Update
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.
Derico Watson: Pocket, Chops, and Soul
Laying Down A Thunderous Groove With Victor Wooten and S.M.V. For the past five years, Michigan native Derico Watson has held one of the most coveted chairs a drummer could imagine, touring regularly with pioneering bassist Victor Wooten. A modest…
John Convertino: Finding The Sweet Spot
Read more in the February 2009 Issue of Modern Drummer Calexico drummer John Convertino has always been more a mood-setter than a traditional timekeeper. And his band’s sixth album, "Carried To Dust", offers plenty of examples of the drummer’s tone…
Eric Valentine: Firing It Up With Luke
Eric Valentine has always enjoyed performing with different people, so going from Patti LaBelle to former Toto six-stringer Steve Lukather wasn’t really a challenge for him, it was just another gig. “When I was growing up,” Valentine says, “I listened…
Sean Davidson of Blacklist Union
At a time when rapid-fire double kick and Pro Tooled precision are practically the boilerplate for modern metal drumming, Blacklist Union’s Sean Davidson takes a different approach: concentrating on simplified, groove-based playing while adding an aspect of old-fashioned rock showmanship…
Pat Wilson: Hearing Red
When Weezer entered the studio to track their sixth album, the band was committed to finding a fresh approach to their recording experience. “Recording The Red Album was a struggle in some ways,” admits drummer Pat Wilson. “The songs on…
J. Mascis: A Double Life
There’s J. Mascis, singer, speaker-shredding guitarist, and chief architect of Dinosaur Jr.’s very loud and deceptively tuneful sound. Then there’s J. Mascis, balls-to-the-wall hard rock drummer for Witch, and hoarder of 28" kick drums. “My first was a marching drum…
Simon Collins
As the son of drumming and pop icon Phil Collins, Simon Collins grew up with music in his genes. But one listen to his impressive new solo album, U-Catastrophe, and you’ll realize that Collins the younger is a talented artist…
John Fred Young
Black Stone Cherry drew on their Kentucky heritage for their second album, Folklore And Superstition. “We love the mysterious stories that we grew up hearing, so we dug up some of those,” says drummer John Fred Young. “Bluegrass and Appalachian…
Frank Briggs
Best known for his top-selling instructional book/DVD, The Complete Modern Drum Set, LA-based drummer/educator Frank Briggs exposes his jazz-fusion roots on his first solo recording, China Ranch (frankbriggs.com). Briggs displays fat, loose, and powerful Tony Williams–style technique and tone on…
Brian Frasier-Moore: Born to Play
by Robyn Flans “I am not much impressed by drummers these days; I always end up preferring drum loops to live drummers. But when Brian plays, you pay attention.”–Madonna Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Ciara, Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Babyface, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet…
Patrick Carney of the Black Keys
While The Black Keys’ latest offering, Attack & Release, retains much of the DIY ethos the Akron, Ohio duo has honed since its early days, it’s clear that drummer Patrick Carney and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach wanted to mix it up…
Spencer Smith of Panic At The Disco
Panic At The Disco might be “all the rage” right now, but drummer Spencer Smith divulges that the band routinely gets inspiration from rock’s distant past. While touring behind their debut album, Spencer says, they experienced a creative epiphany listening…
Joachim Cooder of Hello Stranger
For Joachim Cooder, this is a very exciting time in the life of Hello Stranger, a group he started several years ago with bandmate Juliette Commagere. They’re finishing up their second record with Mike Elizondo at the helm, and they’ve…
Glen Graham: Back With Friends
It’s a hard thing to lose a loved one, especially when not only is it a close friend, but also the front man and voice of your top-selling band. “It was a very difficult thing to go through,” admits Blind…
