January 2021 – Volume 45 • Number
A durable, easy-to-tune option with just the right amount of built-in dampening.
Attack Drumheads has been around since the ’80s, under different ownership. In October 2018, the brand was acquired by Cardinal Percussion of Youngstown, Ohio.
This was my first time playing Attack heads, and I received our demo model from Neuron Percussion, the exclusive distributor for the brand in my native New Zealand. The representative at Neuron described a few innovative features of Attack drumheads. One is the pressure-fitted, glue-less steel locking collar, which is said to make for a louder and more open tone. While the heads are made in Taiwan, all of Attack’s coated models use Dura-Coat material that is manufactured in the USA. Attack’s Baron model utilizes a DynaFlex polyester film, as opposed to the Mylar S material used on its Royal series.
Articles in January 2021
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
DW, DrēmTrigger, Gibraltar, RTOM and more
DW Design Series Additions These drums are offered in standard five-piece configurations with three add-ons: a 7x8 rack tom, and 12x14 and 16x18 floor toms. The shells are said to sound full, resonant, and responsive. Features include True-Pitch tension rods,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Individuality
Part 1: Where Did It Go? Individuality is defined as the unique characteristics and traits that make someone or something one of a kind. I thought a discussion about being yourself was important to bring up, and I will be…
