December 2015 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 12

Jeff Plate and John O. Reilly of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Features Jeff Plate and John O. Reilly of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra by Aaron Strickland During most of the year, Jeff Plate and John O.Reilly are busy with numerous projects. Plate is the drummer for the veteran hard-rock groups Metal Church…

Triplet Fill Concepts - Part 1: Three Over Four

https://vimeo.com/141077256 Jazz Drummer's Workshop Triplet Fill Concepts Part 1: Three Over Four by John Xepoleas Welcome to the first of three lessons in our “Triplet Fill Concepts” series. In this part, I’m going to show you how to play some…

Ghost Notes 101 with Jim Riley

https://vimeo.com/141077155 In The Pocket Ghost Notes 101 6 Approaches to Give Your Grooves Greater Dimension by Jim Riley One thing that separates the novice drummer from the professional is the ability to play grooves that have dimension. Ghost notes are…

The Reeducation of Drumming Education by Ben Sesar

Teacher's Forum The Reeducation of Drumming Education Stop Teaching and Become a Mentor by Ben Sesar My ongoing journey as both student and teacher has been a struggle, to say the least. As a student, it’s easy to get caught…

Hendrix - Archetype Series Snare Drum

https://vimeo.com/141176866 Product Close-Up Hendrix Archetype Series Snare Drum A versatile, super-thin stave-shell option made from one of the world’s premier tonewoods. The Archetype series from Hendrix Drums is a high-end line of ultra-thin stave-shell snares. The company claims that the…

Catching Up With... Frankie Banali

Catching Up With... Frankie Banali Quiet Riot’s drummer is a poster boy for pushing through adversity. A new documentary tells the tale, warts and all. by Patrick Berkery When Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back, a documentary chronicling…

Innovative Percussion - Artist Signature Sticks

Product Close-Up Innovative Percussion Artist Signature Sticks Top drummer designs with wide-ranging appeal. Highly regarded for manufacturing some of the finest keyboard and timpani mallets for concert and marching players, Innovative Percussion also offers a range of drumset sticks for…

Raw Speed Bass Drum Workout with Mike Johnston

https://vimeo.com/141581819 Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic Raw Speed Bass Drum Workout Increase Your BPM With a Focused 12-Minute Routine by Mike Johnston This bass drum workout is all about developing your raw speed. Raw speed is very different from pattern speed.…

Endorsements - Part 1: Let's Get Real

Concepts Endorsements Part 1: Let's Get Real by Russ Miller Endorsement contracts with instrument companies is a hot topic. Covering the subject has been requested so much, and I’ve been asked about it so often, that I decided to do…

Sonor - Vintage Series Drumset

Product Close-Up Sonor Vintage Series Drumset Commemorating 140 years of business with a forward-thinking kit that sports a classic-leaning tone. Gather enough drummers together, and inevitably the conversation will turn toward the eternal question of whether vintage drums sound better…

Catching Up With... Harold Jones

Catching Up With... Harold Jones His boss, the sprightly octogenarian singer Tony Bennett, is often described as an ageless talent. The same can be said of the drummer, who’s still burning it up after more than half a century near…

Setting Sights - Gerry Gibbs

Setting Sights Gerry Gibbs Usually the hippest music happens when nobody in the room is consciously trying to sound hip. Drawing inspiration from an oft-derided genre, this drummer/leader has made another unexpected—and, yes, hip—addition to his already eclectic body of…

Jason Rullo

Features Jason Rullo For twenty years, the time he’s put into improving the things that he does with his hands and feet has continuously elevated the music of Symphony X. Recent events have found him working through matters of the…

Zildjian - K Custom Dark 19" and 20" Crashes

https://vimeo.com/136117856 Product Close-Up Zildjian K Custom Dark 19" and 20" Crashes Larger sizes and bigger bells for increased volume and sustain. Zildjian’s product catalog already covers a wide swath of tones, from the bright, all-purpose sound of the A series…

Tru Tuner - Rapid Drumhead Replacement System

https://vimeo.com/126409614 Product Close-Up Tru Tuner Rapid Drumhead Replacement System A Spirograph-type approach to cranking all the keys at once. Regardless of where you stand on whether we actually tune or simply tension drums, an indisputable fact is that we have…

On The Cover - Dom Famularo

On The Cover Dom Famularo In the hundred or so years since our instrument was invented, the art of playing it has evolved significantly. And so has the way we teach it. Few people understand drumming history more fully than…

Practi-Patterns - A Dozen of the Most Common Kick/Snare Figures

https://vimeo.com/141429764 Basics Practi-Patterns A Dozen of the Most Common Kick/Snare Figures by Rich Redmond One of the best things you can do in your drumming study is work on practical techniques, stickings, grooves, and fills that can be applied in…

December 2015 Issue – Volume 40 • Number 12

Catching Up With... John Convertino

Catching Up With... John Convertino Two and a half decades in, the Tex-Mex-imbued alt-rock vets of Calexico continue to find magical new ways to mix and match sounds. by Joe Wong "Songwriting is more challenging now,” Calexico drummer John Convertino…