The running cliche amongst my peers these days is, “Don’t fall down.” We’re all desperate to remain injury-free. Stories shared are more often about non-slip hotel bathroom shower stalls than musical conquests (romantic conquests went the way of the sideman eras we all lived through back when we were young and single.) There was a time when two traveling bands would bump into one another at an airport or jazz festival and talk would center around your computer notation software of choice, “Sibelius or Finale?” Now it’s more likely to be, “Full or partial knee replacement?” The good news is that, statistically, most of us are living longer lives. The bad news is that there’s a statistical health gap in terms of peak living experience versus mortality. The goal for us drummers is to be able to keep playing the best paradiddles we can until we transition to that great […]

June 2026 Issue