John Beck

Modern Drummer is very sad to hear about the passing of legendary Muscle Shoals drummer Roger Hawkins. Roger bravely battled with health issues over the past few years, and our condolences go out to his wife Brenda, their family, friends, and admirers of his music. Roger is one of the most …

Mark Egan and Danny Gottlieb Electric Blue (Danny Gottlieb) Bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb, who share a nearly fifty-year working relationship, are releasing their first-ever duo recording, Electric Blue, featuring just drums and bass. Egan and Gottlieb spent years touring and recording together as members of the original …

Modern Drummer is rebooting its world-famous Drum Festival on September 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with a live-streaming event honoring the late, great Rush drummer Neil Peart. Proceeds of ticket sales will benefit brain tumor research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The event, which will be produced and distributed …

After years of lying low, Semisonic has been busy of late. We’ve played a series of shows in Minneapolis, our hometown, and I’m hopeful that in the next eighteen months we’ll perform in other states and time zones.

Hey Modern Drummer readers, what’s up? My name is Ray LeVier and I’m a touring drummer, composer, and studio owner from West Nyack, NY. I would like to start off by saying I’ve been a MD reader ever since I first picked up a pair of sticks.

Hi MD. My love affair with drums began in my mother’s car. When I was around six years old, I was pounding away “Wipe Out” on the headrest when she decided then and there to rush me into drum lessons. A few years later, my parents bought me the Yamaha …

Hello Modern Drummers! John Mader here. I’m the drummer on the first national tour of Hamilton. I am thrilled to be speaking to you via MD, as I have been a reader for long time. I have been very fortunate to have been selected to audition, perform live, and/or record …

Hello MD! This is Tony Brock, and I am thrilled to be performing with the Babys after a thirty-one-year hiatus. And I’m also honored to be back in Modern Drummer (first go around was in 1989)!

Roger Hawkins stands as one of the great studio drummers of all time. As a member of the famed Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Hawkins was the driving engine behind scores of soul/R&B classics. His unshakable time, southern-infused deep pocket, and commanding, song-serving drum parts placed him in high demand with …

In a week that was already rocked by the deaths of Can’s Jaki Liebezeit and Spooky Tooth’s Mike Kellie, the drum world was shaken for a third time by news this morning of the passing of founding Allman Brothers Band sticksman Butch Trucks.

Hi MD drummer dudes and girls! This is a fun time in my career. After forty-nine years in the music business and touring the world many times playing arenas, stadiums, theaters, etc., I’ve reached a point where I can sit back and review my life of drumming and music….

Hi MD drummer dudes and girls! This is a fun time in my career. After forty-nine years in the music business and touring the world many times playing arenas, stadiums, theaters, etc., I’ve reached a point where I can sit back and review my life of drumming and music….

Hi! My name is Anna Mylee and I was born in Belgium in 1991. I have been playing drums most of my life thanks to my musician father and have been exposed to great rock music since I was little….

Over the course of his forty-year career traveling the globe to teach, perform, and conduct clinics, Dom Famularo has interacted with some of the finest drummers and drum instructors in the world. The following list contains many of those names, organized by country/continent. If you’re looking for top-notch drum instruction, …

My name is Steve Rucker, and I’ve been the Director of Drumset Studies at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami for over thirty-five years. It’s been an awesome ride, and I’m honored to have mentored a great bunch of students over the years including Jonathan Joseph …

Hello MD readers! My name is Andrew Zehnal, and I’m the drummer for the NYC band Hollis Brown. I’m super-excited to announce that our new record, 3 Shots, was released on May 5 on Jullian Records. It’s well known that Modern Drummer is the premier drum magazine, and I’m extremely …

In October of 2014, the drumming community lost an esteemed member, veteran Broadway drummer Dave Ratajczak, whose credits included the shows City of Angels, Sweet Charity, Titanic, The Music Man, and Mary Poppins. Ratajczak, who was a graduate of the famed Eastman School of Music, also worked with jazz and …

Here, as a companion to our August 2014 Influences piece on Mason, we speak with the drummer about his new album, his early days, the drummers who inspired him, and more….

World-renowned drummers, educators, authors, and instructional DVD creators Mark Schulman (Pink/Foreigner), Daniel Glass (Brian Setzer/Bette Midler) and Bruce Becker (Mike Stern/Ron Carter) will a drum camp this July 18–20 at the Hilton Woodland Hills/Los Angeles, located at 6360 Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills, CA….

On Sunday, March 30th, some of the biggest names in drumming will come together for an afternoon you won’t forget. Russ Miller joins Ray Luzier, Mike Johnston, Greg Hutchinson and John Riley for the Drum Daze line-up.

Classic Tracks With George Harrison, Elton John, and Beyond…

Fun Fun Fun Fest had its eighth go-round this past November 8–10, and it was three days of great music for fans of metal, indie, hardcore, electro, and hip-hop, as well as wrestling, comedy, skateboarding, and BMX….

Fun Fun Fun Fest had its eighth go-round this past November 8–10, and it was three days of great music for fans of metal, indie, hardcore, electro, and hip-hop, as well as wrestling, comedy, skateboarding, and BMX….

The October 2013 issue of Modern Drummer magazine features an article in which seven MD Pro Panelists share some of their favorite “hidden gems.??? Here MD’s editorial staff weighs in on their personal favorites….

Hi, I’m Marti Frederiksen. I’m a songwriter, producer, and singer, but most of all I consider myself a drummer….

Several concerts will take place in conjunction with Leigh Howard Stevens’ 34th Summer Marimba Seminar. Concerts will begin at 7 pm at Trinity Church, 503 Asbury Avenue, Asbury Park, New Jersey, and last approximately forty-five minutes….

The longest day of the year fills with music as 25 city-wide celebrations along with smaller ones coast to coast join in the first-ever National Music Day on June 21, 2013.

Greetings, fellow drummers. Bruce Becker here. I am currently residing in Los Angeles and have been recording and gigging with my brother David for thirty years. I am very involved in teaching as well….

Mark Guiliana may be best known for his work as a sideman with jazz musicians such as Avishai Cohen and Brad Mehldau, but the drummer has been increasingly involved with his own solo project, Beat Music….

My beat in music consists of giving back the gift that I was given. I started in music at a very young age, learning first from family.

I subconsciously make weird faces when I play the drums. Sometimes I stick my tongue out. Because of this, some photographers claim they’ve never gotten a good picture of me.

Hello, everybody! My name is Devin Gray. I am a drummer, composer, and improviser living in Brooklyn, New York. As a full-time musician, it’s becoming very important for me to budget and use my time productively…

With Broken Social Scene going on indefinite hiatus at the end of last year, drummer Justin Peroff has found time to focus his energy on a new project with friends/label mates Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil of the Stills. MD caught up with Justin who is preparing for the release …

I’m Tim Walsh of the Stepkids, and I’m excited to be on here and hope to add to the wealth of knowledge that is MD’s awesome thirty-five-year history…

This is an excerpt of an article that originally ran in the December1986 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

Two drummers working it out, face to face—trading licks, contributing to a massive groove, spurring each other on—it’s one of the great musical traditions, and surely it goes back to the very invention of the drumkit at the beginning of the last century. This group of tunes focuses on tracks …

Marky Ramone held the drum chair with legendary punk pioneers the Ramones longer than anyone else. But there’s much more to his story…

An interview with the late, great Nashville percussionist, which originally appeared in the May 1996 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

Following a sold-out masterclass at the Collective music school in Manhattan this past November 17, famed drummers Jerry Shirley and Carmine Appice stopped by to hang with MD and friends at the new Cutting Room club on 32nd St….

Drumming news for the month of November complied in one place.

Jimmy Chamberlin playing the track “Not From Here,??? from Drum Channel’s Gannin Arnold Project DVD.

More with the world-renowned right-hand man to rock’s singer-songwriter royalty, who is featured in the Different View column of this month’s issue of MD.

“Throughout his storied career, Joe Morello displayed a rare combination of drumming talents. He revealed an exceptional sense of swing and finesse combined with astounding technical ability. Along with witty and inventive solo work, Morello was extremely adept at negotiating odd time signatures. Thousands of aspiring drummers have been both …

Story by Billy AmendolaBetween his appearance on this year’s Grammys and his upcoming performance at the Oscars, JR continues his conversation with MD about what a typical day in the studio is like, his early influences, his upcoming DVD, drum solos, reading charts, and taking a break from the studio …

by Rich Mangicaro The longtime Lou Reed drummer’s fascinating musical journey. Tony “Thunder??? Smith is one happy guy. Ever since I first met him over twenty years ago, I’ve found that joy and excitement just emanate from him when he’s talking about music. He couldn’t hide it, even if he …

by Billy Amendola More—way more—with the fusion and pop maestro. In a continuation of our interview with Narada Michael Walden from the November 2010 issue of Modern Drummer, the fusion and pop drumming/producing maestro reflects on his early days, teaching, spirituality, playing in odd time signatures, and coming full circle …

Phillips’ rise in status from solid sideman to world-class player was largely based on his astonishing ability to play advanced ride patterns with either hand. Simon’s technique ushered in a new era of drumming, where the technical abilities of drummers were now evolving at the same rate as their musical …

What’s up, MD readers! Thanks for taking the time to read this blog entry, and a huge thanks to Modern Drummer for giving me the opportunity to do so! My name is Kevin Hogle, and I play in a band called 500 Miles To Memphis. We hail from Cincinnati, Ohio, …

Power, showmanship, and personality are what make Carmine Appice one of rock’s most notable players. His aggressive, double-bass, hard-hitting style was unquestionably unique when he emerged in the mid-1960s with Vanilla Fudge. With the Fudge’s trippy treatments of well-known pop songs…

Alan Dawson was an outstanding jazz drummer and a legendary teacher. Alan was known for his ingenious use of rudiments, his melodic approach to drumming, and an extremely advanced level of hand and foot coordination.

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.

Hello to all who have arrived here; nice to meet you. I play for a quartet called Flying Machines…

Decades after helping Fleetwood Mac become the biggest pop phenomenon of the ’70s, Mick is still keeping time like only he can.

The March issue of MD (out now) features Billy Ward’s fascinating conversation with Simon Phillips, Doane Perry, Marco Minnemann, Thomas Lang, and Jerry Marotta about the grooves that inspired them to play drums early on, and that continue to today. It seemed to make perfect sense for MD’s editors to …

Hi, MD readers, Vinnie Zummo here. Though I'm best known for my years as a guitarist with Joe Jackson, I've played the drums for as long as I've played guitar.

During the heyday of metal music in the ’80s, an underground subgenre known as “shred metal??? emerged.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith takes a much-needed rest—for a minute—and fills MD in on the many cool side projects he’s involved in…

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.

Percussion great Luis Conte’s new album, Marimbula, is a trio disc featuring bassist Jimmy Johnson and guitarist Barry Coates. Conte describes the music as a unique mixture of ideas….

Simply put, Max Roach brought jazz drumming into the modern age. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell revolutionized jazz with new melodies and concepts; Max matched these musical geniuses with startling rhythms and reactive, action-packed drumming that still influences drummers on a profound level today….

With several projects coming to fruition, Carmine Appice seems poised to reclaim his throne as one of the baddest heavy rock drummers ever….

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was the most popular jazz group of that time. “Take Five,” featuring a drum solo by Joe Morello, was a million-seller. This group toured the world playing concerts instead of location club gigs. I can’t think of one jazz group today that approaches the level of …

Rick Marotta is no stranger to MD readers. And he’s certainly familiar to anyone who’s had the pleasure to see him play or crack jokes while hosting Yamaha’s Groove All Star show….

Billy Hart is one of the unsung giants of jazz. He’s recorded over six hundred albums, including seminal dates with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Joe Zawinul, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Hank Jones, Pat Martino, Charles Lloyd, Dave Liebman, and most recently, heavy hitters like …

Drummer Kevin Frank, singer Walt Lafty, bassist Brian Weaver, and guitarists Nick Perri and Mark Melchiorre of Silvertide created quite a buzz in their hometown of Philadelphia. In fact, the band was so hot, it led to an all-out label bidding war that veteran music mogul Clive Davis won. That’s …

Billy Hart is one of the unsung giants of jazz. He’s recorded over six hundred albums, including seminal dates with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz, Joe Zawinul, Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Hank Jones, Pat Martino, Charles Lloyd, Dave Liebman, and most recently, heavy hitters like …

Darren Lyons wasn’t in a rush to quit his day gig as a New York City club employee back in the early ’80s. One day Peter Erskine would be setting up his kit. The next it might be Steve Jordan or Al Foster. Then, at the end of the night, …

The scene: a cold night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at North On Sixth, a multi-level hole in the wall jook joint where the bathroom graffiti is more political than obscene. Attracting a crowd of Manhattan intellectuals and Brooklyn deadheads, North On Sixth is tonight showcasing Ben Perowsky’s Moodswing Orchestra. A collection …

Like all the masters of psychedelic pop, The Flaming Lips blow your mind with the most ordinary of devices. These seem-to-be eccentrics, who’ve recently won a Grammy for the instrumental “Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia),” are really just a bunch of hard-working regular guys, using modest tools: a …