June 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 6

Turkish Cymbals Lale Kardeş Signature Series

Big, bold tones based on the classic sounds of ’60s and ’70s rock.

Dafnis Prieto on the Dafnis Prieto Big Band’s Back to the Sunset

The prolific Afro-Cuban and jazz connoisseur honors his musical heroes with a heavy ensemble.

2017 Sydney Vintage and Custom Drum Expo

Australia’s finest craftsmen shine among celebrated international mainstays during a day of exhibits and performances.

Keith McMillen Instruments - BopPad

A seemingly simple USB pad controller with virtually limitless capabilities.

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…

Diego Arcaute with Juana Molina

Whether playing odd-time indie electronica, contemporary pop, or folkloric acoustic music, the Argentinian drummer brings a seasoned sensitivity and open mind to the studio and the stage.

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…

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…

Techra - XCarb Drumsticks

Light and fast carbon-fiber models designed for utmost durability.

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…

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

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…

June 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 6

New York Jazzer Jimmy Macbride

Still only in his mid-twenties, the drummer has been making a name for himself in the ultra-competitive New York City jazz scene for several years now, bringing an assured command of his instrument to recordings and live work with a sound that belies his age.

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…

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…

Van Kleef - Ageless Collection 4.5x14 Snare

A spectacular specimen sporting a precious 1.5mm sterling silver shell.

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…