
Glenn Kotche

Worldwide pandemic or not, we’re all spending more…

There’s no other band in the world that sounds quite like Wilco. And there’s no other drummer in the world that sounds quite like Glenn Kotche.

The Show, now in its twenty-ninth year, is one of the largest and longest-running drum exhibitions in the world.

Throughout the album Gibson’s signature buzz-saw tone, Chippendale’s familiar crackling vocals, and the drummer’s slashing snare shred.

The lengths some people will go… Wilco’s compositionally minded drummer prepares his kit with a glorious array of mechanical and digital devices, each with a specific, meaningful effect—and its own set of performance demands.

Chris Pennie, Bernard Purdie, Chad Cromwell, Billy Rymer, Mickey Waller, Rich Redmond, Dan Bitney, John McEntire, John Herndon, Marco Minnemann, Bubba Bryant, Tommy Aldridge, Brian Viglione, Bill Rieflin, Glenn Kotche, Poni, Ash Pearson, Chad Smith, Keith Harris, Kenny Aronoff

Victor DeLorenzo, Jason Bittner, Charlie Benante, Don Brewer, Lewis Nash, Glenn Kotche, Brain, Marco Djordjevic, Aaron Ford, Jason Reece, Scott Reeder, AJ Pero, Ryan Yerdon, Steve Frothingham

Glenn Kotche, Neil Peart, Jim Keltner, Greg Saunier, Kim Plainfield, Seven Antonopoulos, Robin Diaz, Sam Loeffler, Shawn Glyde, Christian Welter, Chris Pennie, Yogi Horton, Roy Mayorga, Jack DeJohnette, Gavin Harrison, Jeff Hamilton, Stanton Moore

John Blackwell, Prince, Jason Bittner, Vinnie Colaiuta, Gregg Bissonette, Glenn Kotche, Shelly Mane, Steve Barney, Jack Irons, Brooks Wackerman, Gregg Bendian, Michael Brueggen, Oliver Charles, Benjamin Weikel, Dennis Chambers, Adrian Erlandsson

Buddy Rich, Nick D’Virgilio, Joe La Barbera, Steve Smith, Josh Freese, Panama Francis, Jeff Ocheltree, Abe Laboriel Jr., Allen Shellenberger, King Coffey, Richie Hayward, Glenn Kotche, Tommy Aldridge, Mike Heidorn, Slim Jim Phantom, Greg Upchurch, Gene Lake, Joe Morello
Posted: April 26, 2017
Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick branches out on solo debut, Palisades
This past April 21, Eric Slick, the drummer for the ’60s-influenced indie-rock band Dr. Dog, released his debut solo album, Palisades.
Posted: January 23, 2017
Jaki Liebezeit: Hero to a Generation of Thinking Alternative Groovers
“The first time I heard Jaki Liebezeit’s playing with Can,” says Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, “I was hooked. You can tell instantly that there was so much going on with his playing just under the surface.
Posted: August 1, 2016
Evan Chapman of Square Peg Round Hole: Juniper Album, “Name Not One Man??? Video World Premiere
With Juniper, instrumental and percussion-heavy trio Square Peg Round Hole unleashes pondering melodies, brooding harmonic landscapes, and forward-thinking rhythms. Here, the group’s main drummer, Evan Chapman, discusses the concepts and influences behind the record’s broad sonic spectrum….
Posted: May 31, 2016
Keith Carne on We Are Scientists’ Helter Seltzer
Brooklyn-based indie-rock band We Are Scientists’ fifth album, Helter Seltzer, released digitally this past April 22 and physically on June 3, is an advanced-level course in hook-ology.
Posted: April 28, 2016

June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine
See what’s in the June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine…
Posted: April 28, 2016
June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine
See what’s in the June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine…
Posted: October 1, 2015
November 2015 Issue of Modern Drummer featuring Brian Frasier-Moore
See what’s in the pages of the October 2015 issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Brian Frasier-Moore and where you can get it….
Posted: October 1, 2015
Video Tour! Gearing Up with Wilco’s Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche has one of the most distinctive setups in the industry, with more sticks and homemade percussion trinkets than we could list fully. We caught up with Kotche during a Wilco show at Louisville’s Iroquois Amphitheater, where he was using a Sonor ProLite drumset. “It’s a beautiful maple kit, …
Posted: December 2, 2014
What You Need to Know About…Bearing Edges
Many drummers don’t think about the edges of drum shells in terms of their impact on sound, but they can actually change the timbre quite dramatically. Therefore it’s a good idea to have a handle on different bearing-edge options and how they’ll affect the sound, in order to choose the …
Posted: November 10, 2014
Wilco Marks Twenty Years With Two Special Releases Out November 17 on Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records will release two new Wilco collections on November 17 in conjunction with the influential Chicago band’s twentieth anniversary. The first, Alpha Mike Foxtrot, is a four-CD/four-LP/digital-box-set of rare studio and live recordings collected from the band’s extensive audio archives. The second, What’s Your 20, is a two-CD/digital compilation …
Posted: September 15, 2014
Rhythm! Discovery Center Joins Smithsonian Magazine’s Tenth Annual Museum Day Live!
Rhythm! Discovery Center will open its doors free of charge on Saturday, September 27, 2014, as part of Smithsonian magazine’s tenth annual Museum Day Live!
Posted: July 18, 2014
A Beat a Week: A Total Percussion Approach to Playing the Drumset by Glenn Kotche
The Wilco drummer’s method book might take you places you didn’t know exist.
Posted: June 6, 2014
Remix Wilco’s Glenn Kotche!
Wilco drummer and composer Glenn Kotche invites musicians, producers, and fans to Blend (blend.io) to reimagine his seven-movement piece “Anomaly,??? which was composed by Kotche for the renowned Kronos Quartet and is featured on his latest album, Adventureland, out now on Cantaloupe Music….
Posted: June 2, 2014
VIDEO! Product Close-Up: Dixon Cajon Pedal Plus (From the June 2014 Issue)
Click here to check out our review of the new Dixon Cajon Pedal Plus, which is featured in the June 2014 issue….
Posted: March 5, 2012
The April 2012 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Wilco’s Glenn Kotche!
What’s inside this month’s (April 2012) Modern Drummer magazine?
Posted: August 17, 2011
Matt Miller of Cymbals Eat Guitars
I started playing percussion in fourth grade and then drumset in seventh grade. The bulk of my education comes from my high school’s extracurricular activities like marching band…
Posted: August 4, 2011
Kenny Savelson of the Droves
This is not a drum blog posting in that you’re not going to find me charting out grooves or getting heavy into sticking technique or how we got the…
Posted: July 1, 2011
MD Readers Poll 2011 Results
Welcome once again to the MD Readers Poll, where the greatest drummers on the planet are honored by the most educated drum fans around. Let’s get right to it: the envelope, please….
Posted: June 29, 2011
Daniel Bédard of Sharcüt
Hi, drummers! My name is Daniel Bédard, and I’m a drummer from Montreal. I’ve been drumming now for around sixteen years, and I’ve played with a lot of different artists here in Québec. I’m writing to talk to you about my band Sharcüt, a trio composed of guitar, bass, and …
Posted: November 24, 2009
On Tour And On Stage: 9 Lives (+9, +9 More)
On Tour And On Stage: 9 Lives (+9, +9 More). MD’s editors just can’t keep a list of their favorite albums short–even in service of a can’t-resist pun. Twenty-seven live albums you gotta have.
Posted: January 16, 2008
Best Of ’07
I’m convinced that, ten years from now, we’re going to look back at 2007 as an unusually fertile time in music and in drumming.
Posted: June 15, 2007
Glenn Kotche: Painting The Sky Blue Sky
This past winter, the duality of rock drummer / experimental percussionist Glenn Kotche’s eclectic career reached an all-time high as he juggled writing/recording sessions for Wilco’s latest release, Sky Blue Sky, and composing “Anomaly,??? a seven-movement commission for world-renowned string ensemble The Kronos Quartet.
Posted: May 12, 2004
Glenn Kotche: Wilco’s Sonic Maestro
Climb around the back of Glenn Kotche’s drumset in Wilco’s rehearsal loft/recording studio on the northwest side of Chicago, and what you’ll see is part hardware store and part orchestra percussion pit.
Posted: November 5, 2020

Episode 6: Glenn Kotche of Wilco, KAT Percussion’s Mario DeCiutiss, Shop Talk – Kickboxx Suitcase Drum Set. In this episode Mike Dawson interviews Glenn Kotche of Wilco. Glenn walks Mike thru his Top 10 favorite solo Drum & Percussion albums. The interview concludes with a segment from his mind-blowing sounds …
Posted: February 28, 2020

MD Podcast Episode 232: Wilco’s Glenn Kotche, Playing Over the Barline, INDe RESoArmor Drumset, and More
Mike and Mike discuss the relationship between 6/8 and 3/4 time and how they teach them.
Posted: November 4, 2016
Episode 66: Ash Soan, Gretsch Hammered Steel Snare, and More
In this episode, Mike and Mike discuss Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche’s solo drum composition “Monkey Chant.” Then they share some ideas for how to apply the exercises from the classic book Stick Control to the drumset. The featured artist is UK session great Ash Soan. Up for review is Gretsch’s …
Posted: October 28, 2016
Episode 65: Ralph Peterson, Zildjian Avedis Series, and More
In this episode, Mike and Mike share two more of their favorite drum tracks before diving into the topic of practicing and knowing when to move on. Next they crack open the December 2016 issue of Modern Drummer and discuss jazz great Ralph Peterson, who’s featured on the cover. Up …