rhythm not just as notes, but as space—a concept that becomes even more powerful in odd time…
1928 Leedy Ship Silhouette and Indian Scene Trap Drum Sets
The year 1928 is a very important year in drum history at the Northup Drums Museum. Many of our early trap drum kits with factory painted heads are from the 1928-30 era. From about 1924 to 1940 both the Leedy…
Out Now May 2025
Modern Drummer is spotlighting new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performances from the drummer and/or musicians in the band. This…
Joe Letz' Till Lindemann Touring Kit
Drums: DW Collectors Maple in Matte Red - 18x22 Kick, 18x22 Gong Drum, 14x26 Kick, 16x6 Octoban, 8x12 Rack Tom, 14x16 Floor Tom, 16x18 Floor Tom.Snares: 6.5x14 Maple Snare, 6x12 Maple Side Snare, 7x14 Brass Snare (backup.)Heads: Evans – Main Snare: Heavyweight, Side…
