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July 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 7

Out Now Greg Saunier on Big Walnuts Yonder’s Big Walnuts Yonder On its self-titled debut, released this past May 5, the indie-rock collective Big Walnuts Yonder fuses wild time shifts, explosive punk tones, and unhinged improvisation on ten electrified, cohesive tracks. The veteran group, comprising bassist and vocalist Mike Watt (Minutemen, the Stooges), guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), guitarist and vocalist Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), and drummer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), spent three days recording in 2014 after extensive discussions. “We’d been planning this meet-up for years,” Saunier explains. “So once we were finally all in the same room, it was just relentless, frantic energy.” The group loaded its debut with heaps of frenetic chops, free-jazz-influenced ventures, and sharp, daring moments, including a jarring yet perfectly executed triplet metric modulation that opens the album. “I think shifting to a tempo related to the triplet can feel so cool and […]
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Articles in July 2017

Casey Cooper

Dream big. Work hard. Influence many.

Story and photo by Mike Haid
May 31, 2017

1967, the Summer of Love

Happy summer, everyone! Putting together this special issue has been a lot of work, but just as much fun. I was ten years old in 1967. Rolling Stone magazine debuted that year, and I’d just gotten my first “real” drumkit.…

Billy Amendola
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

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

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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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

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

Sounds and Setups

1967 was a year when wild was in. And of the rock bands commanding the world’s attention that year, it didn’t get much wilder than the Who, Cream, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The same could be said for the drummers who made them go—and the kits on which they did it.

by Adam Budofsky
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

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

The Doors’ John Densmore

Tapping Into Infinity

Story by Adam Budofsky | Photos by Alex Solca
May 31, 2017
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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

Vanilla Fudge’s Carmine Appice

If any drummer in the history of classic rock can say he’s seen it all, it’s him. From defining the role of star journeyman player in the ’70s, penning a classic method book, and pioneering the rock-drumming clinic to setting the bar for rock-star excess that’s still referenced today, the drummer known to many simply as “Carmine” has made a career out of standing out from the crowd. It all started fifty years ago, when he powered an explosive young group that grabbed TV audiences by the throat and promptly skyrocketed up the charts….

by Ken Micallef
May 31, 2017

1967 Rock Drumming

The seeds were sown in 1966. While jazz had dom-inated the attention of progressive music fans the previous decade, rock ’n’ roll was now the place where the real avant-garde activity was going down. The Beatles’ Revolver, the Beach Boys’…

by Adam Budofsky
May 31, 2017

Yamaha - DTX760K Electronic Drumset

Expanded sounds, more customization, and a responsive, natural feel.

Willie Rose
May 31, 2017

UFIP - Class and Vibra Series Cymbals

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

Michael Dawson
May 31, 2017

Drum Center of Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Interview by Patrick Berkery
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
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Pride and Joy

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…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2017

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