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.
John Macaluso
When your first major tour includes a make-believe club date performing for surrealist director David Lynch and actor Nicolas Cage, you know your career has taken an unorthodox turn. For unconventional drummer John Macaluso, his appearance with Powermad during Cage's…
Ralph MacDonald: Living The Island Life
(July 2004 Issue) The lyrics from one of Ralph MacDonald's songs on his latest CD, Home Grown, start and end with words that sum up his life: "There is no better life than the island life. I love the island…
Mike Malinin: Pop-Rock Precision
(September 2005 Issue) by Waleed Rashidi Intelligent, precise, cautious, attentive, responsive - just some of the adjectives that could be used to describe the playing of Goo Goo Dolls' drummer Mike Malinin. Though he's the newest member of the Buffalo,…
Chuck Morris
On the cover of Standing On A Mountain, the new record by Chuck Morris & Freedom, it states "new reggae style." Explaining this assertion, Morris says, "A lot of people who hear the band or the record will say, 'I'm…
Jack Mouse: An Agent Of Change
(February 2005 Issue) On singer Janice Borla's recent album, Agents Of Change, drummer Jack Mouse isn't relegated to keeping time. He also enjoys a lot of freedom to color the songs. "That is a luxury," Mouse says. "Of course, I…
Samantha Maloney: Hole In One For The Crue
October 2005 Issue Samantha Maloney learned to play drums by practicing along to records like Shout At The Devil and Theater Of Pain by her favorite band, metal's tattooed bad boys, Motley Crue. It's no surprise, then, that Maloney describes…
John Marshall: Still Playing The Music
(From the December 2004 Issue) Since the '60s, John Marshall's presence behind the drums has been a guarantee of lively and interactive music. A fixture in British jazz, Marshall also powered the fusion of Soft Machine, the art rock of…
Billy Mason Never Takes His Success For Granted
Billy Mason has one of the most coveted country gigs out there with Tim McGraw, but he never takes his success for granted. Even though he's currently on the Soul To Soul tour with McGraw and McGraw's wife, Faith Hill,…
Craig "Clune" McClune
Well-known to David Gray fans as the singing drummer who wears loud Hawaiian shirts, Craig "Clune" McClune is the longest-standing member of the popular singer-songwriter's band. He's also a key collaborator in crafting the melodic folk-rock of A New Day…
Ricky McKinnie
When drummer Ricky McKinnie lost his sight from glaucoma in 1975, he was never going to let it stop him from doing what he loves most. He had been playing drums since the age of twelve and was given the…
Airto Moreira: Live Rhythms
The following is an excerpt from the May 2004 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, May 2004 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. He's typically surrounded by a multitude of percussion instruments. In the course of a tune he might incorporate any…
Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes
Watch twenty-three-year-old Fabrizio Moretti in action with The Strokes, and you'll see an elegant simplicity, an economy of motion, and an almost machine-like precision. It's no surprise to learn that in addition to studying music, he attended art school for…
Todd Nance 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…
Clarence Penn - Classical Chameleon, Jazz Journeyman
Clarence Penn's third album as a leader is called Somay, a word whose roots lie, as do many elements of contemporary music, in Africa. "It means being in the center of the vibe," Penn explains from his comfortable Brooklyn apartment.…
