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September 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 9

RECORDINGS Sweet Spirit Trinidad The latest release by one of Austin’s sharpest and most prolific musical troupes finds drummer Danny Blanchard focusing on the groove. Sweet Spirit is the dance floor–friendly pop inverse of fellow Austin band A Giant Dog. Both groups feature mostly the same members, notably the human hurricane that is lead vocalist Sabrina Ellis, but drummer Danny Blanchard shelves A Giant Dog’s early punk playbook in favor of Steve Gadd and LinnDrum vibes for Sweet Spirit. The closest Sweet Spirit gets to the music from the namesake island of their new LP, Trinidad (Merge Records), is the synthy slow calypso “No Dancing,” which Blanchard executes to sound like programmed parts, complete with overdubbed cymbal crashes and tom fills. Similar 1980s vibes, like the offbeat accented 6/8 groove on “Fingerprints” or the programming on “Only Love,” might make you wonder if you just walked into a high school […]
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Articles in September 2020

Bill Rieflin (1960–2020)

Bill Rieflin did more than just adapt his drumming skills to fit musical settings as vastly different as the Revolting Cocks and Robyn Hitchcock. He used those skills to make significant contributions live and in the studio to three incredibly…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

In the Studio With Brothers Osborne’s Adam Box

Adam Box moved from Meridian, Mississippi, to Nashville in 2010. He has a musical background, having grown up playing drums at church and in his dad’s band. Box is also adept enough on other instruments to mix, arrange, and produce.…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

On the Road to Rockford

This month we present Joseph Ciucci’s Ludwig Mod Orange Club Date set and Acrolite snare. Both were manufactured in December of 1967 and purchased from famed Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, who is a well-known vintage drum enthusiast. “On…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Paiste - Formula 602

New Additions to a Classic Line In 1959, Paiste debuted the Formula 602 series as its first high-end cymbal line. These models ushered in a level of sonic consistency that has since become a signature of the Swiss company’s engineering.…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020
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Roland - TD-27KV V-Drums

A top-quality mid-level kit with next-level components. This year Roland introduced two new configurations of electronic drumsets. One is the Acoustic Design, which features full-size wood shells, wrap finishes, and enhanced response for a more authentic playing experience. We’ll cover…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Bill Bachman

Bill Bachman is a world-renowned educator with twenty-five years of teaching experience, including more than fourteen years in online education. He specializes in hand technique and rudimental drumming. MD: What came first, providing online content or offering online lessons?  Bill:…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Dom Famularo

Dom Famularo is affectionately and deservedly known as “Drumming’s Global Ambassador.” He’s an acclaimed performer, educator, author, and motivational speaker. Dom is also one of the pioneers in online education, starting back in the early ’90s with the birth of…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Stick Technique Revisited

Part 3: Downstrokes, Taps, and Upstrokes If we used only free strokes, our playing would become pretty dull, since every note would be played at the same stick height and dynamic level. In order to add accents and dynamic contour…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Mike Johnston

Mike Johnston is a trailblazer in online education, having seen the immense potential within the platform when YouTube first launched in 2005. Today his aesthetic and educational delivery is seen as the benchmark. MD: How long have you been involved…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Online Education

Online music instruction existed long before the coronavirus came along, but there’s no denying that the pandemic has had a huge effect on the life of the average working musician, who almost overnight saw live playing opportunities nearly evaporate. Hopefully…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

What Was Your First Favorite Drum Record?

Vivid by Living Colour. Will Calhoun plays masterfully and with tons of power. It was perfect: playable but loaded with nuance.Scott Sparks Manu Katché on Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live. I was around five, and it just blew my mind.…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020
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John Dolmayan

The System of a Down drummer and successful comic book publisher has released an album of diverse, reimagined covers as well as an exciting new original comic book with an epic story line. Before the coronavirus lockdown, John Dolmayan was…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Arturia - AudioFuse 8Pre

A simple, sleek, and super clean-sounding audio interface with enough channels for eight mics. As if becoming a proficient drummer wasn’t hard enough, in today’s technological landscape being able to record yourself well is arguably of equal importance. Objectively speaking,…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Inspired Instruction

Five Drum Students Celebrate the Teachers that Mentor Them Our online education issue features interviews with several of the top educators working in online drum instruction today. We thought it would be equally interesting to turn the tables and ask…

Modern Drummer
Aug 28, 2020

The Charleston

The Root Rhythm of Jazz and Beyond The Charleston was a popular dance rhythm during the 1920s that got its name from the popular composition of the same name by pianist/composer James P. Johnson. The syncopated Charleston rhythm is one…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

5 Fun Lessons to Get Today’s Youth into Drumming

If your child is banging his or her dinner utensils around and smacking pillows with plastic lightsabers, it’s likely time to transition your budding rhythmatist to some drum lessons. The challenge is how to maintain the entertainment factor of bashing…

Modern Drummer
Aug 28, 2020

BACK THROUGH THE STACK

Drums…gymnastics…everything I picked, I got really obsessive with. So now that I’m writing and I’m a bandleader, I’m obsessive with that. That obsessiveness helped me a lot when I was getting my stuff together. And, you know, back then there…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Avenues to Excellence

15 MD Cover Artists Reveal the Big Ideas That Put Them on the Road to Success The abundance of educational material online, as well as great teachers to mold your passion and enthusiasm into technique and musicality, are massively beneficial…

Modern Drummer
Aug 28, 2020
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Live-Streaming Setups

As much of the world continues to be locked down due to COVID-19, professional educators and performers of all ranks are having to quickly adopt new ways to deliver their instruction and art in high-quality digital form. Here we outline…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

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