October 2015 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 10

Swing Style 101, Part 2: The Other Half

Jazz Drummer's Workshop Swing Style 101 Part 2: The Other Half by Justin Varnes One of the main reasons why it can be so hard to make jazz sound and feel right is that here the basic timekeeping elements of…

A Different View - John Tropea

Photo by EuphoriaNYC A Different View John Tropea The New York–born, Berklee-trained guitarist is part of a small circle of musicians who basically owned the Manhattan studio scene in the ’70s, and whose influence is still being felt today. Drum…

Nickel and Chrome Plating: What's the Difference?

It's Questionable Iam looking to buy a nice 6.5x14 brass snare to use as my primary drum for studio and live applications. I really like the clean, shiny look of chrome, but I notice that a lot of studio drummers…

Oscar Seaton

Features Oscar Seaton Playing with unbridled freedom and being a faithful servant to the groove might seem like two opposing goals. But for this long-revered multi-genre monster, it’s all about the same thing—putting in the time, and acquiring the tools.…

October 2015 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 10

Angel - Black Wenge Segment-Shell Drumset

https://vimeo.com/128298439 Product Close-Up Angel Black Wenge Segment-Shell Drumset Rare African hardwood meets Eastern European ruggedness. Angel is a Hungarian company that prides itself on taking no shortcuts and making no compromises when it comes to the quality of its drums.…

V-Classic Hi-Hats, Crashes, Rides, and Jingle Splashes

https://vimeo.com/128495517 Product Close-Up V-Classic Hi-Hats, Crashes, Rides, and Jingle Splashes Steeped in history and tradition while keeping an eye on the future. V-Classic is a Turkish company, founded by eighteen-year-veteran cymbalsmith Torab Majlesi, that specializes in bringing the warm, dark…

Catching Up With... Mike Bordin

Catching Up With... Mike Bordin Faith No More has always followed its own rules. So if the band wants to wait until it’s half a decade into its “comeback” to finally release a new recording, you can bet there’s a…

Necessary Ruffness - Make Your Grooves Percolate With Subtle Doubles

https://vimeo.com/135075615 Basics Necessary Ruffness Make Your Grooves Percolate With Subtle Doubles by Rich Redmond The ruff is an essential rudiment that’s directly related to the double-stroke roll, or buzz roll. The ruff can be played open, as we have it…

Catching Up With... Bill Kreutzmann

Catching Up With... Bill Kreutzmann Fifty years after the birth of the Grateful Dead, the band’s founding drummer reflects on a long career. Then, after one last big fling with his old group, it’s back to business as usual: “playing…

DTS - 6.5x14 Oscar Seaton Hybrid-Shell Snare

https://vimeo.com/128518334 Product Close-Up DTS 6.5x14 Oscar Seaton Hybrid-Shell Snare Marrying birch with maple for ultimate clarity and depth. DTS, or Drum Tech Services, was founded in 2011 by acclaimed tech Steve “Steevo” Morrison, who has worked with Tommy Lee, Stephen…

A Yogi’s Approach to Learning Drums

Teacher's Forum A Yogi’s Approach to Learning Drums Awareness Exercises for Developing a More Fluid Connection With the Instrument by Nicholas Schlesinger One of my drum students is a yoga instructor, and recently during a lesson where we were focusing…

The Responsibility Is Ours by Russ Miller

Concepts The Responsibility Is Ours Calls to Action to Combat the Current State of Affairs by Russ Miller This month I want to discuss one of the biggest concerns facing the drum world: the fact that fewer and fewer people…

The Flexible Five - Exploring the Five-Stroke Roll on the Drumset

https://vimeo.com/136332057 Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic The Flexible Five Exploring the Five-Stroke Roll on the Drumset by Mike Johnston One of the most common questions I get from students is about applying rudiments on the kit. They want to know how…

Stellar - 3-Ply and Walnut/Bird’s-Eye Maple Wood Hoops

Product Close-Up Stellar 3-Ply and Walnut/Bird’s-Eye Maple Wood Hoops Superbly built options for achieving drier, warmer drum tones. The folks at Stellar sent us two pairs of wood hoops to review. Out of the box, the first thing I noticed…

Progressive Drumming Essentials, Part 4: How to Feel Odd Subdivisions

https://vimeo.com/136207434 Rock Perspectives Progressive Drumming Essentials Part 4: How to Feel Odd Subdivisions by Aaron Edgar When I was first learning quintuplets and septuplets, I would mentally cut them into smaller groups of two and three. So quintuplets would be…

Up & Coming - Ben Thatcher

Up & Coming Ben Thatcher Royal Blood’s percussive half avoids excess at all costs—and the payoff has been handsome indeed. Who said the blues is dead? British power-rock duo Royal Blood has earned success on both sides of the Atlantic…

Build a More Balanced Double-Stroke Roll

Strictly Technique Build a More Balanced Double-Stroke Roll Inverting the Diddles to Increase Strength and Precision by Jeff W. Johnson This month we’ll examine a technique used to balance out the double-stroke roll. A double-stroke roll should have a machine-gun-type…

On The Cover - Ilan Rubin

On The Cover Ilan Rubin It’s tough to tell where his aesthetic as multi-instrumental leader of the New Regime ends and his highly involved support in Nine Inch Nails and Angels & Airwaves begins—this complete musician brings a panoply of…