News
Keep up to date with the drum world via news items, interviews, lists, and more
Michael Bland Discusses Soul Asylum’s New Album, Hurry Up and Wait
Former Prince drummer Michael Bland has been playing with Soul Asylum since 2005. We tracked him down to talk about the making of Hurry Up and Wait, his fourth album with the beloved Minneapolis rock band. MD: These songs sound…
Dennis Chambers and Greg Grainger Partake in Virtual Music School for Aspiring Musicians
Maryland Hall and Paul Reed Smith will present the second-annual Music School for Aspiring Musicians four-day live event virtually from August 10 through 13. This unique online experience is open to musicians and enthusiasts of all ages around the world.…
Drummers on Record: Current and Upcoming Releases of Note
The Killers Imploding the Mirage (Ronnie Vannucci) The Killers’ forthcoming album, Imploding the Mirage, is due to be released August 21 on Island Records, and will once again feature longtime drummer Ronnie Vannucci The Killers’ sixth studio album, and their first since…
Legendary Eric Clapton Drummer Jamie Oldaker Passes
Jamie Oldaker, who for years toured with Eric Clapton and played on some of the legendary guitarist’s most iconic albums, passed away on Thursday, July 16. He was sixty-eight. Remarkably, Clapton is only one of the musical icons the drummer…
Spooky-J on the Cross-Cultural Group Nihiloxica’s Kaloli Album
Nihiloxica is an intercontinental project between two U.K. electronic musicians and four members of a Ugandan percussion troupe. The four Ugandans come from the Kampala-based Nilotika Cultural Ensemble with traditional drums and dance rhythms, and their British collaborators contribute synths…
Drummers on Record: Current and Upcoming Releases of Note
My Morning Jacket The Waterfall II (Patrick Hallahan) This past Friday, July 10, My Morning Jacket released the digital edition of their new album, The Waterfall II, with CD and vinyl versions coming on August 28. Out via ATO Records, the…
Modern Drummer Contributor Kiko Freitas Releases The Brazilian Groove Book: Samba & Bossa Nova
Hudson Music recently announced the release of The Brazilian Groove Book: Samba & Bossa Nova by internationally acclaimed drummer and Modern Drummer contributor Kiko Freitas.Starting with a breakdown of the layers of samba, Frietas presents independence ideas using tamborim rhythms,…
Nick D’Virgilio Play-Through #5–9
In this post we present five videos that Nick D’Virgilio and Sweetwater have produced, highlighting tracks from Nick’s new solo album, Invisible. (For the backstory, click here.) As in all of our previous posts, in each video D’Virgilio discusses the…
Animals as Leaders Live Stream Event
Animals as Leaders—guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes, and drummer Matt Garstka—will be conducting a special live-stream event on Thursday, July 9 at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles, 7 p.m. in New York, 12 a.m. in London, and 8 a.m. in Tokyo,…
Guitar Center Music Foundation Relief 4 Musicians Online Fundraiser to Feature Russ Kunkel
As part of its ongoing effort to provide needed funding relief to musicians and music programs suffering loss of resources as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guitar Center Music Foundation has announced that legendary session/touring drummer Russ Kunkel…
Remembering Joe Porcaro (November 1994 Feature)
With the passing of studio great Joe Porcaro, we’ve gone back into the vault for his November 1994 Modern Drummer feature, in which we learned about his path to the top of the L.A. studio scene, and got an inside…
Famed Jazz Drummer Billy Hart to Conduct Free “Evolution of Contemporary Jazz Drumming” Zoom Presentation
On Sunday, July 19, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, world-renowned drummer and educator Billy Hart will conduct a free Zoom presentation, “The Evolution of Contemporary Jazz Drummers.” Hart has recorded over six hundred albums, including seminal dates with Miles Davis,…
Drummers on Record: Current and Upcoming Releases of Note
Louis Cole Live 2019 (Louis Cole) Louis Cole has released Live 2019 (Brainfeeder), an aural and visual compilation of live performances from last year. It includes Louis’s last major, big band shows from 2019, live from Lodge Room in L.A., and…
Ringo Starr To Celebrate 80th Birthday with Starr Studded Charity Broadcast, “Ringo's Big Birthday Show”
The event, which benefits Black Lives Matter Global Network, the David Lynch Foundation, MusiCares, and WaterAid, airs on Youtube July 7 and featured performances by Ringo, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Sheila E, and Ben Harper.…
