January 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 1
Articles in January 2018
Focusrite - Scarlett 18i20 Audio Interface and OctoPre Dynamic Mic-Pre Expansion Unit
A clean and simple sixteen-channel recording setup that sounds great and won’t break the bank.
The New Pornographers’ Joe Seiders
Hundreds of stories have appeared in MD over the years with drummers talking about the skills that helped them land a particular gig. This typically ranges from a knack for supporting songs with creative, unobtrusive playing to the ability to…
Chad Sexton
Everything about 311 seems epic: their longstanding lineup, their semi-annual concert/celebration, their throngs of dedicated fans—not to mention the grooves of their founding drummer.
Chris Cohen
Chris Cohen describes himself as a member of the Portastudio generation. It’s a classification he’s coined to describe musicians, now in their late thirties and early forties, who cut their teeth in production with Tascam’s legendary Porta One tape machine.…
Live Vibes
Having somewhat recently moved to northern New Jersey, I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to check out some of the jazz clubs that have long defined New York City culture. Although some of the more prominent venues have moved from their…
Drum Design Knowledge, Part 3: The Snare Bed
We need to be experts at our jobs, and knowing our tools is a part of that. I always put together my rig for tours or gigs, and then take suggestions from my tech on how to make the setup…
Virgil Howe Passes, Free Drum Lesson Lab Tents, Latin Percussion Joins Hurricane Relief Efforts, and More!
Virgil Howe, English Rock Drummer and Son of Yes Guitarist Steve Howe, Passes Virgil Howe, the drummer for the British rock band Little Barrie, passed away this past September 11 at the age of forty-one. Virgil, the youngest son of Yes…
New Gear from Promark, ATV, Cymbomute, Sabian and drumdots!
Promark Matthew Strauss Signature Sticks This signature stick series is the first in the Promark catalog to use persimmon, a preferred wood type among concert percussionists for its strength, comfortable weight, and density. The .670"x17" General Concert Stick features a…
“A Little Better All the Time”
This month’s featured kit comes to us from Edward McCarthy of West Springfield, Massachusetts, who recently purchased this vintage 1970s Ludwig set. McCarthy explains that the drums, which were originally covered in a wine-red wrap, had seen better days. But…
Paul Koehler With Silverstein
Hot off the release of a new record, the heavy hitter propels his tireless rock band around the world with a never-stop attitude.
Get Good: Listening
As a teenager in high school, I practiced classical piano for two hours a day. I could play really difficult music—as long as it was notated. I ran into trouble when it came to playing music with other people, because…
SJC - Paramount Series Shell Pack
A professional-quality, affordably priced kit designed to exceed nearly any working drummer’s needs.
Ibeyi
These dynamic siblings derive much inspiration from their ancestry. But the direction of their art is undeniably full speed ahead.
Dweezil Zappa’s Ryan Brown
When he took over the drum chair with Dweezil Zappa more than four years ago, Southern California–based drummer Ryan Brown had to expand his setup in order to accommodate all of the sounds required in the extensive catalog that the…
Jaimoe
The 2017 deaths of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks and singer/keyboardist Gregg Allman hit the rock world pretty damn hard. But few could have felt the loss more than the man who was there from the very beginning.
Malachi DeLorenzo on Langhorne Slim’s Lost at Last, Vol. 1
A drummer and producer talks about the subtle, refined, and contemplated figures and tones that bedeck an indie/folk singer-songwriter’s latest release.
Jon Epcar
Jon Epcar’s master plan didn’t involve drumming on Broadway. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Epcar went to a high school with a strong music program that included graduates like saxophonist Kamasi Washington. So the drummer got the bug and…