News and Events
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.
Remembering Quiet Riot Drummer Frankie Banali
“My passion in continuing Quiet Riot has everything to do with the fact that drumming is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Quiet Riot’s Frankie Banali told Modern Drummer in a 2015 interview. “I worked very hard and struggled a…
Ofri Nehemya on Omer Avital and Qantar’s New York Paradox
Bassist Omer Avital’s group, Qantar, offers a wealth of chops, but the premium is on soul and excitement. The Brooklyn quintet—including pianist Eden Ladin, drummer Ofri Nehemya, and dual saxophonists Alexander Levin and Asaf Yuria—are all Israeli expatriates wholly in…
Modern Drummer Festival 2020
Modern Drummer is rebooting its world-famous Drum Festival on September 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with a live-streaming event honoring the late, great Rush drummer Neil Peart. Proceeds of ticket sales will benefit brain tumor research at Cedars-Sinai…
Don Lombardi Receives PAS President’s Industry Award
Drum Channel founder Don Lombardi has received the Percussive Arts Society’s President’s Industry Award. The award is given each year to recognize outstanding leadership in the drum industry as well as significant contributions to drums, drummers, and drumming. After starting…
Jazz Great Charli Persip Passes
Charli Persip, one of the premier jazz drummers of the second half of the twentieth century, passed away on August 23 at the age of ninety-one. Persip was born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1929, and began playing on the…
Queen + Adam Lambert Share Live Performance of “The Show Must Go On”
Queen + Adam Lambert, featuring founding members Roger Taylor (drums) and Brian May (guitar), are releasing a live performance video of the song “The Show Must Go On” from their upcoming album Live Around The World, which comes out on…
Ben Hillier on Nadine Shah’s Kitchen Sink
When Nadine Shah had to leave London to look after an ailing family member while recording Kitchen Sink, she entrusted her frequent collaborator and co-writer Ben Hillier with helming the sessions on his own. Hillier is a distinguished producer and…
Widespread Panic Founding Drummer Todd Nance Passes
This past week, Todd Nance, founding drummer with the band Widespread Panic, passed away from “sudden and unexpectedly severe complications of a chronic illness,” according to his family. Modern Drummer wrote about Nance in 2000—when asked in that piece to…
Drummers on Record: Jon Wurster, Jay Lane, Austin D’Amond
The Mountain Goats Getting into Knives (Jon Wurster) This past March 1, the Mountain Goats’ Jon Wurster (also drummer with Bob Mould and Superchunk), bassist Peter Hughes, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, and singer/songwriter John Darnielle entered the legendary studio Sam Phillips…
20th Annual Modern Drummer Festival featuring A Tribute To Iconic Drummer Neil Peart.
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Austin Blau on Binary Code’s Memento Mori
This past May saw the release of New Jersey–based progressive metal band Binary Code’s sophomore album, Memento Mori, their first featuring drummer Austin Blau. The album was inspired by the suicide of founder/guitarist Jesse Zuretti’s girlfriend; all proceeds from sales…
Phil Ehart on Kansas’s New Album, The Absence of Presence
The Absence of Presence, American progressive-rock band Kansas’s sixteenth studio album, was released this past July 17 on Inside Out Music. The album follows up 2016’s The Prelude Implicit, which entered Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart at #14. Kansas, who…
Drummers on Record: Paul Garisto, Ian Chang, Dave Lombardo
The Psychedelic Furs Made of Rain (Paul Garisto) The famed British post-punk band, whose hits include “Pretty in Pink,” “Love My Way,” and “The Ghost in You,” released their eighth studio album—and first in several decades—this past July 31. Recently…
Upcoming Dire Straits Box Highlights Pick Withers, Omar Hakim, Jeff Porcaro, and Manu Katché
On October 9, Rhino Records will release box sets of all six of Dire Straits’ studio albums. The band’s first four albums, including the self-titled debut LP and its classic track “Sultans of Swing,” featured drummer Pick Withers; 1985’s Brothers…
