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July 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 7

TRX Cymbals CRX Rock II Series This new series includes a full range of medium-weight rides, hi-hats, crashes, crash-rides, and effects cymbals with a brilliant finish. They are available individually or in a box set composed of 14″ hi-hats, a 20″ ride, 16″ and 18″ crashes, and a cymbal bag.trxcymbals.com Tama S.L.P. Sonic Stainless Steel and Bold Spotted Gum Snares The S.L.P. Sonic Stainless Steel snare features a 6.5×14 1.2 mm shell and is said to deliver brightness, projection, and a cutting tone. The drum is outfitted with Tama’s new 3 mm Ultimate Steel Mighty Hoops, which aim to offer solid tuning and a focused attack. The S.L.P. Bold Spotted Gum snare is said to be warm and balanced, with clarity and a complex but versatile tone. The 6.5×14 drum has a 6 mm 9-ply shell and 2.3 mm steel Mighty Hoops, which provide a robust attack to the wooliness […]
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Articles in July 2020

Displaced Paradiddles

A Progressive, Grid-Based Approach to Developing Modern Licks from an Ancient Rudiment One of the most common ways to practice displacing rhythms so that they start on different partials of the beat is by applying them to the grid, which…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Dirk Verbeuren

An In-Depth Look at Extreme Metal’s Master Blaster In addition to his superhuman speed and power, Dirk Verbeuren has brought a wide spectrum of influences into extreme metal. He has expert execution of rudiments, as well as unique rhythmic phrasing,…

Modern Drummer
Jun 2, 2020

Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault

Carmine Appice’s 1976 Realistic Rock Drumset Welcome to the first installment of “Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault.” As a dealer and collector of rare and vintage drums, I’ve had the good fortune to work with many of the greatest drummers of…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Yussef Dayes

The U.K.-based drummer and producer is making a name for himself on the modern-jazz scene, and he’s fine being referred to as a jazz drummer. Just don’t box him in. Yussef Dayes’ father came from Jamaica to New York in…

by Ilya Stemkovsky
Jun 2, 2020

Meinl Artist Concept Deep Hats and Bullet Stack

Warmer and more controllable, but still fast and trashy. We reviewed Meinl’s new 8" Benny Greb Crasher hi-hats and the aggressive 18" Thomas Lang Super Stack a few issues back. This month, we’re going to take a look at two…

Michael Dawson
Jun 1, 2020
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3D-Printed Snare Drums

Panic! at the Disco’s Dan Pawlovich Teams Up with Stratasys Direct Manufacturing to Turn Fantasy into Reality Panic! at the Disco drummer Dan Pawlovich has always been interested in exploring ways of making his instruments sound and look better. About…

Brandy Laurel McKenzie
Jun 1, 2020

Aaron Spears

After bursting onto the scene with pop/R&B superstar Usher during the artist’s Truth tour in 2004, Washington, D.C. native Aaron Spears has earned the admiration and respect of his peers and fans with a drumming style that is often described…

by Stephen Styles
Jun 1, 2020

Making Simple Ideas Extraordinary

Modern Pop/R&B Great Aaron Spears on How to Milk the Most from Basic Quarter Notes “Drums are an extension of who you are,” says modern pop/R&B great Aaron Spears in a recent video lesson for DrumChannel.com. “The way you play…

Modern Drummer
Jun 2, 2020

Clear Tune Monitors AS-7 Universal Fit In-Ears

A professional-level, seven-driver option for drummers. Clear Tune Monitors is a Florida-based in-ear manufacturer that focuses on providing precise sound for performing musicians, audio engineers, and general music listeners alike. CTM offers a wide array of products, from high-end custom…

Michael Dawson
Jun 1, 2020

Papa Jo Jones

The Father of Modern Jazz Drumming Papa Jo Jones was the epitome of swing, from his very early days with the Count Basie band in the ’30s until he passed away in 1985. His style, grace, and incredibly musical approach…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center

Wheaton, Maryland Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center has been in business longer than drum department manager Darren Zentek has been alive—this year marks the store’s sixty-second. Levin’s was initially located in the District proper, before moving just north of the…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Bauhaus’s Kevin Haskins

Drummer Kevin Haskins of iconic goth-rock band Bauhaus got interested in music as a teenager in the late ’70s, when his brother took him to a punk-rock festival in the basement of the 100 Club in London. The headlining band…

John Martinez
Jun 1, 2020
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Gerry Gibbs

His recent performance video may be untitled, but from a drummer’s standpoint, it’s saying a lot. Gerry Gibbs pays the bills playing various forms of jazz, and has swung his proverbial behind off with Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, and other…

Ilya Stemkovsky
Jun 1, 2020

Kikagaku Moyo’s Go Kurosawa

The drummer and vocalist for the Japanese psychedelic band (rough translation: “geometric patterns”) is a modest person with an attitude towards music making that runs counter to the Japanese obsession with technique and “correct” playing. No matter—he’s getting the job…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

When in Doubt…

I have no idea why, but as I sat here staring at a blank Word document, contemplating which angle to take for this month’s overview, the title of progressive drumming great Bill Bruford’s out-of-print transcription book, When in Doubt, Roll!,…

by Michael Dawson
Jun 1, 2020

Lamb of God’s Art Cruz

Twenty-five years in, the iron-jawed Virginia metallers and their new drummer release their tenth, self-titled LP, a sonic exclamation point that poignantly and ferociously punctuates the present moment. In 2018, Art Cruz played his first shows with Lamb of God,…

by David Ciauro
Jun 1, 2020

Matt Chamberlain

I like the idea of being influenced by one thing while you’re playing something totally unrelated. Maybe on your drive to a session with a singer-songwriter, an N.W.A. song comes up on the radio and influences you to try some…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Stick Technique Revisited

Part 1: Matched Grip Matched grip simply means that the hands hold the sticks in a mirror image of one another. There are important variations within matched grip, however, both in terms of the hand angles and fulcrums (pivot points)…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

Critique

RECORDINGS Photo by Rahav Segev Dayna Stephens Trio Liberty The leader/tenor saxophonist, bassist Ben Street, and MVP jazz drummer ERIC HARLAND succeed brilliantly in a challenging chord-less format. Eric Harland is frequently praised for his inventive orchestrations and interplay, among…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020
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Bill Lordan’s From the Basement to the Coliseum

Those of us drummers who were raised during the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s and who came up locally playing in multiple bands at a time were dubbed “journeymen.” We’d play with rock, funk, and blues bands, country singers, jazz players—and…

Modern Drummer
Jun 3, 2020

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