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Articles in December 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

MD Team
Nov 4, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Stick Technique Revisited

Part 6: Perfect Practice and Building Speed Many drum instructors say, “Play naturally.” The problem with that statement is that we naturally hold on to things tightly. Have you ever seen someone pick up a drumstick for the first time…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Cajon You Dig It?

The owner of this month’s KOTM took the now-ubiquitous percussion instrument to its next logical step. The kit that Luke Ross uses with his all-acoustic band Company of Crows is composed entirely of cajons built by the Croaker Percussion company,…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020
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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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Jonas Brothers’ Jack Lawless

New Jersey native Jack Lawless started out as the drummer of Joe Jonas’s chart-topping alternative-pop group DNCE. When the Jonas Brothers got back together, Lawless got the call for that tour as well. We were able catch up with him…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Steinberg, Peavey and more

Gretsch Brooklyn Series Drumkits Two new Nitron finishes have been added to the Brooklyn series: Blue Burst Pearl and White Marine Pearl. Constructed from 6-ply North American maple and poplar, Brooklyn series drums are finished with 3 mm double-flanged 302…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020
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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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Bill Bruford - Part 1: One of a Kind

Trailblazing West Coast swing drummer Shelly Manne once mused that a true jazz musician never plays it the same way once. Throughout his stellar career, the iconic progressive rock and jazz drummer Bill Bruford had adopted Manne’s paradoxical mantra as…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Childish Gambino’s Dani Markham

With hard-core academic training in her back pocket, the drummer/percussionist has dipped her toes in every imaginable musical scenario—and, crucially, trusted her instincts. Dani Markham lives in perpetual motion. The New York City–based, Louisville, Kentucky–born percussionist/mallet player spent the last…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

Dafnis Prieto

Whether it’s through his recordings, performances, videos, or multiple forms of instruction, the drummer actively seeks to knock down barriers of thought and expression. How can you expand your drumming palette for only seven dollars and in only thirty minutes?…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020
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Centent Cymbals - Ardor, Sparks, and Emperor Series

Handcrafted and highly affordable B20 options from a Chinese company with roots that date back hundreds of years. Centent is a Chinese company that produces high-quality yet competitively priced cymbals out of different bronze alloys, including B8 (8-percent tin/92-percent copper),…

Modern Drummer
Nov 1, 2020

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