December 2020 – Volume 44 • Number 12

Simon Phillips

On Reading and Four-on-the-Floor “Not from Here” is one of the songs on a DVD/download titled The Gannin Arnold Project that Drum Channel produced featuring Gannin Arnold, Tim Landers, and Billy Mohler, along with five guest drummers: Taylor Hawkins, Jimmy…

What Now?

The Four E’s As I write this, we are smack dab in the middle of the COVID crisis. This pandemic has affected us all now for many months. I mention this because it’s had a massive impact on musicians working…

Khari Parker (1974–2020)

Drummer Khari Parker passed away on June 27. He was forty-six. Widely respected for his diverse musical skills and top-flight professionalism, Parker was a first-call player for many of the top bandleaders and producers in Chicago and throughout the country.…

Simon Phillips

Showbiz history is dotted with “triple-threat” performers who were top-flight actors, singers, and dancers, from Gene Kelly to Judy Garland to Sammy Davis Jr. to Beyoncé. Rarer still are those who can boast extraordinary performance and technical skills, bona fide…

In the Studio with Drummer/Producer Evan Hutchings

Evan Hutchings made the move from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Nashville in 2006, enrolling at Middle Tennessee State with a plan to be a studio musician. “I wanted to be Steve Jordan,” he says. “That was the goal.” Like many…

Get on the Good Foot!

Hi-Hat Comping Riffs in 3/4 Welcome to the second part of this three-part series on hi-hat comping. In this lesson we’ll explore repetitive hi-hat motifs in 3/4. The phrases included here are intended to help develop dynamic balance between the…

December 2020 – Volume 44 • Number 12

Gene Krupa

The Swing Era’s Brightest Star For this series, we’d be very remiss if we didn’t discuss the great swing drummer Gene Krupa. Gene was one of the most prominent people to bring drums to the forefront in an ensemble. Prior…

Wood or Nylon Tip?

Nylon! Lasts much longer than wood (so you save cash!), and you never have to worry about a chipped stick tip on a ride cymbal. I also play darker cymbals, so the nylon tips add some extra clarity rather than…

The D.I.Y. Guide to Drums by Lisa Schonberg

While it was always a quirky addition to pedagogic literature, this hugely expanded 2020 volume retains the handmade charms of the original ’zine and leverages the author’s years of teaching experience to deliver an approachable, delightful roadmap for beginners and…

Download December 2020 Issue

The Modern Drummer November 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 12, comes in two versions the print version and the extended digital version that includes bonus articles and was used to create our new flipbook. The flipbook experience is…

Nigel Olsson’s ’70s/’80s-Era Slingerland Drumkit

While the legendary Elton John drummer has been a DW drums endorser for years—the company famously built him a custom kit for the pop star’s 2012 Million Dollar Piano Las Vegas residency that displays the badge of the Royal Air…

Chris Frantz’s Remain in Love

The Talking Heads never fit neatly into the grimy mid-’70s New York punk scene that bore the Voidoids, the Ramones, and Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers. Transplants from the Rhode Island School of Design, the band’s initial clean-cut aesthetic ran contrary to…

The Classic Recordings of Ginger Baker, Part 3: The Solo Albums

Following a prolific period when Ginger Baker made his name with Cream, Blind Faith, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, and collaborated with Fela Kuti, the mid ’70s found the drummer setting up a recording studio in Africa, playing polo, trying…

Terry Bozzio

I knew I had to make my own statement or go on for the rest of my life depending on someone else to be the creative genius. I didn’t want to live with myself that way. It’s funny, in the…

Marla Leigh

Having “good time” can mean many things to a musician. For this veteran frame drummer, waiting for the right moment to execute a plan, even if that means years, can turn out to be the best decision. For twenty years,…

Playing to Type

People like to put other people in psychological boxes, and boxes within those boxes: Being an artist takes a certain kind of personality. And among artists, your average actor is said to be like this, while a musician is like…

Vic Firth Re-Mix Brushes

A quartet of interchangeable implements for varying degrees of attack, tone, and volume. Vic Firth recently expanded its catalog with four pairs of uniquely designed Re-Mix brushes/rods made from different types of organic material, ranging from soft and subtle broomcorn…

Drum City Guitarland

Wheat Ridge, Colorado A former professional drummer who once played drums for Frank Sinatra, Ronny Kae lived and breathed drums. In 1964, with only $50 in his pocket, Kae moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Colorado, where he bought a…

Remembering Neil Peart

Part 4: “YYZ” This transcription is from the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert where Neil Peart played a big band version of the legendary Rush instrumental track “YYZ.” The introduction was conducted and written in 5/4. The main melody is in…