September 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 9
Articles in September 2017
Doc Sweeney - Serengeti Stave-Shell Drumset
A dual-species stave-shell kit with dark overtones, depth, and power.
Tesla’s Troy Luccketta
“Back in 1987, when I first signed with Tama, I wasn’t all that familiar with their drums,” says Troy Luccketta, who this year celebrates thirty years of touring with the veteran hard-rock band Tesla. “What Tama has done over the…
On Topic: R&B Legend James Gadson
On Knowing When the Vibe Is Right It’s a feeling that comes over you. Everybody’s on the same wavelength. Before click tracks, the music really breathed. Pro Tools is cool, but it’s not as true as analog. On Starting Out…
KHS L.A. Drum Day
KHS America, the parent company and distributor of Sonor drums, Mapex drums, and NFUZD electronics, hosted L.A. Drum Day this past April at Swing House Studios. The event was packed with clinics, performances, gear demos, giveaways, and one-day-only special deals.…
Willie Jones III on Gerald Cannon’s Combinations
A jazz drummer and producer burns on a longstanding musical partner’s sophomore effort as a leader.
Eddie Fisher
Bands get cut loose from record labels all the time, but finding a new home is much easier when a group’s drummer thinks and plays like a record producer. The members of OneRepublic can vouch for that. Eddie Fisher was…
Love Custom Drums - Brass, Copper, and Old Steel Snares
Versatile but unique shades of awesome at prices a working drummer can afford.
Samba Drumming - Applications and Attitude
The Brazilian samba rhythm is one of the most popular feels in the world. It’s an infectious groove that’s especially popular among dancers, but also among musicians in the jazz field and beyond. The samba bass drum and hi-hat-foot ostinato…
Dams of the West’s Gabriela Jimeno and Chris Tomson
Roles flip, as the drummer for the indie-rock hitmakers Vampire Weekend steps out from behind the kit to front his own project while recruiting an established solo artist, frontwoman, and drummer to handle his grooves live. The New York–based, world-music-influenced…
Favorite Steve Smith Track?
Since the mid-’70s, Steve Smith’s drumming has enhanced a wide range of albums within the rock, jazz, and fusion genres. Classic hits, jazz-fusion escapades, and even Indian-influenced pursuits adorn the drummer’s discography with artists such as Journey, Jean-Luc Ponty, and…
Oceans Ate Alaska’s Chris Turner
Since 2011, the British technical metalcore group Oceans Ate Alaska has been carving its way through the modern hardcore scene, driven by drummer, primary composer, and chops madman Chris Turner. After releasing two EPs in 2012, the group signed to…
Your Voice
Each month, as we prepare content for the current issue of Modern Drummer, we post a drumming-related question at our online outlets, sort through responses from MD readers and social media followers, and print some of the answers in our…
Live and Learn: A Health Insurance Primer for Musicians
With all of the uncertainty surrounding how federal and state governments will be approaching health care law in the future, it’s tempting to throw up your hands and shout, Wake me up when the dust settles! Unfortunately, the vast majority…