December 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 12
On 01st Dec 2017
Articles in December 2017
Modern Drummer 2018 Readers Poll
Make your voice heard in the most important poll in the drumming world! Voting is open November 1-24, 2017. Hall of Fame Jimmy Cobb Roger Hawkins Levon Helm Danny Seraphine Clyde Stubblefield Studio Jay Bellerose Matt Chamberlain Steve Jordan Miles…
Black Swamp - Dynamicx Sterling, Live!, and BackBeat Snares
Pristinely crafted wood-shell drums for any professional situation.
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…
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…
John Aldridge
The famed engraver, drum tech, and vintage enthusiast helped start a movement.
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…
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.
Matt Greiner on August Burns Red’s Phantom Anthem
Pinpoint precision, burning chops, and odd time signatures abound on the veteran metalcore group’s latest offering.
Los Cabos - White Hickory, Red Hickory, and Maple Drumsticks
Top-notch products from a smaller Canadian company with big-time aspirations.
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…
12 Heartland Prog Albums
In the 1970s, defiant artists native to America’s erroneously labeled “flyover country” developed thriving and idiosyncratic music scenes far from the media glare of the coasts, in cities as unlikely as Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky. Here we present…
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…
New Gear from Tama, Ahead, Remo and Wuhan!
Tama Lars Ulrich Worldwired Starclassic Drumkit As part of the Starclassic series, this six-piece limited-edition replica kit features 8-ply/7mm maple bass drums and 6-ply/5mm maple toms. This pro-level instrument has the same purple finish as the kit Lars uses on…
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…
Flowing Diddles, Triple Strokes, and Paradiddles
Essential Motions for Smoother Transitions
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…
Dave Weckl, Omar Hakim, D'Addario and More!
Dave Weckl Launches Online Drum School Fusion legend Dave Weckl recently launched an online school that includes HD video lessons, play-along packages, and exclusive live footage and lessons from current tours. Courses include hand and foot technique and drum tuning.…
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…
The Psychedelic Furs’ Paul Garisto
Paul Garisto joined the iconic post-punk band the Psychedelic Furs in late 1983 and remained with them until early 1988. After that initial run with the band, he toured and recorded the album Instinct with Iggy Pop, contributed to albums…
