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March 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 3

Ben Riley This past November 18, the American jazz-drumming great Ben Riley passed away at the age of eighty-four. A brief list of Riley’s credits includes Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Ahmad Jamal, Kenny Barron, the New York Jazz Quartet, and—most notably—the Thelonious Monk Quartet. Riley appeared on the venerated Monk recordings It’s Monk’s Time, Monk, Underground, and Straight, No Chaser, as well as the reissued 1964 recordings Live at the It Club and Live at the Jazz Workshop. Riley was born in Georgia and moved to New York City with his family when he was four. After graduating high school, he served in the army, then moved back to New York in 1954. The drummer began playing professionally around the city in 1956 and joined Monk in 1964. His tenure with the idiosyncratic pianist and composer would last until 1968, when Riley took a four-year break […]
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Articles in March 2018

Drum Fills: Keep It Simple, or Shred?

Drummers have to consider plenty of options when choosing an appropriate fill to play in a given situation. Factors such as voicing, subdivision, density, and speed comprise just a few of the choices. While keeping these options in mind, we…

Modern Drummer
Jan 31, 2018

The 2017 Hollywood Custom and Vintage Drum Show

Drum enthusiasts from around the globe convened at the Glendale Civic Auditorium in Glendale, California, this past October 7 to check out informative clinics and a plethora of new and vintage drumming gear. The stellar performance lineup included Jason McGerr…

Story and photos by Bob Campbell
Jan 31, 2018

Edit Bunker’s Zach Danziger

FROM FUSOID WILDCHILD TO ELECTRO-VISIONARY

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Lloyd Bishop
Jan 31, 2018

Marty Beller With They Might Be Giants

The drummer and composer stokes an already roaring blaze underneath a raucous group’s latest worldwide trek.

Article by Willie Rose | Photo by Erik Rosengarten
Jan 31, 2018

Ddrum - Dios Maple Series Drumset

After being shelved for six years, the go-to shell pack is back and better than ever.

by Michael Dawson
Jan 31, 2018
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Three Birds With One Stone - Optimize Your Practice Time

Time is tight for many of us. If we had unlimited time to shed, we’d probably spend hours behind the kit. But the reality is that life’s twists and turns can keep us busy. Therefore, I try to practice things…

by Chris Prescott
Jan 31, 2018

Big & Rich's Keio Stroud

When national artists record in Nashville, they call on world-renowned studio greats like Paul Leim, Eddie Bayers, Lonnie Wilson, Greg Morrow, and Chad Cromwell to put down the ultimate version of a track. But when those artists need a sub…

Story by Aaron Strickland | Photos by Joey Tanner
Jan 31, 2018

Phantogram’s Chris Carhart

ON STAGE AND UP CLOSE

Interview Michael Dawson | Photos by Nicholas Shelestak
Jan 31, 2018

The Failure Percentage

Preparation and Professionalism Always Win Out

by Russ Miller
Jan 31, 2018
by Michael Dawson
Jan 31, 2018

John Convertino on Calexico’s The Thread That Keeps Us

A presidential election, a trip west to the coast, and an immersion in nature invigorate the indie mainstay’s latest foray into Tex-Mex-infused Americana bliss.

Article by Willie Rose | Photo by Eric Stoner
Jan 31, 2018

Hüsker Dü’s Grant Hart: 1961-2017

It seemed that Hüsker Dü’s Grant Hart existed to dispel the moronic clichés informing most drummer jokes. The dude could seemingly do it all. Killer drummer. Great singer. Amazing songwriter. He was also a supremely talented visual artist who designed…

Story by Patrick Berkery | Photo by Ebet Roberts
Jan 31, 2018
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New Drum Gear from Simmons, Zildjian, Roland, Sound Percussion Labs, Tama and Sabian!

Simmons Mesh-Head Electronic Drumkit This full-sized five-piece electronic drumkit offers a 10" dual-zone, dual-ply snare; three 8" dual-ply toms; a 10" crash with choke capabilities; a 12" ride cymbal; and a 10" hi-hat pad with a pedal. The kick trigger…

Modern Drummer
Jan 31, 2018

The Fundamentals of 5/4 Rock

Backbeat and Ghost Note Placement

by Joel Rothman
Jan 31, 2018

Drum Wisdom: Legendary Educator Michael Carvin

One could take issue with Michael Carvin’s insistence that he isn’t a jazz drummer. His credits as a sideman for Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, and Pharoah Sanders, of course, suggest he’s wrong in that assertion. But in talking with him…

by Keith Carne | Photo by Rahav Segev
Jan 31, 2018

John Clardy On Tera Melos’s Trash Generator

Diving Deep Into the Experimental Trio’s Latest Release

Article by Austin Burcham | Photo by Colin Eldridge
Jan 31, 2018

Sugar Percussion - 2-12 Series Mahogany Snares

An experiment with shell depths yields surprising results.

by Michael Dawson
Jan 31, 2018

Seven-Over-Three Polyrhythms

Exploring the Space Between an Odd Grouping

by Aaron Edgar
Jan 31, 2018
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Professional Drum Shop

Hollywood, California

Interview by Patrick Berkery
Jan 31, 2018

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