December 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 12

The Long Game of Excellence

“I dare you to do better.” —Dom Famularo These were the final words I heard in my last meeting with my mentor and teacher Dom Famularo, only weeks before he passed. I’d known him almost three decades, and I’d heard…

Living Dead Drums

This month’s Kit of the Month comes from drummer Nick Mason. Nick has sent pictures of his custom finished Yamaha Stage Custom set. Nick is known as the “Living Dead Drummer” and plays Yamaha Drums and Paiste Cymbals. His drums…

The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming - Turn the Beat Around:Turnarounds

  In the new and revised edition of the Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming, Bobby includes nine new double bass drumming chapters. The new and expanded edition covers contemporary techniques such as bass drum double strokes, feet-only exercises, binary and…

Neil Peart’s “Xanadu” - Transcription by Marc Atkinson

Neil Peart was known by many names and nicknames, The Professor, Lurch, Bubba, Pratt, John Ellwood Taylor, Milton Banana, and if you were fortunate enough to correspond with him via email, NEP. I was lucky to exchange emails with Neil…

Techra Black Diamond Carbon Fiber Sticks: The Ultimate Drumsticks

Techra is an Italian drumstick company that, among a few other music related products, manufactures a patented designed drumstick line made of carbon fiber. Techra says that these sticks could last up to ten times longer than comparable wood sticks…

Dom Famularo 1953-2023

Drummers don’t often get a chance to retire, and if they do, our community of drummers doesn’t give people gold watches or big retirement sendoffs. Maybe it’s because musicians usually don’t really want or need to retire “officially”, not to…

George Daniel - The Expansive Evolution of The 1975

The 1975 are among an elite class of 21st century rock bands. They’ve built a massive fanbase over the last decade, topped festival lineups around the world, and released five noteworthy albums that span from slick, funky new wave, to…

December 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 12

Out Now! December 2023

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…

Dom Famularo: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan. His Plan, and His Life.

Photo Courtesy of Sabian | Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan. That’s what Dom Famularo did. That is a mantra of mine that I shared with him last year while Dom was in the battle of his life. I…

DWe Drum Set: Acoustic-Electronic Drums with Ground-breaking Wireless Technology

As a reader of Modern Drummer, it’s probable that you are well-aware of DW’s venture into the realm of electronic drums, aptly named the DWe Drum Set. DW describes this product as the first-ever wireless acoustic-electronic convertible drumkit. Convertible, meaning…

Peter Erskine remembers Dom Famularo

The recent passing of Dom Famularo left the drum world reeling in loss. Many of us knew that Dom had been bravely fighting the pancreatic cancer that was ravaging his system, and his relatively brief period of remission brought a…

The Weaker Side: Achieving Technical Balance

By Stephane Chamberland We drummers are so dedicated to increasing the knowledge of drumming that it’s extremely rewarding to be able to teach and share our skills every day. We have the opportunity to observe the common challenges that drummers…

Post Malone’s Jacopo Volpe

Photo by Dave Lang How does a drummer get the gig playing with a global superstar like Post Malone? We asked drummer Jacopo Volpe to detail how his career has evolved. Jacopo provided Modern Drummer with some good insight into…

Ringo Starr’s “Now and Then” WFL Set

By Donn Bennett Like most musicians of my generation, I was deeply influenced by The Beatles. For years I obsessively studied Ringo Starr’s playing and the minute intricacies of his various drum kits. By the mid-1980s my obsession led to…

Threes and Fours 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 the…

Understanding the Language of Music - Sixth and Seventh Chords

By Ron Spagnardi Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi wrote an excellent book called Understanding the Language of Music, a Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony. This book spells out the basics of theory and harmony in a very easy to…

Neil Peart Scholarship & Lifetime Achievement Award

  The Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship The Neil Peart Scholarship, in collaboration with Neil’s wife Carrie and Modern Drummer, is proud to present the second recipient of the Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship to Aimee Peckham. The…

Mikkey Dee’s Scorpions 2022 Vegas Residency Kit

  This Sonor SQ2 kit was built for Mikkey Dee and the Scorpions 2022 Vegas residency. It was also used for the Scorpions Rock Believer Tour. The snare the Mikkey is using on this kit is the same dimension drum…

New and Notable December

Pearl’s New GyroLock Tom Mounts Pearl’s new GyroLock-L tom holder is the first omnidirectional, gearless drum mounting and positioning system made for ultimate adjustability and security. Its solid universal 12mm L-arm offers secure placement from a singular drum key lock…