April 2019 Issue – Volume 43 • Number 4

Music As A Game

In his book Effortless Mastery, jazz pianist, composer, and author Kenny Werner wrote, “Don’t forget: Music is something we just made up. It doesn’t actually exist as anything but a game for us.”

Big Brother and the Holding Company’s “Piece of My Heart”

San Francisco circa 1967/68 was home to some of the most successful and forward-thinking rock bands of the time, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring singer Janis Joplin.

Kyle Crane with Neko Case

Crane says that during rehearsals he homed in on tempos and focused on the way Case’s tracks were supposed to feel.

Five-A-Diddles

Throughout their careers, great drummers such as Zigaboo Modeliste, David Garibaldi, and Dave Weckl have opened our imaginations to the possibilities of paradiddles and their inversions.

Ty Segall and GØGGS’ Charles Moothart

A multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles, Moothart has spent the last decade crisscrossing the globe with his impossibly prolific pal Ty Segall, supporting a slew of projects ranging from lo-fi garage rock to glam to psych pop and hardcore punk.

Porter & Davies BC-X Bass Drum Monitoring System

Porter & Davies is a U.K.-based company that manufactures a range of high-quality tactile monitoring systems, including the flagship BC2, the rack-mountable BC2rm, and the portable BC Gigster.

British Drum Company - Lounge Series Drumset

Several personalities from the English drumming community came together to launch the British Drum Company.

New Gear from Vic Firth, Tama, Mapex, CruzTools, Los Cabos, Vater, LP, Gretsch, and more.

New Gear from Vic Firth, Tama, Mapex, CruzTools, Los Cabos, Vater, LP, Gretsch, and more.

Rogers USA Dyna-Sonic Snares

The new Dyna-Sonic snares are designed to be accurate replications of the original wood-shell models made during the company’s heyday in the 1960s.

Amanda Shires’ Jerry Pentecost

When Modern Drummer reached out to catch up with Jerry Pentecost, the drummer filled us in on his impressive performing schedule and concluded, “I’m really just a dude looking for donuts.”

Modern Drummer 2019 Readers Poll Winners

The Foo Fighters’ tandem drummers had another huge year in 2018, with Taylor Hawkins powering the band throughout

Long Live Rock!

Perhaps more than any other band on the planet, Dave Grohl’s post-Nirvana vehicle represents the very heights of grandeur that rock can still attain.

Oh Sees’ Paul Quattrone and Dan Rincon

Since 2015 the Oh Sees have utilized a double-drummer rhythm section, which currently features Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone.

Morgan Ågren Of The Mats/Morgan Band

The career of Swedish drummer Morgan Ågren is proof that you needn’t adhere to typical scenarios to forge a unique professional path.

The Transformer

This creative yet compact setup comes to us from Westminster, California’s Jimmy Tran, and it marks the second time that one of the drummer’s kits has appeared in MD’s featured spotlight.

Sean Lennon on the Claypool Lennon Delirium’s South of Reality

On February 22 the Claypool Lennon Delirium—an alternative psychedelic group that consists of Primus frontman Les Claypool and multi-instrumentalist/drummer Sean Ono Lennon—released their new album, South of Reality.

Eights And Sixes

We’re going to build upon the Eights and Sixes exercise that I introduced in Part 1 of this series by adding double strokes and rimshots into the routine.

Paris_Monster's Josh Dion

New York-based multi-instrumentalist Josh Dion has been honing his own unique slant on the concept with Paris_Monster to push the envelope.

NickyMoon Custom Cymbals

Even with the vast amount of choices on the market, there’s a particularly human element missing. I decided to change that and create my own unique instruments.”

April 2019 Issue – Volume 43 • Number 4