February 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 2
On 01st Feb 2018
Articles in February 2018
Italian Vintage Drums and Cymbals
It’s logical that the elevated interest in vintage drums that we’ve experienced in the past couple decades has focused largely on instruments of American origin. Jazz and rock ’n’ roll, the two most significant styles of music that have exploited…
Steve Nisbett of the Iconic Reggae Band Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse, featuring Steve “Grizzly” Nisbett, second from right This story originally ran in the August 2012 issue of Modern Drummer. He barely knew what to do with a reggae groove when he started his climb to the…
Tony Newman
Inspired by the rebellious sounds of pioneering rock ’n’ rollers such as Bill Haley and Little Richard, the barnstorming British drummer Tony Newman developed a slashing, swinging, hard-driving style that met the considerable demands of the breakneck creative pace set…
Matt Wilson - The Ambassador of Unvention
An experienced pursuer of the unfamiliar, and a compassionate leader who’s unafraid to unleash, the eternally curious drummer carves a unique way along his journey of musical discovery—all the while bringing as many of us along as he can. During…
Booker Stardrum
The drummer, who grew up in a household steeped in top-level twentieth-century classical music performance, has built up an impressive résumé featuring some of the most compelling experimental pop and rock groups of the past decade. He’s also released an…
Sonny Emory
On the advantage of formal study. Formal study is paramount for any drummer who’s looking to be versatile enough to sustain a career. Unless you happen to be lucky enough to be in a band that’s already successful. But being…
Yamaha Drums Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary, Tyshawn Sorey Receives MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Sabian Appoints New Director of Research and Product Development, and more!
Tommy Aldridge Yamaha Drums Celebrates Fiftieth Anniversary This past September 30, Yamaha Drums celebrated its fiftieth anniversary at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California. More than 400 guests attended the event, which featured an interactive exhibit of current and legacy…
Understanding and Utilizing Fear
The great actor/comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, “According to most studies, people’s number-one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. This means that to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket…
Around and Around We Go
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already turned the corner toward another year, and Modern Drummer is celebrating forty-two years of publishing in 2018. While that pales in comparison to the 4.54 billion times this rock we live on has…
Tailor-Made Top Hat
Chuck Riebling of Ellicott City, Maryland, started putting this kit together in 2004 after purchasing four blank maple Keller shells. He then brought the drums—a 10-ply 7x13 snare, 6-ply 8x12 and 14x14 toms, and a 10-ply 14x20 bass drum—to vintage…
Can Feel Be Taught, or Is It a Gift?
Can Feel Be Taught, or Is It a Gift? Unlike certain aspects of drumming, suchas timing, technique, and dynamics, developing a drummer’s sense of groove or feel can be somewhat of an ambiguous task. Even more obscuring is the debate…
The George Way Drum Company
George Way may not be a household name to all drummers, but he was one of the greatest innovators in American drum history. From his first venture, Advance Drum Company, to working with George B. Stone, Leedy, Amrawco, Slingerland, Rogers,…
Vater - Acorn Tip and Player’s Design Drumstick Additions
Since first launching as an independent brand twenty-five years ago, Vater has grown into one of the world’s leading drumstick manufacturers, in part due to its partnership with key high-profile artists, but also because of its smart strategy to focus…
Bebop Syncopation
In this lesson we’ll build on the concepts we explored in the April 2017 issue by taking a look at the drumming style of jazz legend Philly Joe Jones and applying his ideas to Ted Reed’s seminal book Syncopation. We’ll…
DW - 5000 Series Lowboy Hi-Hat
Before the modern hi-hat existed there was a device that allowed early drumset players to control a pair of small crash cymbals with a pedal. This aptly named lowboy extended a foot or so above the floor, which helped keep…
The Fundamentals of 3/4 Rock
In 4/4 Western music—whether rock or jazz—the backbeat is usually played on beats 2 and 4. In 12/8, the backbeat often falls on the 8th-note counts of beats 4 and 10. Typical backbeat placement in 4/4 and 12/8 is notated…
Elizabeth Goodfellow With Iron & Wine
This past August 25, the singer-songwriter Sam Beam—better known by the moniker Iron & Wine—released his eighth full-length album, Beast Epic. For the current tour in support of the effort, Beam recruited drummer and backup vocalist Elizabeth Goodfellow to supply…
Led Zeppelin book, Carl Palmer DVD, Peter Erskine, Todd Sucherman, and more!
MULTIMEDIA Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs by Martin Popoff This survey of the legendary rock band’s studio albums falls short of getting to the heart of drummer John Bonham’s gifts, so let’s take the opportunity to paint…
James Cassells on Asking Alexandria’s Asking Alexandria
A little more than a year after reuniting with original lead singer Danny Worsnop, the genre-straddling heavy rock group Asking Alexandria released its fifth studio album this past December 15. Partly inspired by the reunion with Worsnop, the rested and…
