January 2021 – Volume 45 • Number
His secret to drumming greatness: passion plus musicality.
As a pair of new albums demonstrate, it’s a recipe that never fails him.
Somewhere around the midpoint of “My Own Soul’s Warning,” the lead-off track on the Killers’ new album, Imploding the Mirage, you might find yourself uncontrollably tapping your foot or bobbing your head or even air drumming. That’s because the Killers write infectious, arena-sized anthems that fuse Springsteen-esque melodic hooks with modern, synth-heavy alternative songwriting for an end product that belongs on the radio. But that foot is tapping primarily because of Ronnie Vannucci Jr., the band’s no-nonsense timekeeper who uses “playing for the song” as a personal mantra.
Imploding the Mirage began life when the band moved operations from their Las Vegas home to Utah, before recording eventually moved to Los Angeles. And not only was the studio scenery changing, but the band was forced to create without two of its members, guitarist Dave Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer, who are both on self-imposed hiatuses of varying degrees. It hasn’t seemed to slow the band down, though, with Vannucci and lead singer Brandon Flowers focusing on delivering their best effort with help from new producers and an impressive array of special guests, including Lindsey Buckingham and k.d. lang.
Articles in January 2021
Get on the Good Foot!
Part 3: Hi-Hat Comping in 5/4 Welcome to the third and final part of our lesson on hi-hat comping. This article explores hi-hat rhythm variations in 5/4. The phrases included are intended to help develop dynamic balance between your hi-hat…
Daru Jones
We last heard from him when he was backing Jack White, a rock icon with a deep appreciation for hip-hop. The drummer’s latest project is pure beats-n-rhymes, with a rock-hard soul. For certain drummers, it’s all about playing with a…
Be a Dreamer, and Don’t Stop Believing
I hope all is as well as can be for you in these still uncertain times. Since my last editorial, the world has gone a bit nutty, and we’ve all been going through some changes, frustrations, and fears. We all…
CRITIQUE
RECORDINGS Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic, and Damu the Fudgemunk Ocean Bridges A delightfully swinging hip-hop-meets-jazz excursion that sounds composed yet is completely improvised. Ocean Bridges features tenor great Archie Shepp; his nephew, rapper Raw Poetic; and Earl “Damu the Fudgemunk”…
Roland V-Drums Acoustic Design VAD506 Kit
The ultimate immersive e-drums experience. Can you believe it’s taken forty-plus years for an electronic drumset to emerge that looks and feels nearly identical to an acoustic kit? Well, the time has come, folks. Roland’s new Acoustic Design series of…
Stan Lynch
It’s been thirty years since he recorded with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. But for many drummers, his playing defines the late rocker’s greatest work. Now all those fans have got good reason to celebrate. If you’re having difficulty remembering…
“Color Toys”
This month’s KOTM is one of a number of different setups Brooklyn drummer Joshua Berrios likes to break out, depending on the gig. Joshua Berrios enjoys experimenting with drum setups, and from the photos he sent us, he has a…
Bill Bruford
Part 2: The Go Between While some of his peers from the ’70s were content to rest on their laurels, our man never settled for settling down. Moreover, not only did his appetite for new sensations push his drumming into…
Justin Tyson
Savannah Harris, who we profile elsewhere in this issue, sits with the remarkably daring drummer, who’s commanded our attention with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, and so many other movers and shakers. Among the things we discover? Sometimes it’s about more…
Nick Mason
The long-delayed release of a live album by his new Saucerful of Secrets band provides a good opportunity to catch up with Pink Floyd’s sticksman—much better late than never. This past March, two years after launching Nick Mason’s Saucerful of…
Todd Sucherman - A Smattering of Hits Outside the Prog-Rock Sphere of Styx
Todd Sucherman is one of the modern greats of the drumset. His powerfully precise drumming has been driving the legendary prog-rock band Styx for a quarter century and is still going strong. Todd’s versatility also finds him in great demand…
Savannah Harris
She’s all over the jazz, avant-garde, and crossover scenes, playing gigs with everyone from stately ambassadors like Kenny Barron to the fierce hip-hop collective Standing on the Corner. Here the drummer discusses her ideas about playing and composing—including how kindness…
Doc Sweeney - Pure Series Snare Drums
Three solid-shell snares designed to let the timber speak for itself. The last time we checked in with Rancho Santa Fe, California–based boutique brand Doc Sweeney was in the May 2020 issue, when we reviewed the gorgeous 1920s-inspired Classic series…
Max Roach on Promotion of Dummers
When drummers are playing, horn players should color the way we color behind them. To me, it’s a matter of imagination, and it also has something to do with humility. Drummers have a great deal of humility in order to…
Steve Jordan
Photo by Antoine Sanfuentes He’s brought a timeless elegance to some of the heaviest recordings of the past five decades. Now, in a setting featuring just one other musical compadre, he’s handed us a near-perfect sampler of his many drumming…
Liberty DeVitto’s Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness
When conversations turn to great drummers of the classic-rock era, Liberty DeVitto’s name is invariably near the top of the list. After appearing on the scene in the mid-’70s, the New York native began a thirty-year stint with pop icon…
Single-Headed Toms: Cool or Not?
Very cool, bring them back!Lorenzo Rosmini I greatly prefer single-headed drums.Pete Wilson They provide that classic bark!@welafever The coolest!Pete Bultitude I’m adding 8", 10", and 12" concert toms to add some high-end crack to my 13", 16", and 18" double-headed…
In the Studio with Wes Little
A New York transplant cranking away in Nashville Wes Little moved from New York City to Nashville in 2008. In NYC he attended the Manhattan School of Music to study jazz and performed regularly with several different bands, including Confrontation…
Coordinating the Body
Exercises for Better Alignment In this lesson we’ll explore exercises that can be utilized to strengthen the alignment of your limbs. Although these ideas are designed to help alignment between the hands and feet, they also challenge subdivision accuracy, consistency…
