drum blog
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Chad LaRoy of Cavo
What’s up, MD followers! This is Chad LaRoy from Cavo. It has been a year since the band and I finished recording our first major-label record, Bright Nights, Dark Days, with the brilliant producer David Bendeth. Since then, we’ve been…
Sheila E: Way Beyond Latin
Sheila E, daughter of veteran percussionist Pete Escovedo, developed her natural talent by watching family members and friends gather in her home. Sheila was only eighteen when she carved her spot in music history, playing the hippest of gigs, like…
Paul Wertico: Gimme 10!
The multi-Grammy winner is never short on great suggestions for improving your playing. In fact, when we asked Wertico to offer ten tips for his story in this month’s issue, he gave us sixteen! Here’s what we couldn’t fit in…
Lynn Williams of DICK50
Hey, all you MD readers, Lynn Williams here, drummer for DICK50. I’m always interested to know how bands get together, and just how the right group of people make it “a band.” It seems to me that you know you…
Don Kidwell — A Daughter's Perspective
Hi, Modern Drummer readers. My name is Pamela Ventura, and I am a good friend of educator/player Pamela Manganaro, who put me in contact with MD. This blog is a little different from the ones that usually run, but I…
Chad McKinsey of The Suicide Denial
Modern Drummer…here we are at last. You, and me…. My name is Chad McKinsey, and I’m the drummer for the band the Suicide Denial. This makes me go back and think of the very first time I received any sort…
Cliff Leeman: The Embodiment Of Tasteful Drumming
“I try to play behind the soloist. I’d rather play a four-bar chase chorus with a horn, something with different tones and sounds, than get into a rudimental solo,” said Cliff Leeman, one of jazz drumming’s most tasteful artists. Never…
Eric Seats Next Great Drummer Show
Hello all in MD land! I’m Eric Seats, drummer, producer, and creator of the Next Great Drummer show. A little bit about my background: I got my first taste of drumming from my dad, Leroy Seats, who is to this…
Listen to Sound Files of the Gretsch Renown Purewood Oak Drumset
Audio clips of the great Gretsch Kit.
The Naked Heroes' Merica Lee
Oh, hey ya’ll, it’s Merica Lee from the Naked Heroes—a foot-stompin’, ass-shakin’, rawkus rock ’n’ roll band from Brooklyn, New York. We recorded our album 99 Diamond at Deadverse Studios in Union City, New Jersey, and it was produced…
Alexis Razon of Vinyl
To start, it is an honor to write for an outstanding magazine that caters to drummers and percussionists worldwide. MD is a great resource for the drumming community. My first introduction to drumming started at ten years old. The age…
Sonny Greer: Duke Ellington’s Crowd Pleaser
Sonny Greer was born in 1903 in Long Branch, New Jersey, and studied drums with vaudeville drummer J. Rosemond Johnson. His first professional job was as a youngster in a pit band in Red Bank, New Jersey. Within a few…
Joshua Radin's Frederik Bokkenheuser
Hi, modern drummers! My name is Frederik Bokkenheuser. Greetings from Webster Hall in New York City. I am currently touring with Joshua Radin. We have been on the road for over two months now, in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and…
Yoko Ono Talks Drums With Modern Drummer
by Billy Amendola At the young age of seventy-six, there’s just no slowing down for artist, activist, and avant-garde queen Yoko Ono, widow of the late Beatle John Lennon. Her latest CD, Between My Head And The Sky, made with…
