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.
Andy Narell
Primarily known as a steel pan player in the jazz idiom, Andy Narell is expanding his musical universe and exploring his version of "The French Connection." The first foreigner to compose for Trinidad's Panorama steel band competition (in 1999), Narell…
Scott Neuman
Scott Neumann, born and bred in Oklahoma, combines formal and informal techniques of playing the drumset--to great effect. Neumann began performing as a child, graduated from North Texas with a degree in music education, and over a decade ago entered…
James O'Connor of Godhead
"'Break You Down' is one of those songs where I wanted a driving drum beat that would overwhelm the listener, like a train you couldn't stop," says James O'Connor of Godhead, describing one of the songs on the band's new…
Gina Oliver
When LA-based atmospheric rock trio Midnight Movies needed a drummer, vocalist Gena Olivier sat down behind a kit stored in the band's practice space and discovered an untapped talent. "When I sat behind those drums, it reminded me of when…
Domingo Ortiz of Widespread Panic
With Till The Medicine Takes, Widespread Panic move way beyond their reputation as merely a jam band. Not that they'll necessarily be jumping up the Billboard Top-40 charts any time soon. But the album does show a tighter grip on…
John Otto
"Developing things like soloing and independence is an ongoing battle. Working on that stuff will never stop until you leave this Earth." Four years ago, when John Otto was first featured in Modern Drummer, the then twenty-three-year-old spoke with a…
Philip Peeples of The Old 97's
Philip Peeples was once known locally as the guy who loaned his drums to The Old 97's drummer. But after demonstrating a tasteful blend of shuffle, rockabilly, and rock rhythms, Philip became The Old 97's drummer. That was 1993. Today,…
Stephen Perkins
The candle that burns twice as brightly burns half as long. That saying seems appropriate when discussing the flare-out of a staggeringly influential band like LA's alternative rock pioneers Jane's Addiction. "We had a moment in 1986 when music was…
Lori Peters of Skillet
With the same intensity that linebackers smash the head of Brett Favre, Skillet's Lori Peters attacks her set. "Being a drummer is a lot like being an athlete," Peters agrees. "It takes the same amount of dedication and discipline. You…
Slim Jim Phantom
Although Slim Jim Phantom's former bandmate Brian Setzer has kept the Stray Cats name in gear since the band dissolved in the mid-1980s, the stand-up drummer best remembered for his simple two-piece kit in the "Rock This Town" video hasn't…
Simon Phillips & Virgil Donati
It was a typically sunny southern California day as I drove the winding hills of west Los Angeles en route to the home studio of drum legend Simon Phillips. Many thoughts entered my mind as I approached the beautifully landscaped…
Ryan Pope: Gettin' Down With The Get Up Kids
Smart, melodic, and unflaggingly energetic, The Get Up Kids are part of a Midwestern pop-punk tradition that stretches from Cheap Trick through The Replacements and up to the current 'emo' scene. But one of the factors that distinguishes this Kansas…
Yvette Preyer
Yvette Preyer has been blowing away Michael McDonald audiences for the past five years, ever since she crossed paths with the famed singer/songwriter in Memphis, where Preyer resides. McDonald was doing a gig there for the National Civil Rights Museum…
Aquiles Priester
When he decided to be a drummer, Aquiles Priester couldn't have imagined the paths music would take him along. After studying with renowned drummers, playing in many groups, founding the band Hangar, doing a Brazilian tour, and recording Paul Di'Anno's…
