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July 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 7

This gorgeously kept example of 1970s drum history comes to us from Orange County, California, drummer Thomas Smith, who originally purchased the Rogers Block-finish setup as a nine-piece kit. “I was very busy in cover bands, traveling throughout California,” Smith explains, “so I decided to scale down and modify it over the years with Tama and Pearl hardware and Paiste and Sabian cymbals.”
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Articles in July 2017

Favorite 1960s Drum Tracks?

As we were taking a look back at some of the most iconic drummers and performances of 1967 for this month’s cover feature, we wanted to find out which tracks our readers and social media followers felt marked the greatest…

Reader Responses
May 31, 2017

A New Perspective - Displacing Three-Over-Four Polyrhythms

https://vimeo.com/219138001 A three-over-four polyrhythm is comprised of sets of three equally spaced notes and four equally spaced notes that occupy the same timeframe. Typically both sides of the polyrhythm start together on the same note and utilize the same subdivision.…

Aaron Edgar
May 31, 2017

Yuval Lion

Enjoying a long run at New York’s Public Theater, the rock opera Joan of Arc: Into the Fire features a striking young actress/vocalist adorned in chain mail, sixteen male dancer/singers, and a rock band that pumps out David Byrne’s original…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by John Fell
May 31, 2017

The Doors’ John Densmore

Tapping Into Infinity

Story by Adam Budofsky | Photos by Alex Solca
May 31, 2017
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Triplet Fills - Swinging Your Phrases

https://vimeo.com/218509663 Younger drummers sometimes struggle with triplet phrases, as there are few styles of popular music today that employ triplets as a basis for the feel. However, we have to be ready for these musical situations when they arise. Older…

Rich Redmond
May 31, 2017

Deep Purple’s Ian Paice

On More…or Less? You do the job that is necessary for the track in front of you. The more years I have under my belt playing, the more I realize that less is more. If you don’t need to play…

Interview by Mike Haid
May 31, 2017

RTOM - Black Hole Practice System

Snap-on mesh heads that convert an acoustic kit to a low-volume rehearsal set in seconds.

Michael Dawson
May 31, 2017

Drum Center of Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Interview by Patrick Berkery
May 31, 2017

Remo - Classic Fit and P3 Felt Tone Drumheads

No more struggling to fit skins on oversized vintage snare and tom shells or wrestling with testy felt strips to achieve a classic fluffy/punchy kick tone.

Michael Dawson
May 31, 2017

1938-41 Slingerland Hollywood Boulevard Outfit

Most of today’s drumkits include at least one rack tom, a floor tom, a hi-hat, and a ride cymbal. But back in 1938, renowned American drum manufacturer Slingerland’s most popular setup, the Hollywood Boulevard Outfit, came only with a bass…

Harry Cangany
May 31, 2017

Awolnation’s Isaac Carpenter

“When we were rehearsing for the latest album,” says modern pop group Awolnation’s drummer, Isaac Carpenter, “Masters of Maple owner Sahir Hanif brought his bell brass snare, and it seemed like our band sounded twenty-five-percent better. You can hit it…

Sayre Berman
May 31, 2017
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Spaun 20th Anniversary Kit, PDP Daru Jones New Yorker Kit, TRX Cymbals and More!

TRX Special Edition AX Cymbals The new Special Edition AX cymbals feature a bright, powerful sound that is recommended for contemporary rock, pop, Latin, and R&B. Made from handcrafted, hand-hammered B20 bronze, the brighter tone of the new AX models…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2017

UFIP - Class and Vibra Series Cymbals

Centrifuge-cast for the purest B20-bronze tone possible.

Michael Dawson
May 31, 2017

1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 5: Challenging Rudimental Approaches

https://vimeo.com/219135230 The longer I play the drums, the more I appreciate and value the time I can spend on only a snare or pad. Let’s dive into a few concepts to improve our overall technique. Here’s the rhythm we’ll be…

Libor Hadrava
May 31, 2017

Swing Interpretations - Modern Groove Applications

There’s an interesting relationship between two-note (binary) and three-note (ternary) subdivisions that can help you develop better vocabulary and feel on the drumset. To understand this relationship, play an 8th-note triplet with your right hand while playing a straight 8th-note…

Stephane Chamberland
May 31, 2017

Swinging London

THE ZOMBIES and THE MOODY BLUES might have originated in St. Albans and Birmingham, respectively, but few groups more fully captured the urbane and artsy edge of the British Invasion’s London HQ—even if one band was on its way up and the other on its way out.

by Ilya Stemkovsky and Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017

On Ringo Starr

The Shock of the New

by Billy Amendola
May 31, 2017

The Drum Thing

“The most exciting thing,” photographer Deirdre O’Callaghan says, “is to be around passionate people with a drive to master an instrument. It’s truly magical.” That drive and passion come across crystal-clear in the images and words of the ninety-six drummers…

Text by Armine Iknadossian and Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017
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Playing Melodically - Part 2: Freddie Hubbard’s Solo on “Make It Good”

https://vimeo.com/214234350 Last month we took a jazz melody, Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce,” and implied its melodic rhythm on the snare. This month we’ll phrase trumpet great Freddie Hubbard’s solo on “Make It Good” from the 1967 Duke Pearson album The…

Peter Erskine
May 31, 2017

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