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23 Articles

Thank You for Being There for Us in 2021!

What does a new year really mean? Should we fall in behind holiday tradition and write some adorable“New Year’s Resolutions” that promise bucket loads of personal evolution? It seems that everybody gets to believe their own marketing muse on the New Year’s resolution front (how nice.) Of course, this doesn’t stop the rest of us from jabbering behind your back, “That will never happen,” or“Lucky so-and-so,” or“The sky really is falling.” Let’s put a pause on all that. While I dig over-wrought, enthusiastic promises as much as anyone—they’re usually entertaining, at least—I appreciate somber and honest critical assessments and positive action much more. To that end, here’s how Modern Drummer rattled through 2021. Like most companies in the publishing industry, we struggled to forge ahead during COVID. On the upside,…

Thank You for Being There for Us in 2021!

Motorheart, The Darkness

Rufus Taylor of the Darkness here. Motorheart [Cooking Vinyl] is our hard-hitting new album, and we’re very proud of her. I used my old-faithful DW Collectors Series kit in maple-lacquer, specialty-pearlescent black with black chrome hardware. It has a 22x24 VLX kick—the “cannon”—an 18" VLX floor tom, two VLT rack toms (changing between 12", 13", and 14"), and a 6x14 VLT snare. Due to COVID lockdown restrictions, we had to approach the recording of Motorheart a bit different from previous albums. Justin [Hawkins, vocals and lead guitar] was in Switzerland and unable to travel to the U.K., so Dan [Hawkins, rhythm guitar], Frank [Poullain, bass], and I had a brief writing trip to get some ideas down. Later on, Dan and I worked out the arrangements, and we’d send the…

Motorheart, The Darkness

Clarke Rigsby and Tempest Studios

A 40-year run in any business is certainly an achievement, but one might call a 40-year run in the recording-studio business “a miracle.” But that is precisely what producer Clarke Rigsby has done—keeping the doors open at Tempest Recording in Tempe, Arizona for four decades. “The next 40 years?” ponders Rigsby. “Well, next week, I’m selling all this sh*t and putting my dough into crypto.” Jokes aside, some of the most legendary names in music—including Bo Diddley, Glen Campbell, the Four Tops, and Tower of Power—have found their way to Rigsby’s unassuming studio, which rests behind his vintage home in a quaint residential neighborhood. Amongst the studio’s mix of vintage gear and modern technology is a vibe that has beckoned renowned drummers such as Peter Erskine, Hal Blaine, Jerry Marotta,…

Clarke Rigsby and Tempest Studios

David Lloyd Johnson Celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright

The backstory of David Lloyd Johnson’s one-of-a-kind Frank Lloyd Wright kit was initiated by three of his idols. After diving into drumming at 14 years old, Johnson became entranced by the playing of Idol #1—Ginger Baker—and he eventually acquired a kit with two unmatched bass drums to emulate his hero. Idol #2—Star Trek’s Mr. Spock dropped into the equation when Johnson sought a “logical” way to match up the two different bass drums. The young drummer’s solution was to wrap both drums with identical floral-print wallpaper. However, it’s unclear whether Spock would have approved. “Unfortunately, those were the days of Flower Power,” explains Johnson. “Looking back, the kit was hideous.” On the upside, the project established Johnson’s life-long hobby of restoring drum kits, which brings us to Idol #3—Frank Lloyd…

David Lloyd Johnson Celebrates Frank Lloyd Wright

“Ex Libris” means “from the library of.” There are many words whose first two letters are “ex:” excellence, excess, extra, extravagance, and expedience. And it would seem that much of our energies are expended towards adding one or another of these quantities to our “libraries.” It’s fair to observe that all of us are looking for more technique, more vocabulary, more acknowledgement, more playing opportunities, more fame, more money, more excitement, and so on. This is a natural and necessary part of the learning experience. But something happens once we expand our point of view (otherwise known as getting older and/or wiser): We begin to yearn for less. We look for cleaner lines, simpler reasons, more obvious truths, and less-complicated scenarios. Fewer notes (accompanied by better choices). The old “less…

The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) is one of the largest percussion events in the world. Concerts, clinics, panels, and presentations from world-class professionals attract more than 5,000 attendees annually. There are also more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest gear, publications, technology, and more. PASIC provides a unique hands-on experience—an opportunity to demo and purchase equipment, while conversing with other musicians, educators, and industry leaders from around the globe. PAS celebrated its 60th anniversary at PASIC 2021, and the live event was held at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indiana. Separate virtual sessions were also available online for those who could not attend, as well as being offered to anyone who registered for the in-person show. “PASIC is more than a convention,” said PAS Executive Director…

Grateful Drumming

Can being grateful make you a better drummer? It just might. Research shows that gratefulness positively impacts everything from sleep to heart health, feelings of depression, less fatigue, to even reducing materialism and improving eating habits. So, if you want a free way to increase how positive you feel in everyday life, start bringing gratitude into your drumming life. Could it really be that simple? Yes, it could. If you’re reading this, you are a professional drummer, or someone who is very serious about being a drummer. But you didn’t become a drummer overnight. You practiced, long and hard to refine your craft. This means that somewhere deep inside you is a booming drive to live your passion and drum from your heart. You’ve already got game. And regularly reflecting…

Grateful Drumming

MAREIKE WIENING

German composer, producer, and drummer Mareike Wiening views music as a series of conversations. Given her flawless command of the musical storytelling on her recent, eight-song release Future Memories [Greenleaf Music], it may be convenient to envision the triple-threat artist as a powerful orator inciting reactions from the multitudes. But then you’d miss the whole point. Instead, the effect of Wiening’s music on the listener is beautifully subtle and profound, and her approach is more akin to a shared narrative, where she may set the groove, harmony, and melody, but her band is free to explore, interpret, debate, support, or charge boldly ahead through their own improvisational journeys. As a leader and drummer, Wiening is into producing textures, shades of timbral colors, and restrained support, rather than delivering bombast and…

MAREIKE WIENING

Beckey Yee Crystal balls always seem to be in short supply as we attempt to make sense of the world around us, but YoronIsrael must have had a cell-phone connection to the future when he conceived his new album, New Dreams [Ronja Music Company]. Although the jazz-trio project was recorded before COVID-19 gifted everyone with a“new normal,” the album’s overarching theme of embracing challenges with positivity, fortitude, energy, hope, and joy serves as a prescient set piece for outfoxing a global pandemic. New Dreams is one of those album’s you’d want caressing your eardrums if life is bringing you down, or if you need a bit of a compassionate kick to get moving on a task or aspiration. Israel—who is Chairman of the Percussion Department at Berklee College of Music, and…

Pegasus Warning

Normally a professor wouldn’t be on national TV every night of the week playing drums, but Guillermo E. Brown—known as Pegasus Warning—can be seen as the house drummer for the Emmy award-winning The Late Late Show with James Corden, along with bandleader Reggie Watts, lead guitarist Tim Young, keyboardist Steve Scalfatti, and bassist Hagar Ben Ari. Warning is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Bard College in New York. From 2006 to 2008, he was an adjunct professor at the Gallatin School at NYU and NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music/Tisch. In 2010, he was Artist-In-Residence at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Oregon. Warning—called“a supernova of experimental R&B”—was raised in New York by an American ethnomusicologist mom and a Panamanian priest dad. His latest album,…

Pegasus Warning

It certainly does not suck to be Dream Theater. Founded 37 years ago, the band continues to cast a mammoth imprint across the progressive-metal field. Starting back in the days when musicians could fund their art by selling records, Dream Theater has amassed more than 12 million (and counting) album sales. But even in today’s streaming era, they are a powerhouse, logging more than 1.3 million listeners a month on Spotify alone. As influencers, it is mind blowing that every one of the members—drummer Mike Mangini, guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and vocalist James LaBrie—is a bona fide icon of their chosen instrument, each accumulating scores of interviews and/or articles in the music and musicgear media. Furthermore, if there was ever a criteria for charting an…

The Art of Drum Replacement

Recording drums in the studio is far from a snap. Close mics on the toms, kick drum, and snare may introduce signal-phasing gremlins that can interfere with producing a muscular drum sound. The sonic environment in the studio itself can rain hellfire if flutter echoes, standing waves, and other sonic anomalies bleed into the microphones and mess with the tone of the kit. And then there’s the subjective element of pleasing the drummer and the band, because how many times have you heard a drummer complaining about how his or her drums were recorded and mixed? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could banish vile drum tracks to Never-Never Land and replace the garbage with sounds that make you smile? Yeah. That can happen, and it has been happening for…

The Art of Drum Replacement

8 Tips for Playing Live Drums with Loops

Producing commercial drum tracks—especially in the pop, urban, and dance fields—typically means combining live and digital drums. Drum loops harness a world of sound that’s impossible to create on an acoustic kit alone, and there are infinite ways to use them. On the other hand, when you play a live kit with digital loops, you’re adding the human element, as well as the uniqueness of your own voice and feel. It can be a match made in heaven. Here are eight tips to owning your mixture of live playing and drum loops, whether you’re working in a studio or on stage. Love Playing to a Click Track This goes without saying in so much of today’s music, but the better you are at playing to a metronome, the happier you’ll…

8 Tips for Playing Live Drums with Loops

The MD Guide to Home-Studio Gear

If only you were a singer/songwriter. Then, all you’d need in your studio is a simple two-channel audio interface, one or two microphones, and GarageBand. But you’re not. You’re a drummer. So, welcome to the world of multichannel interfaces and a whole bunch of microphones and other stuff. We published a guide to eight affordable home-recording tools back in the August 2021 issue, but for anyone wishing to see in the new year with new gear, we thought a quick look at some top products might fire up your imagination and get that studio of yours cookin’! If the continuing COVID debacle has taught musicians anything positive at all, it’s that constantly churning out music content is one of the best ways to keep your fans engaged, your creative muscles…

The MD Guide to Home-Studio Gear

I’m not really one of those cranky, old-school studio rats, but I almost can’t help sighing“Kids don’t know how good they have it these days” when I look at current microphone packages. Way back when I opened my first commercial recording studio in the, um, early 1980s, the process for assembling a kick-ass microphone cabinet often started with reading Mix magazine and studying what your favorite recording engineers were using to make your favorite albums. Then, it was off to dedicated studio stores to test everything they’d let you try. In those days, unless you only wanted to buy Shure SM57s and SM58s (or the equivalent.) Finally, you brought your mics back to the studio, tried them out on sessions, and collected feedback from other engineers and clients to determine…

Latin Percussion

I pull the 5.5x13 Latin Percussion Steel Salsa Snare from its box and suddenly I am a child on Christmas morning. Wow! The stainless-steel shell is super beefy, solid, and heavy duty with a clean and shiny finish. It is simply beautiful. It’s so physically impressive that before even playing it, I know it’s going to produce a powerful attack. The shell has a rollover bearing edge, with eight tube lugs and an LP multi-plyhead. Just looking at it, I was certain I was going to love the sound of this drum. The bottom head was tuned perfectly straight out of the box, and after tuning the batter head to my liking, it was love at first crack. I eagerly grabbed a pair of sticks and brrrrrrap—the sticks bounced off…

Latin Percussion

Restoring the Vintage Marching Drum

Today’s marching drums are typically outfitted with heavy chrome hoops, continuous lugs, a substantial throw-off mechanism, and a multi-ply shell. These drums can withstand exposure to extreme elements, can project well, and provide a durable head that can be tuned tight with a surface like granite. But as impressive as they are, there is a consensus among drum collectors that they do not have the warm and unique sound of the marching drums manufactured prior to the 1960. Snare drums and field drums from this era were typically made with birch and mahogany shells with reinforcing hoops on the inside of the shell. The outer hoops were made of maple, and the throw-off was the same as you would find on a concert snare drum. Instead of continuous or separate…

Restoring the Vintage Marching Drum

Sitting In with the Seattle Seahawks

Drums have led me on some pretty epic adventures to places and situations I had thought I could only dream of. One of the most epic is my ongoing adventure with the Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline. The Seattle Seahawks have done an extraordinary job of engaging and energizing their fans. Their fans—also known as“The 12s”—have played key roles in the Seahawks’ success that has led them to three Super Bowls, including a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline was founded in 2004. The team enlisted Keith Rousu—a University of Washington marching-band alumni with a deep knowledge of drums, the NFL, and rock and roll—to create a drumline that could further engage their fans, as well as create a conduit to help connect the Seahawks with…

Sitting In with the Seattle Seahawks

Danny Seraphine

“Introduction” Chicago Transit Authority, 1969 “This was a powerful musical statement written by Terry Kath that set the tone for our band’s first album,” says Seraphine. “The song was inspired by the Don Ellis Big Band recording called ‘Autumn,’ which we were all listening to at the time. ‘Introduction’ embodied the essence of what Chicago was all about, and it demanded every bit of talent, musicianship, and concentration from everyone in the band. It consisted of three time changes 4/4, 19/8, and ¾, as well as four tempo changes. The 19/8 section was counted like this: 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2. We had just learned the song when we played the Whiskey in 1968, and I still had those numbers written on my snare drum head…

Danny Seraphine

Downstrokes For Young Marching Drummers

With drum corps and winter-percussion audition season upon us, I wanted to bring light to a concept that comes up fairly often. In my 20 years of teaching high school and college marching ensembles, I find many players’ hands haven’t developed to fully execute a true downstroke. A downstroke is a note played that does not fully rebound, but instead stays an inch or two above the surface after striking. To get from an accented note to a tap (non-accented note), a downstroke must be used to eliminate the stick from rebounding, so you can reattack at the proper tap height. If an upstroke (an uninterrupted rebounded stroke) or anything in between is used, the next note will be higher, and it won’t have the contrast needed to play the…

Downstrokes For Young Marching Drummers

Keeping Time and Creating Fills Around the Kit

Time is what we are about as drummers. If it weren’t for time, there would be no drummers. We are communicators. We use time to create grooves and melodies. Everybody has different time. I could preach about time for a long, long time. I’ve been truly blessed by having great time. But what is great time? I asked Abe Laboriel Sr. what his concept of time is. He said, “I heard a pastor say the highest form of love that exists is listening, because whenever people feel someone is listening to them, they feel loved. We musicians are professional listeners, so that when someone starts playing their personal sense of time, we are trained instinctively to know how to relate to what’s going on, and make it stronger and better…

Keeping Time and Creating Fills Around the Kit

MITCH MITCHELL Jimi Hendrix is arguably the greatest of all rock guitarists. His band featured drummer Mitch Mitchell, who himself took a back seat to no one on his instrument in the late ‘60s. The musical relationship between Hendrix and Mitchell was profound, each pushing the other to new heights of improvisational brilliance. Hendrix Hendrix released two albums in 1967, his debut, Are You Experienced, and the follow-up, Axis: Bold As Love. While the first album contains classic hits like “Purple Haze” and “Foxey Lady,” Axis is sonically more experimental and stylistically diverse, which is reflected in Mitchell’s creative drum parts. “Little Wing” This is one of Hendrix’s most-loved ballads. After his breathtaking guitar intro, Mitchell’s entrance fill is a true classic, as important tothe track as the guitar work.…

Carmine Appice’s Custom Slingerland Kit

“This is a custom one-of-a-kind kit that Slingerland made for me in 2004,” says Carmine Appice. “It’s a hand-painted, lacquer leopard finish—not a wrap—on three-ply maple shells. It features 8x12 and 9x13 rack toms, 16x16 and 16x18 floor toms, and two 16x22 bass drums. What’s not in the photo is the 5x14 Slingerland brass snare that I used with the kit.” The “leopard kit” also sports gold-plated hardware, Slingerland’s Stick Saver hoops, and a logo badge signifying the drums were manufactured in Conway, Arkansas. Eye Candy kits excerpted from Crash: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits [Insight Editions] by David Frangioni.…

Carmine Appice’s Custom Slingerland Kit

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