Feature Stories
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.
Mike Wengren of Disturbed
Around the middle of last year, Disturbed began touring behind the new album, Ten Thousand Fists, and they’ve been out on the road, nonstop, ever since. Drummer Mike Wengren says it comes with the territory. “After ten years with the…
Michael Novak Jr. of Every Time I Die
The members of Every Time I Die are “lucky to be alive,” says their drummer, Michael Novak Jr. While touring earlier this year, the innovative metal-core band was driving through mountains in Wyoming when their van skidded on a patch…
Lamb of God's Chris Adler: More Than Meets The Eye
by Michael Dawson Last year, Modern Drummer Festival attendees learned what legions of devoted heavy metal fans have known for years: There’s something special about Lamb Of God’s drummer, Chris Adler. Not only has he pushed metal drumming’s trifecta of…
Jerome Dillon
For a solo album produced and composed by a drummer, one would anticipate involved drumming on each track, or at the very least, drums on every song. But in former Nine Inch Nails drummer Jerome Dillon’s case, his nearLY project…
Jim Fox of The James Gang and More
As The James Gang’s founder and only constant member during their 1966–76 run, you would think their criminally unheralded drummer, Jim Fox, would know if he owned the rights to his band’s name. “I just don’t know much about the…
Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp 2006
By Billy Amendola I’ll start by saying, What an amazing five days I recently had—Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp promoter David Fishof is a genius! This past August 13–17, I was invited to the sixth Camp in New York…
Gutbucket's Paul Chuffo
If you’re unfamiliar with the Brooklyn instrumental quartet Gutbucket and you glance at the stage before a performance, you might think you’re about to hear some jazz. An alto sax, an upright bass, a hollow-body guitar, and a three-piece drumkit…
Tony Royster Jr.
Tony Royster Jr. has been busy. We caught up with him while he was home for a couple of days from globetrotting with En Vogue. “En Vogue needs someone to hold down the pocket while they’re singing,” the former child…
Motion City Soundtrack’s Tony Thaxton
For Motion City Soundtrack’s Tony Thaxton, his drumming career has gone full circle–at least in one sense. Growing up in Virginia as a budding drummer, Thaxton would often find himself behind a kit with a pair of headphones, playing along…
Barry Kerch of Shinedown
In 2001, Barry Kerch’s audition for Shinedown consisted of going into the studio, laying down tracks, and seeing what stuck. Within the tryout he performed the band’s eventual single, “45.” Though the record endured many producers and record company scrutiny,…
Dave Lombardo: Return Of The King
(September 2006 Issue) by Waleed Rashidi Instead of waxing poetic about what metal drumming living legend Dave Lombardo does behind the kit–you know, those punishing 16th-note kicks at rapid-fire tempos, incredible runs across his half-dozen rack toms, spastic patterns, and…
Ric Menck
In-demand drummer Ric Menck (Matthew Sweet, Velvet Crush, Liz Phair, Marianne Faithful) faced a quandary during sessions for Sweet and Susannna Hoffs’ recently released duets album of ’60s covers, Under The Covers, Vol. 1: Mimic classic performances like the ragged…
Spencer Seim of The Advantage
When Spencer Seim was a kid, he spent hours each day riveted in front of the family television, tirelessly playing video games on his Nintendo Entertainment System. Beyond the games’ sense of fantasy, action, and adventure, Spencer became obsessed with…
Def Leppard’s Rick Allen
Rick Allen says the great thing about Def Leppard’s new album, Yeah!, is that the band didn’t have to spend time writing new material. Instead, they decided to record a selection of ’70s cover songs. “We were a ’70s band,”…
