June 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 6
On 01st Jun 2018
Articles in June 2018
Van Kleef - Ageless Collection 4.5x14 Snare
A spectacular specimen sporting a precious 1.5mm sterling silver shell.
New Drum Gear From Tama, Remo, SJC Custom Drums, apulSoft, U.S. Drum Supply, Basal, and Vater!
Tama Star Reserve Volume 4 Snare This snare’s copper shell is hand-hammered by master metal craftsmen in Japan and is said to produce a fat sound and rich resonance coupled with an extreme dynamic range. Also featured on this…
Ben Riley, Pat Torpey and Z’EV
Ben Riley: 1933-2017 Monk’s main man was the epitome of swing and style. Jazz drumming great Ben Riley died last November 18. He was eighty-four. Although best remembered for his high-profile 1964–67 tenure with the iconic pianist Thelonious Monk, Riley…
Turkish Cymbals Lale Kardeş Signature Series
Big, bold tones based on the classic sounds of ’60s and ’70s rock.
Peter Criss on Peter Criss
In 1978, the four members of Kiss simultaneously released self-titled solo albums, a brilliant marketing move that pushed the already famous group further into the stratosphere. Though it’s not considered a groundbreaking “drum record”—that was never the intention—Peter Criss neatly…
Foreigner’s Dennis Elliott
“I was blessed to land a gig as life-changing as Foreigner,” the London-born drummer Dennis Elliott says. “It was a band I totally believed in.” Elliott played with the group for seventeen years, powering solid-gold tracks like “Urgent,” “Feels Like…
Five-Note Phrasing - Part 2: Adding More Tension and Release
In this lesson we’ll continue exploring five-note phrases within a 16th-note subdivision. To become fluent with these groupings, you need to internalize where the five-note phrase begins and ends. To review, let’s reinforce the ability to hear the starting point…
Dashboard Confessional’s Ben Homola
Consummate touring/recording drummer Ben Homola has recently been sporting a new C&C drumkit on the road with alt-rock band Dashboard Confessional. “The C&C maple kit I have out on the road was built for this tour,” says Homola. “One thing…
Keith McMillen Instruments - BopPad
A seemingly simple USB pad controller with virtually limitless capabilities.
Bubinga Behemoth
Drummer Matt Flacche, based in Marlton, New Jersey, custom-ordered and built this month’s monster setup, a 2017 Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit in satin natural cordia finish. With previous appearances in the September 2003, July 2007, and January 2009 issues, this…
2017 Sydney Vintage and Custom Drum Expo
Australia’s finest craftsmen shine among celebrated international mainstays during a day of exhibits and performances.
Rick Marotta
For the drummer, who’d built a sterling session and live career for nearly ten years with artists including John Lennon, Paul Simon, Jim Croce, James Taylor, and Steely Dan, 1978 was yet another super-busy year. In the studio, on the…
Blake Richardson on Between the Buried and Me’s Automata, Part 1
Digging Into the Veteran Technical-Metal Group’s Latest Offering
Drum Wisdom: Jim Mola
By his own admission, Jim Mola moved to New York in 1985 to set the world on fire as a drummer. Now, after thirty-three years of experience in the trenches as a working musician, the types of gigs he’s playing…
What’s Your Favorite 1970s Jazz or Fusion Drumming Album?
This month, as we delve into the music and drumming of 1978, we asked our readers and social media followers to name some of their favorite records from the entire decade. Here they weigh in on great ’70s jazz and…
Russ Kunkel - The Song Server
At the dawn of the ’70s, music fans noticed the credit “Drums: Russ Kunkel” popping up on reams of LP jackets. From that pivotal point, Kunkel’s momentum as a session ace surged through five decades. The drummer’s tasteful parts and…
Must-Know Grooves - Disco, a Drumming Staple of the 1970s
In this new series we’ll be taking a close look at some of the most influential, practical, and essential drum grooves of all time, studying a pattern’s history and learning how to play it step-by-step. If you’re serious about getting…
A Year in Transition
Photo by John Leiby There have been numerous landmark events in music history that have made certain years seem more significant than others, such as the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750, which signified the end of the Baroque…
