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.
Michael Miley
Rival Sons are on the crest of a wave of bands dead set on reviving the true essence of classic rock. It’s a path not so easily taken in 2013, as the group’s drummer explains here. But if the Sons’…
Steve Smith on Narada Michael Walden
Modern Drummer recently popped in on Vital Information drummer and 2013 Pro Panelist Steve Smith to chat about one of his favorite albums, the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Visions of the Emerald Beyond. The 1975 LP was the sophomore outing by Mahavishnu’s…
Portraits - Sparks's Tammy Glover
Few musicians have the opportunity to enjoy simultaneous—and significant—careers on stage and in the conference room. Here the veteran drummer with the iconic cult band Sparks connects the dots between the two vastly different worlds. TO READ THE FULL STORY:…
What Do You Know About...Connie Kay
Widely admired for his long tenure with the influential Modern Jazz Quartet, Connie Kay made equally important contributions as a house drummer for Atlantic Records in the early 1950s, when he laid down a long list of historic tracks that…
Concepts - The Endorsement Game
A lot of people think having an endorsement means a company is endorsing you as a player, but it’s actually the opposite. The idea is that the company is increasing its exposure and brand recognition by aligning itself with you.…
Strictly Technique - Part 1: Volume and Accent Character
Most of us tackled basic rudimental patterns when we first learned to play the drums. For me, these endless combinations were fun to practice, but I soon wondered why I would choose to play a more complex sticking when I…
Rock Perspectives - Double Bass Workout, Part 1
Welcome to the first installment in a series of articles focusing on double bass. In this lesson we’ll explore fill ideas where we’re mixing 16th notes, sextuplets, and 32nd notes over 8th-, 16th-, and 32nd-note foot patterns. TO READ THE…
Bill Bruford: An Autobiography, Prologue to the Second Edition
In which the prog-rock pioneer and fusion explorer contemplates the future of our art—and calls on us to determine it for ourselves. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
In Memoriam - Robert Zildjian
Robert Zildjian, who died this past March 28 at the age of eighty-nine, was many things. He was an astute and aggressive businessman, a devoted and revered family patriarch, and a walking compendium of percussion-industry history. TO READ THE FULL…
Carter Beauford
A full fifteen years after the Dave Matthews Band drummer’s last MD cover story, he and his mates remain as popular as ever. In that time, much has changed in Carter’s world—but much has not, including an unceasing dedication to…
Influences - Billy Higgins
The year was 1959, and in New York City, Ornette Coleman’s quartet was creating a bona fide controversy with its six-week run at the Five Spot. The music was rhythmically loose and had at its core a melodic and harmonic…
Brian Chippendale
Portraits Brian Chippendale by Hank Shteamer Pretty might not be what he’s aiming for. But when Lightning Bolt’s drummer sits behind the kit, people move, and they think. What more could you ask for?When you think of a drummer playing…
In Memoriam - Herb Brochstein
Irvin “Herb” Brochstein, the founder of Pro-Mark Drumsticks, passed away this past January at the age of eighty-five. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Strictly Technique - The Missing Stickings
The inspiration for this article came from years of studying out of George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control for the Snare Drummer. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
