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December 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 12

This month we’ll check out a challenging coordination study. The goal of this routine is to become comfortable playing any pattern leading with either side of the body.
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Articles in December 2017

Roy Mayorga With Stone Sour

With the hot new album Hydrograd in hand and health issues put well behind him, the drummer is amped to be back on the road for Stone Sour’s headlining tour.

by Kim Kicks
Oct 31, 2017

Mark Guiliana

Touring is tough. And the ordeal of modern flying has upped the headache factor. But Mark Guiliana has learned to deal: He’s traveling ultra-light and loving it. The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet is touring the U.S. and Europe in support…

by Jeff Potter
Oct 31, 2017

Black Swamp - Dynamicx Sterling, Live!, and BackBeat Snares

Pristinely crafted wood-shell drums for any professional situation.

by Michael Dawson
Oct 31, 2017

John Aldridge

The famed engraver, drum tech, and vintage enthusiast helped start a movement.

by Harry Cangany
Oct 31, 2017

Justin Brown

Thirty-three-year-old Oakland, California, native Justin Brown is an extremely busy bicoastal musician whose drumming with Thundercat, Gerald Clayton, Christian McBride, Stefon Harris, Kenny Garrett, Esperanza Spalding, and Vijay Iyer is simply a foretaste of his brilliant debut album as a…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Paul La Raia
Oct 31, 2017
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Yamaha - Rydeen RDP2F5 Drumset

An excellent entry-level option with quality sound and sturdy hardware.

by Michael Dawson
Oct 31, 2017

Queens of the Stone Age’s Jon Theodore

It’s been four years since the esteemed ex–Mars Volta drummer began playing in QotSA. Now we’ve been gifted with the multifarious Villains, and at long last we get to hear what he sounds like on a full-length record with the…

Story by David Ciauro | Photos by Andreas Neumann
Oct 31, 2017

Learn to Love Easy

There’s a folksy old saying that goes something like, “People sure do make things more difficult than they need to.” We’ve all made that observation at one time or another about others—and, let’s be honest, at times we even make…

by Adam Budofsky
Oct 31, 2017

John Blackwell Jr.

On July 4, the drumming world suffered a heavy blow with the passing of John Blackwell Jr. Known for his deep pocket, powerful playing, and visual flash, Blackwell was a renowned performer and educator whose work included tours and recordings…

Story by Drew Schultz | Photo by Miguel Monroy
Oct 31, 2017

Flowing Diddles, Triple Strokes, and Paradiddles

Essential Motions for Smoother Transitions

by Bill Bachman
Oct 31, 2017

Eli Keszler

When the Brooklyn-based performer and composer Eli Keszler settles in behind a drumkit, it’s likely that he’s given as much thought to the space he’s playing in as the notes he’s filling it with. “As a composer it’s essential that…

Story by Keith Carne | Photos by Brendan Burdzinski
Oct 31, 2017
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2017 DCI World Championship Results

Capping the seventh undefeated season in their sixty-year history, the Blue Devils, based in Concord, California, won a record-breaking eighteenth title this past August 12 at the Drum Corps International World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Coinciding…

Text and photos by Lauren Vogel Weiss
Oct 31, 2017

Roy McCurdy

On playing on the classic 1963 album Sonny Meets Hawk! I’d been working with Sonny Rollins for about a year prior to recording that album. Sonny was such a strong player that he made me play strong. He loved Coleman…

Interview by Bob Girouard
Oct 31, 2017

Rhythmic Conversions - Part 5: Brazilian Grooves and the Half-Note Triplet

In this lesson we’ll superimpose a new tempo over an existing pulse using a half-note-triplet subdivision. We’ll then manipulate the subdivision to create Brazilian grooves in the new tempo. I recommend that you practice these patterns with a metronome and…

by Steve Fidyk
Oct 31, 2017

Dressing Up Your Fills

Fresh Ideas to Kick Off the Band

by Powell Randolph
Oct 31, 2017

Sonor Swinger

When the indie rock group Faux in Love went into the Guilford Sound studio in Guilford, Vermont, to record its latest record, drummer Bruce Black decided to bring this vintage, late-1960s Sonor Swinger setup. According to Black, and confirmed to…

Modern Drummer
Oct 31, 2017

What’s Your Favorite Prog Drumming Record?

To coincide with this month’s feature on twelve heartland prog-rock drumming albums, we asked our readers and social media followers for their own favorite prog records. Plenty of choices featuring drum legends such as Bill Bruford, Neil Peart, and Phil…

Modern Drummer
Oct 31, 2017

Dennis Bryon

Since the mid-’70s, Dennis Bryon’s hypnotic grooves have been responsible for luring most of the civilized world’s population onto the dance floor. Bryon accomplished this feat by playing with one of the most successful groups of all time, the Bee…

Interview by Zoro
Oct 31, 2017
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Peter Magadini’s Polyrhythmic Life

Given that rhythm is the playground of drummers, polyrhythms seem to have a particular resonance. The possibilities of two against three, three against four, and beyond are continually explored in jazz, rock, and other styles. For many a drummer across…

by Martin Patmos
Oct 31, 2017

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