August 2019 Issue – Volume 43 • Number 07

Jim Black — Out Now

Photo by Schindelbeck on Nature Work A jazz vet improvises a wild ride through the blazing new effort by a pair of prolific jazz songwriters. After the fiery, dueling horn intro that opens Nature Work—the newest project from musicians and…

Fredy Studer — Evolving Processes

Following in the lineage of European drumming masters Pierre Favre and Han Bennink, Swiss-born Fredy Studer has deftly employed touch, tone, texture, noise, and rhythm in service of highly drumcentric music that, regardless of its avant-garde nature, communicates a rare…

Kate Gentile

  Photo by Peter Gannushkin Welcoming Complexities Kate Gentile creates a unique sound and style within a demanding musical genre, deftly employing percussion including gongs, almglocken, Indian Noah bells, and Togo bells within highly personal electroacoustic compositions featuring intense improvisation.…

Walk the Moon’s Sean Waugaman

Sean Waugaman says that after playing acrylic drums for years, he was ready to switch to wood when his band, Walk the Moon, joined Muse for its latest tour. The drummer wanted a darker sound that would work well both…

Solid Drums 7x12 Beech and 5x14 Limited-Edition Maple Snares

Solid Drums was founded in 2014 by drummer/ carpenter Christoph Anlauf in an effort to blend his passion for drums and a love of wood. All of Christoph’s instruments are made by hand from only sustainable, locally harvested wood. Barrel-style…

Paiste Signature and Dark Energy Series Additions

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Paiste’s Signature series, which features the company’s proprietary bronze alloy. This new line quickly became a favorite amongst drummers of all styles due to its rich, full, and expressive tones. While the Signature…

Recordings

Calexico and Iron & Wine Years to Burn The follow-up to the revered indie acts’ first collaboration, 2005’s In the Reins, proves that lighting can indeed strike the same place twice. This month we listened to the music—and to drummer…

Slim Jim Phantom — On Tour

with the Stray Cats Rockabilly’s most passionate purveyors hit the road in celebration of their fortieth anniversary. As late teenagers in 1979 on Long Island, New York, guitarist Brian Setzer, bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom formed the…

Anderson .Paak

While performing as opening act on the European leg of Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic tour in 2016, neo-soul sensation Anderson .Paak got some advice. “Bruno told me, ‘Look, if you’re going to do this drummer stuff , you’ve got to…

New Gear From Tama, Simmons, LP, Pearl, Sabian and More!

Tama Starclassic Maple Drumsets in Delmar Wrap Finishes Starclassic Maple drumkits are now offered in eight Delmar wrap finishes. Satin black bass drum hoops with matching inlays are also available for drummers looking for a more classic appearance. Starclassic kits…

Web Exclusive! Blake Fleming on The Book of Rhythm

Drummer and educator Blake Fleming recently self-published The Book of Rhythm, an encyclopedic compendium of rhythmic permutations. The book, which the author hopes will become a reference and creative inspiration for all types of creative musicians, is fascinating and well…

Sweet Spot Fuzion Castle Clutches, Splash Adapter, and Hi-Hat Tambourine

Sweet Spot is a Canadian company owned and operated by machinist and drummer Rob Michl, who began lathing his own stainless-steel hi-hat clutches after growing frustrated with the unreliability and stagnant designs of what was commercially available. Michl started by…

Star Power

History tells us that the first drum star was Gene Krupa. Handsome, likable, energetic, with a near magical ability to bring dancers to the heights of ecstasy with barely more than a pounding floor tom, Krupa undeniably established the iconic…

What’s Your Most Worn-Out Drum Book?

I’ve got quite a few that are falling apart from overuse. Joe Porcaro’s Drumset Method is the most disintegrated of them; it’s where I developed my hand technique back in the day. Aaron Edgar Modern Jazz Drumming by William F.…

Inverted Double Strokes

Variations on the Essential Rudiment When you break down what many drummers play into its simplest and smallest form, you might realize that we mostly employ combinations of singles and diddles. In this lesson, we’ll focus on double-stroke rolls and…

LP Celebrates Fifty-Fifth Anniversary, Will Calhoun Receives Award and Rogers Drum Day

Akingbola (front) and Hidalgo (far right) with Critical Mass Featured percussionists including Giovanni Hidalgo and Sola Akingbola light up a festive night at Ronnie Scott’s. Latin Percussion recently celebrated more than half a century as one of the world’s largest…

August 2019 Issue – Volume 43 • Number 07

Benzel Baltimore

The life of the professional musician is rarely what it seems. People on the outside imagine stars lazing around with family, friends, and adoring fans. While that image has certainly been furthered by a million music videos, there’s a ton…

Deerhunter’s Moses Archuleta

Looked at a certain way, a drummer’s job is about organizing sound into interesting beats—a role Moses Archuleta does with great musicality, idiosyncrasy, and glee. But his affinity for organization goes well beyond the bandstand—in fact, his big-picture approach is…