January 2024 – Volume 48 • Number 01
On 30th Dec 2023
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Articles in January 2024
Bruce’s Original Ludwig Vistalite’s
This month’s Kit of the Month comes to us from Bruce DeVino. Bruce tells us, “Last June on Father’s Day, I attended a church rummage sale. I purchased these Ludwig 1976 Vistalite Series E Black and White Pattern drums in…
It’s a New Year, Twelve Advice’s of the Holidays
Now is a good time to pass along some drumming tips that are important to me, and I hope that you will find these helpful as well. I will list them in numerical sequence, but not necessarily in any order.…
Cooking! Drumming!
As the holidays continue, we continue eating our favorite foods, and as ALL of my students know, I love to use food and cooking as a metaphor for music and drumming. Any musician is like one of your favorite prepared…
New And Notable January 2024
DW Design Series Snares: Now In Aluminum The Drum Workshop Design Series® range has been expanded with the addition of two Aluminum snare drums. The new thin, beaded, matte aluminum snares are superbly versatile with a distinctive sound for classic…
Zildjian 400th Anniversary Celebration
Photos & Article by: Bob Campbell The Avedis Zildjian Company has the enviable reputation of being not only the oldest cymbal maker, but also one of the oldest, highly regarded, and most enduring family businesses in the world. It is…
Chicago Drum’s Solid Walnut Snare
Classic Vintage Sound with Time Honored Craftsmanship Chicago Drum was officially born in 2011, but the roots of this amazing drum company go back decades, in fact, generations! Three generations to be precise. Jim Moritz, Chicago Drum’s founder and…
CTM CE220 IN-Ear Monitors
Founded by a drummer/sound engineer, Clear Tune Monitors (CTM) out of Orlando, Florida has been manufacturing high-quality custom in-ear monitors for over fifteen years. Their premium custom IEMs have accompanied many well-known touring and performing musicians around the world. CTM…
for KING + COUNTRY: A Drummer’s Delight
Photo by: Kadin Tooley The band for KING + COUNTRY is a Christian pop band led by Joel and Luke Smallbone. Joel is a singer-songwriter, and Luke Smallbone is a drummer-singer-songwriter. Both Luke and Joel play drums and percussion during…
Garrett Tyler - for KING + COUNTRY and Judah and the Lion
Photo by: Alex Kluft As we move through the for KING + COUNTRY percussion section, we move on to drummer and musical director Garrett Tyler. Garrett has been on the Nashville music scene for quite a while. His musical background…
Chris Karabelas - for KING + COUNTRY Percussionist
Photo by: Alex Kluft Percussionist Chris Karabelas’ journey is an interesting story. He grew up outside of Baltimore, MD. His father was a big music fan who took him to more concerts than he can even remember. At five,…
Lol Tolhurst and Budgie are Curious Creatures
Photo by: Louis-Rodiger It’s hard to imagine two other drummers from the post-punk era more influential than Lol Tolhurst from The Cure and Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees. Still to this day, you can’t turn on any alternative internet…
Virgil Donati Discusses Designing his New Techra Sticks
Virgil Donati is one of today’s finest and most intelligent drummers. The precision, articulation, and power in his playing is world renowned. When Modern Drummer learned that he was now endorsing Techra Sticks, we were intrigued. We wanted him to…
Take The Money And Run
This month’s transcription comes from the timeless track “Take The Money And Run.” It boasts a fantastic groove with delectable ghost notes that enhance the overall sound. Recorded with Gary Mallaber playing drums, who not only sang but also co-wrote…
Don't Compete, Create!
There’s always someone better, stronger, faster. If we didn’t know this already, we’re surrounded by reminders that can doom us to self-doubt. In our hyper connected world, it doesn’t take long before we see someone on the drums half our…
The Bass Drum Owners Manual: Applying the Moeller Technique to the Bass Drum, Hand and Foot Combinations
This month Modern Drummer will continue to include excerpts from Michael Packer’s essential book on bass drum control and technique The Bass Drum Owners Manual: Applying the Moeller Technique to the Bass Drum. As you will see, this is a…
Groups of Two with Fill-ins
Joe Morello advanced the idea of endurance studies with his Fill-In studies included in his book Master Studies. These are not “drum fills,” instead they are endurance exercises built on the idea of filling in between the primary rhythms of…
Duet 15
Ron Spagnardi wrote a terrific book called Snare Drum Duets: 25 Duets for Two Snare Drummers. It offers a selection of 25 challenging duets that range in difficulty from relatively simple to more complex. A wide assortment of time signatures…
Steve Lukather
Guitarist, leader of Toto, solo artist, and session guitarist Steve Lukather has a lot to teach us about drumming and drummers. Whether it’s in Toto, on his 11 solo records, or on the countless sessions in his career, he has…
Aaron Spears 1976-2023
"It’s nice to be important but it is more important to be nice, spread love.” This is what Aaron Spears lived by. When we started to ask his close friends and drummers that Aaron had touched and inspired for quotes,…
The Evolution of the Hi-Hat
The history of how the modern day hi-hat was invented is a subject that many drummers and drum historians will continue to debate. In this article, I am going to give you historical facts and present actual examples of the…
Out Now - January 2024
Modern Drummer is spotlighting new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in the…
Bennie Rodgers II with Doja Cat “The Scarlet Tour”
Photo by: Jason Mehler Drums: Tama Star Bubinga in Piano Black: 6.5 x 14 Star Bubinga Snare, 5.5 x 14 Star Classic Walnut/Birch snare, 5.5 x 10 Star Classic Walnut / Birch snare. Toms, (all Star Bubinga) 6 x 8,…
