Feature Stories
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.
Jaki Liebezeit: Hero to a Generation of Thinking Alternative Groovers
by Ingo Baron “The first time I heard Jaki Liebezeit’s playing with Can,” says Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, “I was hooked. You can tell instantly that there was so much going on with his playing just under the surface. His…
Bill Stevenson, Part 2: Road-Warrior Drumkits and the Influence of Coltrane and Afro-Cuban
Bill Stevenson with Descendents. From left: bassist Karl Alvarez, Stevenson, singer Milo Aukerman, and guitarist Stephen Egerton by David Jarnstrom In Part 1 of our new interview with the iconic drummer Bill Stevenson, we discussed the latest Descendents album, the…
Spooky Tooth/Only Ones Drummer Mike Kellie Passes
Mike Kellie, center, as he appeared on the cover of Spooky Tooth’s 1969 sophomore album, Spooky Two. Similar to contemporaries like Argent and the Moody Blues, Spooky Tooth expanded upon its early rhythm-and-blues sound to include proto-progressive-rock concepts, and all…
Bill Stevenson, Part 1: the Reemergence of Descendents
Bill Stevenson with Descendents. From left: bassist Karl Alvarez, Stevenson, singer Milo Aukerman, and guitarist Stephen Egerton by David Jarnstrom To borrow from the great Walt Whitman: Bill Stevenson is large. He contains multitudes. Over the last four decades, the…
On Tour with Hayley Cramer of Pop Evil
by Ben Meyer British drumming phenomenon Hayley Cramer recently took over the drum chair in the established rock powerhouse group Pop Evil, quickly finding herself playing for tens of thousands of fans while the band opened for the likes of…
Kris Myers and Mike Mirro
Mirro during the March 2013 sessions for Concerto for Double Moon at Indiana’s ABG Recording Studio More than a decade after taking over kit duties in the progressive jam band Umphrey’s McGee, the group’s current drummer sings the praises of…
Alphonse Mouzon Playlist
Alphonse Mouzon was among the premier drummers associated with the jazz-rock fusion movement of the 1970s. The genre was largely inspired by jazz iconoclast Miles Davis, and was furthered by many of the instrumentalists associated with the trumpeter’s groundbreaking late-’60s…
Alphonse Mouzon Passes
At the time that this story was originally posted, legendary fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon was appealing to fans to help fund treatments for his battle with a rare form of cancer, neuroendocrine carcinoma. Mouzon lost his battle with the disease…
Industry Spotlight - Sweetwater
Industry Spotlight Sweetwater Text and video by Miguel Monroy We recently had the opportunity to visit Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During our visit, Drums Senior Category Manager Randy Pratt and Drummer/Content Specialist Nick D’Virgilio gave us an exclusive look…
Track-by-Track: Frank Zummo Discusses Sum 41’s 13 Voices
Track-by-Track: Frank Zummo Discusses Sum 41’s 13 Voices by Billy Amendola Frank Zummo was born on Long Island, New York, and began drumming at age three, when he discovered his dad’s drumkit. By the time he was seven he was…
Video Demo! Snare Drum Effects
This excerpt is taken from the complete article that appears in the January 2017 issue, which is available here. Features Snare Drum Effects 16 Add-ons to Quickly Modify Tone by Willie Rose The snare drum could be viewed as a…
Martin Brandlmayr on Radian’s On Dark Silent Off
by Willie Rose photo by Rania Moslam Drummer and sonic explorer Martin Brandlmayr continues to smear the increasingly blurred line between acoustic and electronic music on Radian’s newest release, On Dark Silent Off. The record, which the Vienna-based electro-acoustic pioneers…
John Sherman on Tour With Red Fang
by Willie Rose photos by James Rexroad Red Fang, the hard-rock/metal powerhouse from Portland, Oregon, released their fourth studio album, Only Ghosts, this past October. Drummer John Sherman is currently throwing down his blazing fills and powerful, no-frills grooves…
Monte Yoho on the Outlaws’ Legacy Live
The Outlaws are one of the premier bands associated with the Southern-rock movement of the ’70s, and drummer Monte Yoho was with the group—dubbed Florida’s Guitar Army—at the very beginning. Early hits like the Yoho co-write “There Goes Another Love…
