September 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 9
Articles in September 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…
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…
The Classic Recordings of Ginger Baker, Part 2: Tilt-a-Whirl
Like the amusement park ride—whose name was pinched for a song by Masters of Reality, one of the many unique projects Ginger Baker involved himself in the post–classic rock era—the variety and exuberance of Ginger’s later output could make your…
Russ Miller
Russ Miller has been a staple of the Los Angeles studio scene for many years, and he’s recorded with everyone from Ray Charles to the Psychedelic Furs and appeared in house bands for television shows. Miller has created his instructional…
Odd Groupings on the Offbeats
Alternative Rhythmic Placements for More Adventurous Options If you’ve been working through my articles over the past few years, you’ve been exposed to a good number of odd subdivisions, particularly quintuplets. We almost exclusively start those advanced rhythms on the…
Beats and Fills
A Smattering of Favorites from a Few Top Pros This month we’ve gathered a collection of favorite beats and fills from some of the top drummers in the world.Each of these transcriptions was pulled from a Modern Drummer exclusive video…
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…
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…
Joe Russo
When you search his name on the internet, you’ll be surprised to find a website claiming that he was knighted by Prince Charles some years back because he’d given the royal such inspiring drum lessons. He himself will be the…
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,…
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…
Remembering Neil Peart
Part 1: “Malignant Narcissism” When it comes to breaking down the drum parts on the instrumental song “Malignant Narcissism” from Rush’s 2007 studio album, Snakes & Arrows, there’s no better place to go than the man who played it, Neil…
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…
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.…
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…
18 Drummers to Follow on Instagram
Worldwide pandemic or not, we’re all spending more time online nowadays, and there’s plenty of drumming action happening on the social media platform Instagram, which allows users to upload photos and videos. With a video length restriction of sixty seconds,…
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…
Stay Inspired!
It’s a great honor to write my first Overview since becoming CEO and publisher of the world’s longest-standing drum publication—and well beyond that, resource—for drums, drumming, and drummers. I’ve been an ardent reader of Modern Drummer since 1979, two years…
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…
