WIN 2 TICKETS TO SEE KISS & ERIC SINGER IN CONCERT THE WORLD’S #1 DRUM RESOURCE ERIC HARLAND BOLDLY VOYAGING WITH CHRIS POTTER, CHARLES LLOYD, DAVE HOLLAND, AND BEYOND SMASHING PUMPKINS’ JIMMY CHAMBERLIN GEARS UP + FEBRUARY 2020 NICKI MINAJ/MAXWELL’S DARRYL HOWELL DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA CARTER MCLEAN: INSIDE METHODS What’s Old is New Again. Not just a landmark for surf and sand, it’s also where DW began. A storefront drum school in Santa Monica, California would become the birthplace of a drumming legacy. John Good Circa 1973 DW’s heritage was the inspiration for the Santa Monica Series™ drum shell. ,WDOOVWDUWHGZLWKSOLHVRIVHOHFW1RUWK$PHULFDQ+DUG5RFN0DSOHÀWWHG with a matching 6 ply reinforcement hoop. The sound was always resonant, focused and incredibly versatile. That sound has been faithfully recaptured by the DW California Custom Shop for a new generation to experience. Customize one today and make it your own, 12 Modern Drummer June 2014 it’ll only get better with age. ©2019 Drum Workshop, Inc. All Rights Reserved. June 2013 Modern Drummer 1 Volume 44 • Number 2 CONTENTS Cover and contents photos by Rahav Segev 34 THE DRUMMERS OF DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA Multiple drummers, totally wireless and in constant choreographic motion…. Broadway has never seen the likes of this. by Jeff Potter 40 DARRYL HOWELL He holds down the drum chair for three artists ON THE COVER at the very top of their respective genres: Gospel singer Jonathan McReynolds, rap star 24 ERIC HARLAND Nicki Minaj, and R&B crooner Maxwell. His Voyager group references drum ’n’ bass, by Steven Styles avant-garde, Indian classical, future fusion, and well beyond. Add to that the hundreds 50 JOEL TAYLOR of recordings he’s played on, the multiple His résumé reads like a drummer-fantasy list: jazz legends he’s supported, and his singular Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Joe Sample and playing style, which has infl uenced legions, the Crusaders, Oz Noy, and on and on…. and it becomes crystal clear why he’s by Ken Micallef considered among the most crucial musicians of his generation. 56 CHRIS VATALARO by Ken Micallef The globetroter has recently recorded and performed in a duo setting with alt-rock star Trixie Whitley, played on two feature fi lms, and backed minimalist legend Philip Glass. by Bob Girouard LESSONS DEPARTMENTS 58 ROCK ’N’ JAZZ CLINIC 4 AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW The Power of Silence by Dylan Wissing Why Do You Do It? Win Two Tickets by Adam Budofsky 60 JAZZ DRUMMER’S WORKSHOP Improvising with Flams by Mike Alfi eri 6 READERS’ PLATFORM to See Kiss with Tips on improving time, and more 62 ROCK PERSPECTIVES Rhythmic Design with Your Eyes by Aaron Edgar 8 OUT NOW Eric Singer in Ilan Rubin on the New Regime’s Heart 64 CONCEPTS On Preparation by Andrew Marshall 10 ON TOUR Los Angles Grace Potter’s Jordan West Page 87 70 RETAILER PROFILE Hawthorne Drum Shop EQUIPMENT 74 CRITIQUE 12 PRODUCT CLOSE-UP 20 IN THE STUDIO Buddy Rich DVD and more Mapex Black Panther Design Harry Miree Lab Versatus System 78 INSIDE METHODS Sabian HHX Complex Series Cymbals 66 NEW AND NOTABLE Carter McLean’s Drumset Concepts & Creativity ddrum Dios Maple and Bamboo Snares 80 BOOKINGS Steve Gorman’s Hard to Handle 18 GEARING UP Smashing Pumpkins’ 82 IT HAPPENED ON THE ROAD Jimmy Chamberlin Idles’ Jon Beavis 86 IN MEMORIAM Robin Tolleson 88 BACK THROUGH THE STACK Neil Peart, April/May 1980 AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW Why Do You Do It? Founder Ronald Spagnardi 1943–2003 mong my responsibilities each month at AModern Drummer is writing un-bylined parts President/CEO Isabel Spagnardi of the magazine—captions, feature deks, cover Senior Vice President Lori Spagnardi heads, that sort of thing. This month, as I was Publisher David Frangioni putting together the contents page, I noticed Vice President Kevin W. Kearns something interesting: there were no “band” drummers in the features section, meaning, no Associate Publisher Tracy A. Kearns one whose playing career revolved solely around Advertising Director Bob Berenson their work with one group or instrumentalist, or Jim Esposito Advertising Assistant LaShanda Gibson within one genre. It got me thinking about all the other drummers whose success has hinged on their ability to contribute in a Senior Art Director Scott G. Bienstock multitude of settings, or to a mix of styles, and how and why they cultivated Editorial Director Adam J. Budofsky that ability. Managing Editor Michael Dawson Over the years you’ve no doubt read many a pro drummer or MD Editor at Large Billy Amendola columnist espouse the importance of learning as wide a range of styles as possible. Even for players who largely came to prominence with one act, immersing themselves in multiple genres reaped big rewards. Think about, THE MD PRO PANEL/ADVISORY BOARD: Chris Adler, Kenny Aronoff, Eddie say, Danny Seraphine with Chicago, or Stewart Copeland with the Police, or Bayers, Gregg Bissonette, Jason Bittner, Bill Bruford, Will Calhoun, Terri Lyne Danny Carey with Tool. Carrington, Matt Chamberlain, Jeff Davis, Peter Erskine, Daniel Glass, Benny It seems unlikely that any of these drummers explicitly plotted their Greb, Matt Halpern, Horacio Hernandez, Gerald Heyward, Taku Hirano, Susie Ibarra, Jim Keltner, Paul Leim, Peter Magadini, George Marsh, Pat Mastelotto, particular road to stardom. Did Seraphine shed big band just so he could Allison Miller, Rod Morgenstein, Andy Newmark, Stephen Perkins, Dafnis join a “horn band” like Chicago? Nah, rock bands with horn sections didn’t Prieto, Rich Redmond, Brian Reitzell, Jim Riley, Antonio Sanchez, Gil Sharone, exist when Danny was young. Did Copeland imagine making history by Chad Smith, Steve Smith, Todd Sucherman, Billy Ward, Kenny mashing together punk rock and reggae music? Hard to imagine—punk Washington, Dave Weckl, Paul Wertico and reggae didn’t develop until well after Stewart fi rst picked up the sticks. How about Danny Carey and Tool? Well, I don’t think any of us saw his style CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: SUBSCRIPTIONS: coming. Patrick Berkery, Stephen Bidwell, U.S. $32.95, Canada $40.95, No, the reason all these drummers were able to absolutely kill it with their David Ciauro, John Colpitts, Bob Girouard, other international $47.95 Mike Haid, John Martinez, Ben Meyer, per year. For two-year respective bands was because they’d followed their own diverse interests Ken Micallef, Jeff Potter, Will Romano, subscription prices go to www. as they were developing their voices on the kit. And not because it made Bernie Schallehn, Ilya Stemkovsky, Robin moderndrummer.com. “sense” at the time, but because it carried meaning in and of itself. Then, Tolleson, Lauren Vogel Weiss, Paul Wells. Single copies $6.99. when they fi nally met the right fellow musicians—BAM! The stars aligned, MODERN DRUMMER magazine SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE: and we all were gifted with groundbreaking art. (ISSN 0194-4533) is published monthly Modern Drummer, PO Box 274, Oregon, by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, IL 61061-9920. Change of address: Back to this month’s featured drummers. None of them can be neatly Inc., 271 Route 46 West, Suite H-214, Allow at least six weeks for a change. pinned to one particular employer—or even one type of employer. We can Fairfi eld, NJ 07004. PERIODICALS Please provide both old and new ponder elsewhere whether this is an actual trend, and if so, why it might MAIL POSTAGE paid at Fairfi eld, NJ address. Call 800-551-3786 or 815- 07004 and at additional mailing offi ces. 732-5283. Phone hours, be. For now there’s plenty to learn just by exploring each of their individual Copyright 2020 by MODERN DRUMMER 8AM–4:30PM Monday–Friday CST, paths toward self-expression. Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. or visit Subscriber Services at Reproduction without the permission of the www.moderndrummer.com. A couple months ago in this column, I asked readers to think about how publisher is prohibited. they could make their own way in the music industry. Perhaps it’s even more POSTMASTER: Send address changes to important to ask ourselves why. We can all work our butts off with the aim of EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ Modern Drummer, PO Box 274, Oregon, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES: IL 61061-9920. becoming “employable.” But without intellectual curiosity and a muse on our MODERN DRUMMER Publications, shoulder, aren’t we just going through the motions? Success in the music 271 Route 46 West, Suite H-214, Canadian Publications Mail Agreement industry is hard enough—besides a paycheck, exactly what is it that we’re Fairfi eld, NJ 07004. Tel: 973-239- No. 41480017 Return undeliverable 4140. Fax: 973-239-7139. Canadian addresses to: PO Box 875, Stn A, getting out of all this? What does the path to self-discovery teach us about Email: [email protected]. Windsor ON N9A 6P2 ourselves, and about the world around us? MODERN DRUMMER welcomes MEMBER: National Association of Music The time for self-refl ection is always now. manuscripts and photos but cannot Merchants, Percussive Arts Society assume responsibility for them. MODERN DRUMMER ONLINE: www.moderndrummer.com Adam Budofsky PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES Editorial Director Music Key facebook.com/moderndrummer @modern_drummer 4 Modern Drummer February 2020 MASTERS MAPLE GUM A DYNAMIC RANGE LIKE NO OTHER. Conceived from our legendary Masterworks Series, Masters Maple Gum is a simplified concept geared specifically for the working studio and live drummer. Constructed from six even thickness wood plies, Masters Maple Gums shells are composed of 4 outer plies of North American Maple in concert with 2 inner plies of Gumwood to create a robust bottom end with strong midrange and perfectly balanced highs.