September 2021 – Volume 45 • Number 9
On 30th Sep 2021
Articles in September 2021
The Courage to Connect
In honor of National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I want to look at the very uncomfortable topic of suicide. I realize this article isn’t something you would normally find in a musicians’ magazine, but think about it—how many incredible artists,…
Kenny Malone
August 4, 1938 – August 26, 2021 When it came to the artistry of drums, musicality, creativity, and imagination on a session or a gig, Kenny Malone offered up his soul every time he touched the drums. When he spoke…
Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault
Logo Heads Several years ago, I made the decision to begin selling off my drum collection. I’d spent decades amassing one of the most extensive collections of rare and vintage drums in the world. One of the biggest factors leading…
Cool Percussion Goodies
Just as guitar players always seem to be on the lookout for new pedals, percussionists appear to be forever seeking unique things they can add to their armory of stuff to shake, hit, and slap. Many of the products profiled…
NEW GEAR - September 2021
64 Audio U6t Universal In-Ear Monitor Drummers who are done with that wedge blasting away at them a few feet from their drum throne, but don’t want to expend the time and expense to order custom in-ear monitors, should look…
Tony Thompson
December 1985 “On The Power Station album, I’m beginning to approach what I’m shooting for. My drums sound bigger than life, and I’m getting to play so much—really blasting off, but still working that funk groove. There are a lot…
How to Make Friends with Vocalists
I cracked up during one of Rat Scabies’ interview segments in the recently released Count Me In documentary. The Damned drummer related the following wisdom about performing punk rock back in the “OG era” of the mid 1970s: “If they…
Custard Pie Brings the Funk
Picturesque Alsace borders France, Germany, and Switzerland. The region may present a storybook-like setting of timber-framed architecture, castles, and even the mythical birthplace of the Easter bunny. In reality, it is a fairy-tale land formed from turbulence. Originally settled by…
Minna Koskenlahti
Casting Musical Spells “Stillness” is not a term typically applied to percussion. Stuff gets hit, walloped, thrashed, pounded, and otherwise pummeled, which suggests motion and dynamic kineticism. But on her debut solo album Toinen/Other , Finnish experimental-percussionist Minna Koskenlahti explores…
PDP
Concept Select Series Snare Drums PDP’s new Concept Select Series is a collection of three beautiful metallic snare drums designed with DW Drums in California. PDP obviously sought to up its game with these metal glories, and, as a result,…
Matt Sorum
New Book, Celebrating Vinyl, Saving Animals, and Producing Billy Gibbons Matt Sorum has had about as cool a drumming career as one could possibly hope for. In a business that can be notoriously hard, Sorum has navigated the often-perilous world…
Rock Pattern Exercises
Excepted from Rudiments to Rock Carmine Appice designed Rudiments to Rock specifically to provide beginning drum students with fresh ideas and procedures. Through the book’s exercises and explanations, Appice takes novice percussionists from basic fundamentals to the more difficult, modern…
Joey Jordison
April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021 Metal maestro Joey Jordison—who had a seismic impact on aggressive rock as a drummer, guitarist, songwriter, and band leader—passed away on July 26, 2021. He was 46 years old, and had suffered from…
My Drum Kit Monument to Musical Giants
In music, it is not who you are, but who you are with. I have been incredibly lucky to write, record, and perform with some amazing musicians for more than half a century. Sadly, many of these band mates are…
16th-Note-Triplet Hand and Foot Patterns
Excepted from Building Bass Drum Technique The patterns on the following four pages are built around hand and foot coordination with 16th-note triplets. The exercises become increasingly difficult as you work your way through. A slower tempo at the onset…
ROC Drums May 1986
Many years ago, a friend of mine told me these crazy awesome Stratocaster clones were being sold out of a storefront on Dorman Avenue in San Francisco. We decided to investigate, and a man who looked more like a teenager…
Authentic Latin Rhythms
Listening implants music in a person at a very early age. Listening is accepting all different genres of music—from ethnic to jazz, rock, classical, Latin, African, and everything else. This is when we really begin to understand the different essences…
Mapex
Saturn Four-Piece Rock Shell Pack Resonance appears to be an essential element of almost every component of the Saturn SR529XU Rock architecture. With a focus on warm and robust tones, these drums sound explosive and articulate in every application—whether that’s…
Hugh Syme’s Four Decades of Rush Dreamscapes
Rockers, art directors, and artists have made great teams since the glory days of album art—even right up to the slightly less awesomeness of tiny, non-tactile images on Spotify and other streaming services. From Reid Miles’ iconic Blue Note album…
