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.
Billy Cobham Update
Billy Cobham is a living legend of the drumset, revered for his ultra-dramatic, muscular, and bar-raising work with fusion pioneers the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Since the ’60s Cobham has appeared on over 300 recordings, including those by pop and rock icons…
Aaron Gillespie: Hardcore Hero
Aaron Gillespie was the long-time drummer in Underoath, one of the most popular hardcore bands in the world. In early 2010 he left the group to concentrate on his more melodic side project, the Almost, for which Gillespie handles the…
Patrick Keeler: Future-Retro Brilliance With The Raconteurs And The Greenhornes
The term “supergroup” is thrown around quite often these days. Take a few awesome and noted musicians, have them record some killer songs, and…POOF… supergroup is born. The one thing that all supergroups have in common is that the drummer…
Ahmir “Questlove" Thompson: Quest's Best
(June 2010 Issue) Hip-hop’s greatest band might be spending most of its energies rehearsing and performing on Fallon. But the Roots’ new album proves they’re still an awesome force in the studio. Here Quest, in his own words, gives us…
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…
Mikkey Dee: The Engine of Motörhead
Mikkey Dee, who was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1963, first broke out with King Diamond in the mid-’80s, playing on the albums Fatal Portrait, Abigail, Them, and Conspiracy. In 1992 Motörhead front man Lemmy Kilmister called him (reportedly for…
Fleetwood Mac’s Founding Father: Mick Fleetwood
Since Fleetwood Mac’s blues beginnings in London in 1967 straight through to their meteoric rise to the pinnacle of pop-stardom and beyond, Mick Fleetwood has been the band’s rhythmic hypnotist, joining bassist John McVie to form one of the most…
Al Jackson Jr.: The Impeccable Groover
As a member of the house band at famed Memphis recording studio Stax, Al Jackson Jr. played on all of the classic hits that the label released during the heyday of southern R&B in the 1960s. Jackson and the powerful…
Eric Singer: Just Being Himself
by Billy Amendola For eighteen years, Kiss’s drummer has helped his world-famous band stay in our hearts and on the radio by doing what he does best—being himself. In this special online extra from his May 2010 MD cover story,…
Pete Lockett: Horacio Hernandez And Bill Bruford Give Props
(May 2010 Issue) The May issue of MD, out now, features an in-depth conversation with multi-percussion master Pete Lockett. In this online exclusive, two drumkit legends, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez and Bill Bruford, talk about their collaborations with Lockett. Hernandez…
Carter Beauford: Dave Matthews’ Ace In The Hole
“Basically I grew up on pocket,” said Carter Beauford in his 1998 Modern Drummer cover story. “When it comes to music, that’s the bottom-line rule for me. Growing up, the jazz influences were there as well, but don’t forget there’s…
Bill Bruford - On A Never-Ending Quest
“I don’t want to be bored. I haven’t got time to be bored. If I ever bore myself consistently for a year, I’ll give up being a musician. I would lose my self-confidence—the feeling that I really do have something…
Travis Barker: Blink-182’s Man About Town
Travis Barker was born on November 14, 1975 in Fontana, California, and began studying drums at the age of four. Though he’s largely known as a high-energy punk drummer, Travis in fact studied jazz and was exposed to many different…
Slightly Offbeat: Buddy Rich, Meet Eric Fischer
In the April 2010 issue of Modern Drummer the latest installment of our Slightly Offbeat column features Michigan drummer Eric Fischer, who’s found a creative, entertaining, and educational way to pay tribute to the incredible Buddy Rich. Using video of…
