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Keith Moon






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Note: Some MD articles are only available in pdf format. Those articles do not appear in this list. Subscribers to Digital and All-Access can view every Modern Drummer issue in their available formats. Browse all MD issues from our archive here.
February 2022:
Reissue of Keith Moon’s “Pictures of Lily” Drum Set

Keith Moon’s original 1967 “Pictures of Lily” Premier drum set was not only visually stunning, it was also likely the first customized-graphic kit put into use by a major rock act. Premier’s in-house publication, Talking Drums, states that Moon approached Promotions Manager Phil Franklin with the idea of a pop-art …


December 2021:
Keith Moon Elected to Hall of Fame in 1982

Excerpted from the September 2003 issue In his last interview, published posthumously in October 1978, Keith told International Musician and Recording World, “You can’t work out things too much. We do certain build-ups and things, but you can run into a danger of becoming an automaton if you do everything …


September 2020:
MODERN DRUMMER SEPTEMBER 2020 COVER
What Was Your First Favorite Drum Record?
Reader Platform September 2020

Vivid by Living Colour. Will Calhoun plays masterfully and with tons of power. It was perfect: playable but loaded with nuance.Scott Sparks Manu Katché on Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live. I was around five, and it just blew my mind. That’s when I realized drumming was what I wanted to …


December 2018:
Keith Moon: An Examination

There is a silver lining to the devaluation of recorded music that has accompanied the streaming revolution. Legacy acts and record labels that have grown accustomed to the passive income generated from their old master recordings are continuously returning to the vaults to pad out rereleases of classic albums with …


March 2014:
The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time
50 Greatest Drummers 1

Whose playing endures through the decades? Whose music do we reach for when we want new ideas? When we want to practice? When we want to laugh? Who inspires and delights us most?


April 2013:
Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins on the Who’s Live at Leeds
Stephen Perkins

“No matter how many times you listen to Live at Leeds, it surprises,” says MD Pro Panelist Stephen Perkins, who’s been touring with Jane’s Addiction behind its latest studio album, The Great Escape Artist.


October 1982:
The History of Rock Drumming Part IV
History of Rock Drumming

The British Invasion of the ’60s literally changed the consciousness of the world.


June 1982:
Keith Moon Remembered

Keith Moon gave us laughs, he gave us music, and he gave us himself.


July 2017:
Sounds and Setups

1967 was a year when wild was in. And of the rock bands commanding the world’s attention that year, it didn’t get much wilder than the Who, Cream, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The same could be said for the drummers who made them go—and the kits on which they …


January 2007:
January 2007 – Volume 31 • Number 1

Zak Starkey, Keith Moon, Travis Smith, Joe Russo, Jim Payne, John Fred Young, Aaron Montgomery, Joe Tomino, Joel Stevenett, Kaspar Rast, Sonny Emory, Chick Webb, Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, Terry Bozzio, Carmine Appice


September 2003:
September 2003 – Volume 27 • Number 9

Keith Moon, Adam Deitch, Todd Sucherman, Adam Carson, Joey Kramer, Todd Nance, Jimmy Chamberlin, Dave DiCenso, Jim Christie, Jeremy Hummel, Tiny Kahn, Adrian Young, Raymond Herrera, Ian Paice


January 2001:
January 2001 – Volume 25 • Number 1

Tré Cool, Wuv, Nicko McBrain, Dave Krusen, Phil Ehart, Trey Gray, Steve Gadd, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, Peter Erskine, Neil Peart, Mel Lewis, Roy Burns, Mark Parsons, Rick Van Horn, Tony Williams, Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Tito Puente, Alan Dawson, Gary Chester, Eric Carr, Larrie Londin, Art Blakey, Philly Joe …


September 1998:
September 1998 – Volume 22 • Number 9

Carter Beauford, Billy Martin, Mike Clark, Keith Moon, Paul Deakin, Charlie Benante, Mark Walker, Scott Rockenfield, Joe Birch, Marky Ramone, Mark Rajakovic, Terry Bozzio, Paul Liem,


January 1986:
January 1986 – Volume 10 • Number 1

Louie Bellson, Alan Dawson, Sly Dunbar, Steve Gadd, David Garibaldi, Danny Gottlieb, Omar Hakim, Larrie Londin, Neil Peart, Buddy Rich, Andy Newmark, Jimmy Bralower, Jules Moss, Bill Bruford, Gil Moore, Carl Palmer, John Bonham, Karen Carpenter, Nick Ceroli, Papa Jo Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Roy Knapp, Shelly Manne, Kenny Clare, …


June 1982:
June 1982 – Volume 6 • Number 4

Max Roach, Keith Moon, Vic Firth, Joe Vitale, Chris Parker, Sonny Greer, Mickey Curry, Butch Ballard, Billy Hart, Hal Blaine, Buddy Rich, Rick Marotta, Elvin Jones


February March 1980:
February March 1980 – Volume 4 • Number 1

Horacee Arnold, Billy Hart, Freddie Watts, Alan White, Dave Mattacks, Roberta Crain, Keith Moon, Stanley Spector, Peter Magadini, Andy Newmark, Duffy Jackson, Joe Cocuzzo, Chuck Hughes



Posted: February 8, 2021

Category: News
Thank you to Far Out Magazine for Reminding us how brilliant Ringo Starr is. We Agree!

Credit: AlamyJack Whatley·February 5, 2021 5 isolated drum tracks to prove The Beatles’ Ringo Starr was a genius   Too often has The Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr been the butt of some unkind jokes. Reportedly purported by his bandmate John Lennon, the adage goes that when asked about whether Ringo …


Posted: August 7, 2020

The Who
Category: News
The Who Launch “Join Together @ Home” YouTube Series With Shea Stadium ’82 Show

As part of YouTube’s #StayHome campaign, the Who will launch a six-week celebration of their live performances called Join Together @ Home. The British rock band, in particular its classic lineup featuring singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon, is considered by many as …


Posted: November 13, 2018

Spider
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Spider of Wank in On The Beat

Hey guys and girls, it’s Spider from Wank. My group has been a part of the Orange County music scene for more than twenty-two years now.


Posted: April 17, 2018

Danny Wagner
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On The Beat with Danny Wagner of Greta Van Fleet: Talks Influences, Songwriting, and Music Muscle

Hello Modern Drummer readers! Danny Wagner here. I play drums for the band Greta Van Fleet and am a long-time reader of the magazine. I’m honored to write an “On The Beat,” especially as such a young musician.


Posted: November 9, 2017

Brandon Crook
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On The Beat with Brandon Crook of the Sherlocks: Talks Debut Album and Upcoming Tour

Hello Modern Drummer readers, I’m Brandon Crook, drummer for the Sherlocks. Our debut album Live For The Moment came out this past August and finished number six on the charts.


Posted: June 13, 2017

Tyler West Bryan Adkins
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat with Percussionist Tyler West and Drummer Bryan Adkins of Super Doppler

Tyler West What’s up, Modern Drummer readers! My name is Tyler West, but most people call me Teeter, and I’ve been the percussionist in psychedelic rock ’n’ soul band Super Doppler since tenth grade. From banging on pots and pans in the kitchen as a youngster to getting my first …


Posted: March 21, 2017

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Featured, On the Beat
On the Beat with Heath Fields from Shallow Side: Talks Beginnings, Overcoming Adversity, and New Album

Hello fellow MD readers. My name is Heath Fields and I’m the drummer for the band Shallow Side, from Cullman, Alabama. It’s an honor to be a part of the On the Beat family!


Posted: January 19, 2017

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat with Jared Evan: Talks Influences and New Album

Hey, MD! 

I’m Jared Evan and I’m a singer, songwriter, rapper, producer, and drummer. I’m twenty-six years old and have been playing the drums since I was six.


Posted: December 7, 2016

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat with Maxx Morando of the Regrettes: Talks Recording and Debut Album

Hey MD! I’m Maxx Morando, drummer of the Regrettes. I’m eighteen years old and have been playing drums since I was eight and joined the School of Rock in Hollywood. I met some of my bandmates there, three of whom are Sage, Genessa, and Lydia of the Regrettes. My main …


Posted: November 30, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Featured
Monte Yoho on the Outlaws’ Legacy Live

The Outlaws are one of the premier bands associated with the Southern-rock movement of the ’70s, and drummer Monte Yoho was with the group—dubbed Florida’s Guitar Army—at the very beginning. Early hits like the Yoho co-write “There Goes Another Love Song,” the classic update of the famous 1948 cowboy tale …


Posted: September 29, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, On the Beat
On Tour: Tony Leone With the Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Longtime New York City drummer Tony Leone is currently on the road with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.


Posted: June 2, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Web Exclusive
On Tour: Cage the Elephant’s Jared Champion

For ten years, Jared Champion’s backbeat-infused, no-frills grooves have propelled the alternative chart-crushers Cage the Elephant. The group’s current tour runs through August, with additional select dates in September and October.


Posted: May 27, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, News, News and Events
Guitarist Paul Gilbert on Mike Portnoy

Mr. Big founder and ex-Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert is releasing his seventeenth solo album today, ‘I Can Destroy’, featuring Thomas Lang on drums. Gilbert has performed in a number of musical projects over the years with Mike Portnoy, including the drummer’s Beatles tribute group Yellow Matter Custard, which played …


Posted: April 27, 2016

Drummer Carmine Appice behind the kit
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat With Carmine Appice: Stick It!

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….


Posted: April 27, 2016

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat With Carmine Appice: Stick It!

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….


Posted: March 31, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Web Exclusive
Tim Wyskida of Blind Idiot God on Before Ever After

Modern Drummer sat down with drummer Tim Wyskida, formerly of the doom/avant-garde band Khanate, to get the lowdown on his drumming, the tracking of Before Ever After, and the band’s strangely sophisticated mixture of drone, noise, funk, prog rock, dub, and a host of other genres.


Posted: January 18, 2016

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
On the Beat With Josean Orta of Fit For an Autopsy: Motivated to Innovate

Hello, music and drums have been crawling through my veins since I was five years old. I remember scavenging my house to find anything that would resonate when struck and use it to create music while driving my parents insane in the process. Some kids are forced to learn to …


Posted: September 15, 2015

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Web Exclusive! Joe Walsh’s Joe Vitale: Practice Tips and Influences

Joe Vitale is currently touring with Joe Walsh as well as starring in the movie Ricki and the Flash, featuring Meryl Streep. We continue talking with Joe about a few practice tips as well as some of his influences….


Posted: March 24, 2015

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Drummer Blog: the Blues Magoos’ Geoff Daking Talks Greenwich Village, Engineering, and Session Work

Hey drummers! I’m Geoff Daking of the Blues Magoos. I started playing in the early ’60s in Delaware. When I was in high school I came to New York City on weekends to see Monk, Cannonball, and Coltrane with those great drummers like Elvin Jones. I moved to Greenwich Village …


Posted: February 20, 2015

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Drummer Blog: The Bots’ Anaiah Lei on Incorporating Jazz and Other Musical Styles

Hi, guys and girls! My name is Anaiah Lei, and I drum for a band called the Bots, from Los Angeles, California. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I’ve been drumming for about eleven years. I joined the Bots not too long after it started and have …


Posted: January 16, 2015

Category: Clinics and Events, News, News and Events
California Music Fest Combines John Bonham, Randy Rhoads, and Keith Moon/John Entwistle Tributes

Scheduled to coincide with the 2015 National Association of Music Merchants convention—the NAMM Show—the California Music Fest will present tribute concerts to Led Zeppelin drummer John “Bonzo??? Bonham, Ozzie Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads, and the Who’s great rhythm section, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle.


Posted: August 5, 2014

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Influences: Blondie’s Clem Burke

A band’s fortieth anniversary might find the members in victory-lap, let’s-slow-it-down-a-notch mode. Not so with Blondie. To mark the big four-oh, the group is touring extensively and has released a double-disc package titled Blondie 4(0)-Ever, featuring a collection of new songs called Ghosts of Download along with the album Greatest …


Posted: July 17, 2014

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Rob Rufus of Blacklist Royals

My relationship with the drumkit and all it represents is different than most drummers I know. For me, there is a before, and there is an after.


Posted: April 17, 2014

Category: Clinics and Events, News, News and Events
The Ox and the Loon
Special Event Honoring the Who’s John Entwistle and Keith Moon This April 24

Tichy/Sutton Productions will present “The Ox and the Loon: A Night of Rhythmic Lunacy??? in honor of John Entwistle and Keith Moon of the Who on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California….


Posted: April 11, 2014

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Andrew Weber of Green or Blue

I’ve been drumming for the past ten years, and it has been the most rewarding thing I have done in my life….


Posted: November 27, 2013

Scott Reeder of Fu Manchu and Sun & Sail Club
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Scott Reeder of Fu Manchu and Sun & Sail Club

Hello, fellow bashers, my name is Scott Reeder. (No, not that Scott Reeder—more on that later.) I’ve been playing drums for, oh let’s see, forever, or at least as long as I can remember….


Posted: November 27, 2013

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Scott Reeder of Fu Manchu and Sun & Sail Club

Hello, fellow bashers, my name is Scott Reeder. (No, not that Scott Reeder—more on that later.) I’ve been playing drums for, oh let’s see, forever, or at least as long as I can remember….


Posted: July 18, 2013

Category: Feature Stories, Lessons, MD Education Team
MD Education Team Weighs In On: Tuning (UPDATED)

We asked the members of the MD Education Team to share their thoughts on how they prefer to tune their drums. Here’s what they had to say….


Posted: July 3, 2013

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Producer/Songwriter Marti Frederiksen

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


Posted: April 2, 2013

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Matchbox Twenty’s Paul Doucette Discusses North Track by Track

The May 2013 issue of Modern Drummer magazine features an Update with Matchbox’s Twenty’s Paul Doucette. Here, we continue the conversation about the band’s latest album, North, and Doucette gives his impressions of each track from the record.


Posted: March 28, 2013

Category: Drummers, Issues, News, News and Events
The May 2013 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer

See what’s in the May 2013 issue of Modern Drummer magazine….


Posted: March 18, 2013

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Mike Lloyd of Leogun

My earliest memory of wanting to play drums dates comes from when I was ten years old and riding in the back of my dad’s car.


Posted: March 11, 2013

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Richard Danielson of Vintage Trouble

My name is Richard Danielson, and I’m the drummer for Vintage Trouble. Our music has been described as many things. I like to call it “primitive soul.???


Posted: March 4, 2013

Category: Drummers, Issues, News, News and Events
The April 2013 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Tommy Igoe

Look here to see the contents of the April 2013 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, featuring Tommy Igoe….


Posted: December 19, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Keith Harrison of the Pineapple Thief

Question: What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians? Answer: A drummer! With the prospect of being the butt of such drummer jokes, I have to ask myself the question, “Why did I choose to play drums????


Posted: December 4, 2012

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Dave King of the Bad Plus: Web-Exclusive Interview

An exclusive web-interview with Dave King of the Bad Plus.


Posted: October 26, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Greg Faucher of Animal Talk

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.


Posted: October 5, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
David Halicky of The Vim Dicta

Hey Modern Drummer people! I’m David Halicky. Through drumming I can truly express who I am and how I’m feeling.


Posted: August 27, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Ryan McNulty of the Ugly Club

Hello, MD community! This is the epic tale of Ryan McNulty of the Ugly Club from New Jersey. I’ve played in so many bands and done so many random gigs that it’s hard to even recall half of them.


Posted: July 23, 2012

Category: Album/Song Reviews, Drummers, Reviews
The Smashing Pumpkins Oceania

Our first chance to hear recent Pumpkins inductee Mike Byrne in a long-format scenario. Drummer and band seem energized by the opportunity.


Posted: July 6, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Luke Johnson of Lostprophets

My name is Luke Johnson, and I play drums in the band Lostprophets. We’re currently touring our fifth studio album, Weapons….


Posted: May 18, 2012

Category: Drummers, Multimedia, Videos
Stephen Perkins Performs “Who Are You??? at Guitar Center Clinic (Video)

Check out this video of Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins conducting a Guitar Center Session. In the clip Stephen performs The Who’s “Who Are You,??? paying homage to the late, great Keith Moon.


Posted: April 5, 2012

Category: Drummers, Multimedia, Videos
The Who on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour 1967

Watch the entire performance of The Who on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour from September 16, 1967 in this amazing YouTube video gem.


Posted: March 19, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Tim Walsh of the Stepkids

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…


Posted: March 13, 2012

Category: Feature Stories, Lessons
12 Drumming Myths: Debunking Drum Gospel

Despite the prevalence of educational books, DVDs, and online lessons, most drumming information is still passed down the old-fashioned way: from one player to another, while shooting the breeze at the drum shop. A lot of what we hear, we take at face value, and we repeat these drumming “absolutes??? …


Posted: February 2, 2012

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Alex Van Halen: The Hard-Rock Archetype

After changing its name from Mammoth, Van Halen strutted a glam-punk attitude when it burst onto the national scene in 1978 with its self-titled debut album. Featuring the template-smashing talent of the whammy-bar-happy, two-hand-tapping guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his percussive-dynamo brother, Alex, Van Halen the band, to many, became …


Posted: January 27, 2012

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Lessons, Mind Matters
Mind Matters: The Drummer as Performer/Entertainer

I’ve been drumming with a band for the past five months, and the bandleader recently said I wasn’t performing enough on stage. When I asked what she meant, she said my drumming was fine but I had no personality on stage…


Posted: January 17, 2012

Category: Back Through the Stack, Drummers, Feature Stories
Back Through The Stack
Teddy Campbell

This article originally ran in the September 2005 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.


Posted: December 28, 2011

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Marky Ramone: Punk Legend

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


Posted: December 1, 2011

Category: A Different View, Drummers, Feature Stories
Mike Watt: Pouncing on Opportunities

Mike Watt is a flesh-and-blood superhero to anyone who’s followed the do-it-yourself alternative music scene over the past twenty-five years. This interview originally ran in the December 2006 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.


Posted: November 22, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Grant Hart

Hüsker Dü’s drummer/singer created a template—and quickly broke it—for a generation of alternative rockers.


Posted: October 18, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
J.P. “Thunderbolt” Patterson: Punk Rock Renaissance Man

J.P. “Thunderbolt??? Patterson: Punk Rock Renaissance Man With The Dictators and Richard Lloyd


Posted: October 18, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Ian Paice: Influence

MD Pro Panelist Daniel Glass on the magic of Deep Purple’s Ian Paice.


Posted: October 6, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Multimedia, Videos
Drummer to Drummer: Jimmy Chamberlin and William Mohler (w/ VIDEO)

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


Posted: September 20, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Jimmy Chamberlin: The Ex-Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Takes a New Direction with Skysaw

Chamberlin is focusing on a new band, Skysaw, with whom he gets to revisit drumming concepts he’s long been interested in—but in a distinctly new format. In the November 2011 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, we honor Jimmy’s career accomplishments in the second installment of our Influences feature series. Here …


Posted: September 15, 2011

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Nick Brennan of the Static Jacks

I’m Nick Brennan from the Static Jacks and I’m twenty-one years old. I feel honored to be sharing my drumming experience with you! I started playing the drums in third grade at Wilson Elementary, when the music teacher asked me if I had any musical talent. I told him I …


Posted: September 1, 2011

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Bruce Gary:
Controlled Bombast with the Knack

By injecting powerhouse drumming into a pop song context, the Knack’s late, great skinsman helped kick start a playing style that still rules today.


Posted: August 18, 2011

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Kenney Jones: British Drumming Royalty

Kenney Jones’ timless drumming approach can be heard on classic albums by the Small Faces, Rod Stewart, and the Who. In 2005 Modern Drummer spoke to the drummer about many of his greatest performances.


Posted: August 17, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
RHCP’s Chad Smith

’Tis the season for Chad Smith followers, with new Chili Peppers and Chickenfoot music blowing up all over the place. MD and the Bombastic One recently grabbed some grub and talked about some of his favorite classic-rock albums.


Posted: August 4, 2011

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
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: August 3, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Shawn “Clown??? Crahan

Shawn “Clown??? Crahan is best known as one of the percussionists in the metal-megalith that is Slipknot. But Crahan carries a rich drumming background into his new project, the Black Dots of Death.


Posted: July 28, 2011

Category: A Different View, Drummers, Feature Stories
A Different View with Danny Kortchmar

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.


Posted: July 21, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Jerry Shirley

Read an excerpt from Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley’s brand-new book, Best Seat in the House: Drumming in the ’70s With Marriott, Frampton and Humble Pie.


Posted: July 20, 2011

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Jason McDonald of Strange Karma

Greetings, fellow Modern Drummer fanatics! My name is Jason McDonald, and I’m from Sydney, Australia. It’s an honor to be invited to blog here on MD’s website, especially when you consider that over the years I have managed to collect…


Posted: July 13, 2011

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Marty Beller of They Might Be Giants

Hello, Modern Drummer readers. Marty Beller, drummer for They Might Be Giants, here. In 2000, I got a call from TMBG bassist Danny Weinkauf. We had met through guitarist Dan Miller, who I had toured with in my band Meow. He said they needed a drummer for a show on …


Posted: July 5, 2011

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Joao Lencastre

My name is Joao Lencastre and I was born in Lisbon, Portugal. I started to play the drums at the age of thirteen. Since I started playing I’ve been collaborating with many different groups in all styles of music, including metal, reggae, Afrobeat, electronic, big band, alternative rock, and all …


Posted: July 1, 2011

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
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 21, 2011

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Keith Moon: The One And Only

Few players have come close to the level of unpredictability and invention that Keith Moon exhibited between 1964 and 1978, when he manned the drumset behind the grandest, loudest band of rock’s golden age, the Who….


Posted: June 1, 2011

Category: Feature Stories
A Different View:
Duff McKagan

The Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver founder on the great drummers he’s worked with—including Isaac Carpenter, who tears up The Taking, the third album by Duff’s band Loaded.


Posted: September 27, 2010

Category: Feature Stories
The Drummer: Classic Rock

An educated, entertaining, essential addition to every drummer’s library—and to the history of modern drumming—The Drummer: Classic Rock Collector’s Edition magazine builds on content from Modern Drummer’s Top-selling The Drummer book with expanded coverage of drumming royalty from the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll.


Posted: July 15, 2010

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Jon Fishman: Phish Plays The Rolling Stones

by Michael Parillo n the cover story of the September issue of MD, out now, Phish drummer Jon Fishman holds court on topics ranging from the breakup and reunion of his band to how milking a cow can help you maintain your drumming chops. In this online exclusive interview, he …


Posted: July 5, 2010

Category: Drummers, The Greats
Rat Scabies: The Damned’s Explosive Drummer

When it comes to punk bands, the Damned may be the most influential of them all, and their original drummer Rat Scabies among the most stylishly destructive sticksmen ever. Formed in 1976 in the U.K., the Damned is credited as the first punk band to release a single (“New Rose”) …


Posted: April 29, 2010

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Jason Hartless – Crüe Fest Veteran And More

Hey everyone in Modern Drummer land! My name is Jason Hartless, and I come from The Motor City. I am fifteen years old and have been a drummer for all of my life. I have been fortunate enough to, by the age of fourteen, have already toured or performed with …


Posted: March 29, 2010

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Daughters’ Jonathan Syverson

Hello, humans. My name is Jonathan Syverson, and I’ve never actually written any sort of blog. But as anyone who knows me would tell you, I absolutely LOVE talking about myself, and since Modern Drummer was kind enough to come asking, it would be my pleasure to oblige. Back in …


Posted: November 24, 2009

Category: Feature Stories
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: November 23, 2009

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
J.P. “Thunderbolt??? Patterson

I just released my second solo record, The LP Is Dead, on No Fun Records. Thunderboss: Thunderbolt Patterson With Ross The Boss came out in 2006…


Posted: October 20, 2009

Category: Feature Stories
Drumming On TV

In celebration of the great, sometimes groundbreaking drumming performances of TV’s golden age, we present to you highlights along the illustrious Drumming On TV timeline…


Posted: October 13, 2009

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Gary Foster of The Sunstreak

What’s up, everyone! My name is Gary Foster and I play drums and percussion with the Sunstreak…


Posted: August 30, 2009

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Jes Calcaterra of Billy Boy On Poison

Being the only girl in the band is really intimidating but has its advantages….


Posted: June 29, 2009

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Shout Out Out Out Out’s Gravy and Clint

Shout Out Out Out Out has just finished the second leg of our release tour for Reintegration Time in Canada and the U.S. Time to reintegrate to regular life again!


Posted: June 18, 2009

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Update
Stephen Perkins: Jane’s Addiction

Talking with Perkins, you get the vibe that the L.A.–based rocker’s life is way more than hitting the skins for the duration of a show or recording session….


Posted: June 18, 2009

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Secrets Of Motown: The Tracks Of Their Drums

To go with August’s Motown feature, we offer this reprint of a 1999 MD story that examines the way Uriel Jones, Benny Benjamin, and Pistol Allen got those hit-making drum tones.


Posted: May 19, 2009

Victor Garcia
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Jeremy Enigk's Victor Garcia

Greetings! The first time I sat in front of drums was the day of my thirteenth birthday, when my brother came home at night and surprised me with a fourth-hand drumkit. It was an old black Pearl Forum Series. On this I learned to play, and every day I spent …


Posted: May 19, 2009

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Jeremy Enigk’s Victor Garcia

Greetings! The first time I sat in front of drums was the day of my thirteenth birthday, when my brother came home at night and surprised me with a fourth-hand drumkit. It was an old black Pearl Forum Series. On this I learned to play, and every day I spent …


Posted: February 19, 2009

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Update
Mitch Mitchell: Drummers Weigh In

Mitch Mitchell was not alone in blending jazz and rock drumming styles, but he may have pushed the combo further than anyone who came before him. Here a number of noted drummers provide further insight into Mitch’s influence….


Posted: January 23, 2009

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Update
Ronnie Vannucci: Killer With A Cause

Seeing as he’s from Las Vegas, the home of twenty-four-hour gambling, retina-freezing neon, and spontaneous wedding ceremonies, The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci has a penchant for doing things–to quote a famous Vegas crooner–his way…


Posted: January 12, 2009

Category: Feature Stories, What We're Listening To
Great Drum Parts = GENIUS

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 …


Posted: October 30, 2008

Kill Kill Kill's NaNa : Modern Drummer
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Kill Kill Kill's NaNa

Konnichiwa, everybody! My name is Nanami (a.k.a. NaNa)! I’m from Kagoshima, Japan. I’ve moved to America to take over the US music scene! Ha ha ha! Just kidding! Well—maybe it’s true!? I think US music scene is boring! Everything is about $. Anyway, I moved to LA when I was …


Posted: October 30, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Kill Kill Kill’s NaNa

Konnichiwa, everybody! My name is Nanami (a.k.a. NaNa)! I’m from Kagoshima, Japan. I’ve moved to America to take over the US music scene! Ha ha ha! Just kidding! Well—maybe it’s true!? I think US music scene is boring! Everything is about $. Anyway, I moved to LA when I was …


Posted: October 14, 2008

Oli Hecks : Modern Drummer
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Thenewno2's Oli Hecks

My name is Oli Hecks, from England, currently living in Los Angeles…


Posted: October 14, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Thenewno2’s Oli Hecks

My name is Oli Hecks, from England, currently living in Los Angeles…


Posted: October 8, 2008

Richard Hoak of Total F**king Destruction & Brutal Truth
Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Richard Hoak of Total F**king Destruction & Brutal Truth

My name is Richard Hoak, and I’ve been playing drums since 1992. Currently I’m playing with Total F**king Destruction and with Brutal Truth.


Posted: October 8, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Richard Hoak of Total F**king Destruction & Brutal Truth

My name is Richard Hoak, and I’ve been playing drums since 1992. Currently I’m playing with Total F**king Destruction and with Brutal Truth.


Posted: October 5, 2008

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Matt Barrick of the Walkmen

All drummers should add seeing The Walkmen’s Matt Barrick playing “The Rat??? live to their “bucket lists.”


Posted: July 30, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Donnie Yal of the Sammies

I, as you can read above, am Donnie Yale. I play drums in the NC band The Sammies. (NC is better b/c we are on top for all of you reading this in SC). Our sophomore album, Sandwich, is set for release on September 23….


Posted: July 9, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Howie Diamond of Low Vs. Diamond

We’ve been road warriors the past few months, playing shows in anticipation of our debut album coming out this summer. It's been a great run so far, and I would never in my wildest dreams have thought that I could make a living playing drums. Not that I am yet….


Posted: July 7, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Sean Davidson from Blacklist Union

This coming July 22, my band, Blacklist Union, are set to release our new album, Breakin Bread With The Devil, produced by Chris Johnson (Evanescence, Josh Todd) and Anthony Valli of Crazy Town.


Posted: April 29, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Joshua Barnhart of Port O’Brien

The hum of bells in a monastery; the human heartbeat. The cosmic vibration of aum. Rhythm is what creates our existence, and what keeps it interesting….


Posted: April 4, 2008

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Update
Rick Buckler

There have always been certain British rock bands who’ve been treated like deities at home, but who failed to translate to the American market….


Posted: March 17, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Steve Mehlman

Hi. Steve Mehlman reporting from Cleveland. I’ve been playing drums for a long time….


Posted: February 1, 2008

Category: Caught in the Web, Drummers, Feature Stories
Ira Elliot: Caught in the Web

Nada Surf is one of the smartest, freshest-sounding rock bands of the past ten/fifteen years. And like they say, behind every brilliant band is an equally crafty drummer. Kit man Ira Elliot is as sharp as they get.


Posted: December 13, 2007

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Brian Kelley

It can be a difficult task putting together a top-ten list, as most musicians have extraordinarily large record collections. But I feel that every musician has a top-ten list, and it can define who you are as a musician….


Posted: December 5, 2007

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Dee Pop of The Bush Tetras

As with most people around my age, my heroes were Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa (who both seemed to turn up regularly on variety television shows), Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts, Mitch Mitchell…


Posted: August 16, 2007

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Mike Portnoy: In Constant “Progressive” Motion

Mike Portnoy may very well be the hardest-working drummer in the business. His recent three-DVD set, In Constant Motion, speaks for itself. The undisputed king of progressive metal never sleeps!


Posted: July 16, 2007

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Josh Freese: Time Bandit

Time. Feel. Groove. Pulse. For many, these are illusive concepts with multiple meanings. Does a heavy metal drummer “feel??? the pulse in the same way as a pop drummer?…


Posted: November 16, 2006

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
The Who’s Zak Starkey: Channeling Keith-And More

As the forty-year-old son of Ringo Starr, most would think that Zak Starkey had been handed stardom on a silver platter. He plays drums with two of the most popular bands in the world, names the late, great Keith Moon as one of his best childhood friends, and is so …


Posted: October 15, 2006

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Stephen Perkins: A Drummer’s Life Less Ordinary

With several projects going at the moment–including two bands, a performance DVD, and several clinic appearances–it’s clear that no one is more committed to drumming than Stephen Perkins….


Posted: June 1, 2006

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
An Interview with Lisa Loeb

The very beautiful and talented singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb talks drums on MD Online….


Posted: October 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Mickey Curry

Not many people get to do exactly what they love and get paid for it – much less with two of the biggest artists in the world. Mickey Curry toured and recorded with Hall & Oates at the peak of their career, laying down a solid backbeat with perfect feel …


Posted: July 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Joey Shuffield of Fastball

Power-pop trio Fastball – bassist/singer Tony Scalzo, guitarist/singer Miles Zuniga, and drummer Joey Shuffield – are clearly excited to have contributed their version of “The Real Me” to the new Who tribute, Substitute, The Songs Of The Who….


Posted: July 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Kevin Franks of Silvertide

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 …


Posted: May 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Update
Ned Brower of Rooney

I saw the California-based pop band Rooney perform live before I was familiar with their music. Besides featuring some very powerful, tasteful drumming, I found them to be extremely melodic, with hooks that stuck in my head for days after the show….


Posted: May 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Drumming With the Velvet Underground, Part 1: Billy Yule

With this week’s news of the passing of singer/songwriter/guitarist Lou Reed, millions of fans are grieving, while millions more people are learning for the first time how gargantuan an influence the New York musician and his ’60s band the Velvet Underground have had on rock music….


Posted: May 19, 2005

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Chris Cester of Jet

The band Jet has released what many consider to be one of the best rock records of the year, Get Born, which features the hit single (and Apple iPod anthem) “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” MD Online recently had the opportunity to speak with drummer Chris Cester on one …


Posted: May 12, 2004

Category: Drummers
Galactic And Garage A Trois’ Stanton Moore

One of the marks of greatness in a musician is that you can recognize him after the first couple of notes.


Posted: May 12, 2004

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Ben Perowsky: Beyond Labels

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 …



Posted: November 23, 2018

Modern Drummer Podcast
Category: Mike and Mike Podcast, Multimedia, Podcasts
MD Podcast Episode 168: Clinics Recap, Travis McNabb, Drumset Ergonomics, Tama Classic Stands, and More

In this episode Mike and Mike discuss legendary classic rock drummer Keith Moon.


Posted: November 16, 2018

Modern Drummer Podcast
Category: Mike and Mike Podcast, Multimedia, Podcasts
MD Podcast Episode 167: Keith Moon, How to Develop Consistency, NickyMoon Cymbals, and More

In this episode Mike and Mike discuss legendary classic rock drummer Keith Moon.