Drummer Blogs

On the Beat

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.

On The Beat with Dave Weckl: Talks Making the Singer Happy

Hey all! I wanted to share a project that is a little different than my usual jazz/fusion content. Although I don’t get the opportunity too much these days, I’ve always loved playing with, for, and behind great vocalists. I really…

Aug 6, 2020

Melkbelly's James Wetzel on Time and Space

Wetzel conjuring new vistas of time and space. Hello, Modern Drummers! My name is James Wetzel, and I play drums in the noise rock band Melkbelly, along with a few other projects (Ree-Yees, Mode Hexe). I’m honored to contribute here,…

Jun 24, 2020

Quarantine Home Recording #3: Five Ways to Tank Your Drum Mix

Don't let this be an allegorical representation of your drum mixing skills! Home recording can be a fabulous oasis of no rules, no judgement, no fear, and no regrets, because YOU are the benevolent dictator of your own audio kingdom.…

Jun 6, 2020

Clementine on Channeling John Bonham in 12 Steps

Clementine of all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella. Step One Love Led Zeppelin. How did John Bonham become one of a handful of drummers who are celebrated as much as any of the other guys in the band? Chalk it…

Jun 4, 2020

Quarantine Home Recording #2: The Source Sound

By Michael Molenda Choose your assistant engineers carefully — Shiba Inus are a horrible option because they don't follow orders. Ever. Hopefully, our first article in this home-recording series — Don't Say "Can't" — convinced you to stop worrying about…

Jun 1, 2020

Quarantine Home Recording: Don't Say "Can't"

By Michael Molenda, Modern Drummer Chief Digital Editor Photo from Reddit DoubleBass336 If the pandemic has taught creative artists anything other than, well, truly horrible and depressing stuff, it's that spending the time to improve and expand your craft during…

May 28, 2020

Chris Hornbrook On his Play-Through Video for Greg Puciato's "Deep Set"

Chris Hornbrook “Deep Set” was one of the first songs that Greg Puciato presented to me for his first solo record, Child Soldier: Creator of God. We’ve known each other for more than 20 years, and both of our prior…

May 26, 2020

Clementine on Ten Ways to Shine as a Session Drummer

Clementine of the All-Female Led Zeppelin Tribute, Zepparella. Photo by Matt Granz. Nearly every item on this list is based on one truth: A hired musician must respect the clock, as studio time is precious. As someone hired for a…

May 1, 2020

Jonathan Barber on Keeping The Vision Ahead

Photos by Lauren Desberg In early March, I was two weeks into a West Coast tour with my band Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead. For me, this was a special tour, considering I organized it myself to promote my upcoming…

Apr 30, 2020

Jake Cochran on Small Kits and Playing While Standing Up

Jake Cochran Hello Modern Drummer! My name is Jake Cochran, and I am the drummer half of alt-rock duo Illiterate Light. I'm coming off of an incredible two-month headlining U.S. tour, and diving into writing for our next record—a shift…

Apr 20, 2020

MD Spotlight Subscriber Hal Howland: On The Beat

Hello MD! I really appreciated Billy Amendola’s Editors Overview in the November 2019 issue of Modern Drummer in which he asked readers to let the magazine and fellow subscribers know what we have been up to. I decided to take…

Mar 19, 2020

Shad Teems of Framing Hanley

Hello MD! Shad here and I have been fascinated with drums as far back as I can remember. When I was two years old, my parents got tired of continually picking up pots and pans and wooden spoons off the…

Mar 17, 2020

Veronica Bellino of Life of Agony

Talking About Getting the Gig, New Album, and Tour Hello MD readers! Veronica Bellino here and I am the drummer with Life of Agony. A brief background on how I “got the gig.” I was introduced to LOA’s guitar player,…

Mar 12, 2020

Delta Rae's Mike McKee

Talking About New Album, Companies, and Gear Hello Modern Drummer! Mike McKee here and it’s an honor to be “On The Beat” for a second time. Here is a little of my backstory as a reminder and what I’ve been…

Mar 10, 2020

Joey Cassata of ZO2

On His New Autobiography Hey, Modern Drummer readers! It’s Joey Cassata from ZO2 and the television show Z Rock. I’m really excited to announce that my recently released autobiography, Start With a Dream: A Drummer’s Journey from Rock & Roll…

Mar 5, 2020