March 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 3

Roland Introduces VMH-D1 V-Drums Headphones

Premium Headphones Designed for Electronic Drum Kits Roland introduces the VMH-D1 V-Drums Headphones, a complete personal monitoring solution purpose-built for the electronic drumming experience. Co-developed by Roland and V-MODA, these unique headphones deliver premium sound that realizes the full sonic…

ADELE, ALICIA KEYS, & DECLAN McKENNA DRUMMERS JOIN PORTER & DAVIES

Top Drummers Use World Beating Silent Tactile Monitors Porter & Davies proudly announce that more world class drummers have joined their ever growing family. Derrick Wright for Adele, Mike Reid for Alicia Keys, Gabi King for Declan McKenna and Elijah…

The Stone Killer Part 2

In the September 2022 issue of Modern Drummer, we reprinted Joe Morello’s version of George Lawrence Stone’s amazing exercise The Stone Killer Part 1. There are actually three parts to this legendary speed and endurance workout. This month we will…

Ready and Prepared

In reading this month’s Modern Drummer I saw a bit of a theme. When the time came, all of this month’s great drummers were ready and prepared for anything that the music world could offer. I often hear the question…

The 4 Practice Pockets: #2: Stack the Reps, The 10,000 Reps Mindset

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”–Bruce Lee Back in the early days of recording, bands had to be grittier to get a magical…

INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS

Zildjian’s 400th Year Anniversary Celebration As part of Zildjian’s 400th year anniversary celebration, the company has commissioned a special T-shirt honoring one of its legendary artists, Art Blakey. All profits from the new T-shirt will go to the NAACP Legal…

Robby Ameen Playing with Legends

Robby Ameen is a drummer that has never really gotten a whole lot of attention for what he’s done, and he’s done a lot! Not only did he create one of the best drum books ever, Funkifying the Clave’ but…

OUT NOW! March 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 3

Modern Drummer is spotlighting certain 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…

Let’s Face It...

Chinese New Year usually finds me seated at a large circular table in Hop Woo’s, a terrific dining establishment in West Los Angeles. This annual meal is organized by the wife of my longtime friend and drummer Peter Donald. We…

The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming Three Consecutive 16th Notes

In Modern Drummer’s continuing series stemming from Bobby Rondinelli and Michael Lauren’s book The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming, this month we will continue with how Bobby integrates the idea of playing three consecutive notes with the bass drums. Included…

March 2023 - Volume 47 • Number 3

Benjamin Patterson’s Crush Kit

This month’s Modern Drummer Kit of the Month comes to us from Benjamin Patterson. Benjamin is rockin’ a Crush kit with his band Rock ‘n Roll Ave. The bass drum is a 20, and his toms are 12 and 14.…

Rare and Collectible Snare Drums

Northup Drums Museum has over 100 snare drums on display that span over 100 years from the major American drum companies, Ludwig, Slingerland, Leedy, Gretsch, Rogers and others. The snare drum is an essential part of the drumkit and a…

Daru Jones Soul-Hop and Rock-Hop Drumming

This month’s feature concludes Modern Drummer’s ongoing column called The Daru Sessions that started last year. In previous pieces we have focused on Daru’s gear, and his various musical and drumming influences. This month we conclude by talking about his…

Duet 4

For this month’s Teacher’s Forum, we present another snare drum duet from Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi’s book Snare Drum Duets. This piece is in ¾ and integrates a lot of flam and flam rudiments. The ¾ will nudge a…

Premier 1973 Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies tour kit

The kit shown here was created by Premier for Alice Cooper’s 1973 Billion Dollar Babies tour. According to a description posted on drummercafe.com in February of 2016, “This iconic mirror ball set consists of two 22” bass drums, three 16”…

WFLIII DRUMS NEW TEAM, NEW DRUMS, NEW EVERYTHING!

Bill Ludwig III and his company WFLIII are all FIRED up for 2023! Under the direction of Bill, together with new business partner Cloburn Ltd, owned and run by professional drummer Paul McManus, the year 2023 sees a new and…

The (American) Shuffle Exercises in African-American Funk

This month we’re taking a look at some basic American shuffle grooves. We’ll begin with a groove to be played with the hands. Then we’ll offer a list of bass drum options. When you practice these grooves, a strong sense…

Talking Art with Rick Allen

On the cusp of another massive tour that will bring them through South America and Europe, Def Leppard is getting ready to go out on a tour with the recently unretired Motley Crue opening. And while Def Leppard doesn’t have…

Barry Kerch: Rock and Roll’s Eternal Student

Some people in the media that say Rock and Roll is dead. But those people haven’t heard or seen Shinedown playing to 15,000 people every night. Sometimes when I interview drummers while they are promoting their new records, we don’t…