November 2016 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 11

Nate Lotz

Nate Lotz by Ilya Stemkovsky Getting to the creative heart of the matter with Halsey’s beatkeeper.   Nate Lotz isn’t interested in showing you how fast his doubles are. As the drummer for the electro-pop starlet Halsey, Lotz works an…

Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Jazz Comping With Quarter-Note Triplets

Jazz Drummer's Workshop Jazz Comping With Quarter-Note Triplets Swinging an Offbeat Figure by John Xepoleas In this lesson we’ll liven up our jazz comping 
with offbeat quarter-note triplets. We’ll incorporate this grouping into a swing feel, apply it to four-…

Trivium’s Paul Wandtke

Trivium’s Paul Wandtke Story by Ben Meyer Photos by Scott Uchida Career highlights like playing with the alt-goth band Kill Hannah, a traveling production of Rock of Ages, and a Nirvana tribute act—in which he’s singing and playing guitar—might not…

Catching Up With Nada Surt's Ira Elliot

After a quarter century in the biz—and all its attendant ups and downs—his unshakable love affair with our instrument keeps him rarin’ to go. Nada Surf has accomplished that rarest of feats in pop music: surviving the massive out-of-left-field success…

The Feelies’ Stan Demeski

The Feelies’ Stan Demeski by Patrick Berkery Few groups enjoy as loyal a fan base as the Feelies, whose handful of ’80s albums had a profound influence on many a guitar-oriented alt-rock band. The days of bottomless major-label budgets are…

Catching Up With Trilok Gurtu

Catching Up With Trilok Gurtu by Ilya Stemkovsky The more things stay the same for this highly unusual drummer, the more they need to change.   Trilok Gurtu will always be unique. His mixture of traditional Indian rhythms and jazz…

Concepts - Staying Current

Concepts Staying Current 3 Keys to Keeping Relevant Without Losing Your Identity by Russ Miller Everybody faces the challenge of staying current. It happens in just about everything in life. The music business in particular always seems to be looking…

Product Close-up - Paiste Giant Beat and 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hats

Product Close-up Paiste 26" Giant Beat and 2002 17" Sound Edge Hi-Hats by Michael Dawson Massive models for larger than-life grooves.   This year Paiste introduced a slew of new cymbals, including an entire line of heavily hammered 2002 Big…

Up And Coming: The Drummers Of School of Rock: The Musical

photo by Matthew Murphy by David Ciauro Dante Melucci and Raghav Mehrotra blaze a new route to success on Broadway—from behind a drumset. In 2003, Jack Black played down-on-his luck guitarist Dewey Finn in the feature film School of Rock.…

Teacher's Forum - Interleaving

Teacher's Forum Interleaving An Alternative Approach to Practice by Dan Macy A typical practice session is often laid out in a format that sports psychologists call “block learning,” where you repeat the same skill over and over for a predetermined…

This Heat’s Charles Hayward

This Heat’s Charles Hayward Story by Ken Micallef Photo by Lewis Hayward Coming out just as the era of prog rock gave way to the tidal wave of punk rock, England’s This Heat was largely drowned out by the overpowering…

Product Close-Up - Van Kleef All Titanium and B20 Bronze Snares

Product Close-Up   Van Kleef All Titanium and B20 Bronze Snares by Michael Dawson Sleek, single-metal designs by one of the industry’s rising stars.   Sheffield, England–based VK Drums has quickly risen to the top of the high-end custom-shop heap…

Rock Perspectives - A New Realm of Groove

Rock Perspectives A New Realm of Groove Exploring Feel With Odd Subdivisions by Aaron Edgar It might initially seem strange using the term “groove” in conversations about patterns based in odd subdivisions. But examples of these phrases being used in…

November 2016 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 11

Will Calhoun

For decades Living Colour’s connoisseur of all things rhythmic has journeyed to the far corners of the globe to perform, search for rare instruments, and jam with local musicians.

Product Close-Up – CRX Stack Packs

Product Close-Up CRX Stack Packs by Michael Dawson Pre-paired cymbals for a variety of short, trashy effects.   CRX is the China-made sub-brand of TRX cymbals designed to offer professional-quality sounds at competitive prices. The latest offerings from CRX include…