WIN A PREMIER/SABIAN PACKAGE WORTH $6,450 THE WORLD’S #1 DRUM MAGAZINE APPS YOU NEED 9 TO KNOW TERENCE BLANCHARD’S OSCAR SEATON PORTRAIT OF A COMPLETE MUSICIAN ILAN RUBIN OF NIN/ANGELS & AIRWAVES/THE NEW REGIME OCTOBER 2015 BEN THATCHER: ROYAL BLOOD BLAKE RICHARDSON: BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME JOE VITALE: JOE WALSH, CSN…MERYL STREEP? 12 Modern Drummer June 2014 June 2014 Modern Drummer 1 SHAPE Y O U R SOUND Bose® F1 Model 812 Flexible Array Loudspeaker 1 speaker. 4 coverage patterns. STRAIGHT J REVERSE J C Introducing the first portable loudspeaker that lets you easily control the vertical coverage – so wherever you play, more music reaches more people directly. The Bose F1 Model 812 Flexible Array Loudspeaker’s revolutionary flexible array lets you manually select from four coverage patterns, allowing you to adapt your PA to the room. Plus, the loudspeaker and subwoofer provide a combined 2,000 watts of power, giving you the output and impact for almost any application. Your audience won’t believe their ears. Bose.com/F1 ©2015 Bose Corporation. CC017045 2 Modern Drummer June 2014 BOS80570_ModernDrummer.indd 1 23/06/2015 12:48 PM PROUD PROUD DW Proud Ad - Josh F - FULL (MD).indd 1 7/16/15 11:30 AM SAYRE BERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY “From a young age I CONTENTS was taught to treat being a musician as a Volume 39 • Number 10 real skill. At twenty, 38 On the Cover when I joined Nine Inch Nails, I thought, ‘This is Ilan Rubin the kind of organization by Ken Micallef I want to be a part of.’” Trent Reznor isn’t the only rock star who’s seen the value of Ilan Rubin’s mature approach to art and commerce; the members of Paramore and Angels & Airwaves have tapped his considerable skills as well. In his first MD cover story, the multi-instrumentalist talks about those gigs, as well as the latest album by the band he leads, the New Regime. Cover and contents photos by Alex Solca FEATURES 20 Catching Up With… the Grateful Dead’s BILL 60 Classic-rock vet JOE VITALE takes it to the silver KREUTZMANN and Faith No More’s MIKE BORDIN screen in Ricki and the Flash. by Billy Amendola 48 Terence Blanchard’s OSCAR SEATON finds 66 Up & Coming: Royal Blood’s BEN THATCHER. freedom in the grooves. by Ken Micallef Inside today’s hottest, heaviest two-piece. by Ken Micallef 54 BLAKE RICHARDSON advances the future with 90 A Different View with JOHN TROPEA: notes on Between the Buried and Me. by David Ciauro Cobham, Gadd, Purdie, Pelton, and more. by Billy Amendola EDUCATION EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENTS 69 Basics 26 Product Close-Up 8 An Editor’s Overview Necessary Ruffness Angel Black Wenge Tools in Technology Make Your Grooves Percolate Segment-Shell Drumset by Michael Dawson With Subtle Doubles V-Classic Hi-Hats, Crashes, Rides, by Rich Redmond and Jingle Splashes 11 Readers’ Platform DTS 6.5x14 Oscar Seaton 70 Strictly Technique Hybrid-Shell Snare 14 News Build a More Balanced Stellar 3-Ply and Walnut/Bird’s-Eye Double-Stroke Roll Maple Wood Hoops 22 It’s Questionable Inverting the Diddles to Increase Nickel and Chrome Plating: Strength and Precision 32 Electronic Insights What’s the Difference? by Jeff W. Johnson 9 iOS Apps Every Drummer Should Know 84 Showcase 73 Rock ’n’ Jazz Clinic Metronomes, Play-Alongs, and More Featuring Drum Market The Flexible Five Exploring the Five-Stroke Roll 36 Gearing Up 88 CritiqueBe a Winner in the Premier Drums on the Drumset Every Time I Die’s and Sabian Cymbals Contest by Mike Johnston Daniel Davison 93 Backbeats Total prize package The 2015 Chicago Drum Show • worth $6,450! 74 Jazz Drummer’s Workshop 80 New and Notable DrumPhest 2015 Swing Style 101 Part 2: The Other Half 96 Kit of the Month by Justin Varnes Silver Sparkler 76 Rock Perspectives 75 Teacher’s Forum Progressive Drumming Essentials Be a Winner in the Premier Drums and Sabian Cymbals Contest Part 4: How to Feel Odd Subdivisions A Yogi’s Approach to Learning Drums Grand prize: Premier 4-piece Modern Classic Club kit (14x20 by Aaron Edgar bass drum, 14x14 fl oor tom, and Awareness Exercises for Developing 8x12 rack tom with mahogany shells, and 5.5x14Total birch-shell prize package snare*) and a Sabianworth cymbal $6,450! a More Fluid Connection package that includes an 18" AAX Omni, a 22" AAX Omni, and 14" AAX Freq Hats. With the Instrument 78 Concepts *Hardware not included The Responsibility Is Ours Premier presents its new Modern Classic by Nicholas Schlesinger Club kit, which was reviewed in the February 2015 issue of Modern Drummer: Calls to Action to Combat “The subtle vintage/retro vibe of this kit makes it look as timeless as it sounds.” the Current State of Affairs Sabian Omni cymbals were designed with Jojo Mayer to create a revolutionary, versatile sound,Page and the AAX 65 Freq by Russ Miller Hats never get out of control. Enter today! Enter today! www.moderndrummer.com Consumer Disclosure: 1. To enter, visit www.moderndrummer.com between the dates below and look for the Premier/Sabian Contest button (one entry per email address). 2. ODDS OF WINNING DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED. 3. CONTEST BEGINS AUGUST 1, 2015, AND ENDS AT MIDNIGHT GMT ON OCTOBER 31, 2015. 4. Grand Prize Drawing: Winners will be selected by random drawing on November 10, 2015. Winners will be notifi ed by phone or Grand prize: Premier 4-pieceemail on or about November 12, 2015. 5. Employees, and their immediate families, of Modern Drummer, Premier, Sabian Ltd., Sabian, Inc., and their affi liates are ineligible. 6. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, misdirected, and/or delayed entries. 7. Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, 18 years of age or older. Void in Modern Classic Club kit Quebec,(14x20 Canada; Florida; New York; and where prohibited by law. 8. Maximum of one prize awarded per contest. 9. Prizes: Grand Prize – One (1) winner will receive bass drum, 14x14 fl oor tom,the prizes and as described above. Approximate retail value of prize: $6,450. Approximate retail value of contest: $6,450. 10. Canadian participants must fi rst correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question before being declared a winner. 11. Sponsored by Modern Drummer Publications, Inc., 271 Route 46 W, H-212, Fairfi eld, 8x12 rack tom with mahoganyNJ 07004, 973-239-4140. 12. This contest is subject to the complete Offi cial Rules. For a copy of the complete Offi cial Rules and/or the winner’s name, send an email shells, and 5.5x14 birch-shellto: [email protected] or write to: Modern Drummer Publications/Premier-Sabian/Offi cial Rules/Winners List, 271 Route 46 W, H-212, Fairfi eld, NJ 07004. snare*) and a Sabian cymbal package that includes an 18" AAX Omni, a 22" AAX Omni, and 14" AAX Freq Hats. *Hardware not included Premier presents its new Modern Classic Club kit, which was reviewed in the February 2015 issue of Modern Drummer: “The subtle vintage/retro vibe of this kit makes it look as timeless as it sounds.” Sabian Omni cymbals were designed with Jojo Mayer to create a revolutionary, versatile sound, and the AAX Freq Hats never get out of control. Enter today! Enter today! www.moderndrummer.com Consumer Disclosure: 1. To enter, visit www.moderndrummer.com between the dates below and look for the Premier/Sabian Contest button (one entry per email address). 2. ODDS OF WINNING DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED. 3. CONTEST BEGINS AUGUST 1, 2015, AND ENDS AT MIDNIGHT GMT ON OCTOBER 31, 2015. 4. Grand Prize Drawing: Winners will be selected by random drawing on November 10, 2015. Winners will be notifi ed by phone or email on or about November 12, 2015. 5. Employees, and their immediate families, of Modern Drummer, Premier, Sabian Ltd., Sabian, Inc., and their affi liates are ineligible. 6. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, misdirected, and/or delayed entries. 7. Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, 18 years of age or older. Void in Quebec, Canada; Florida; New York; and where prohibited by law. 8. Maximum of one prize awarded per contest. 9. Prizes: Grand Prize – One (1) winner will receive the prizes as described above. Approximate retail value of prize: $6,450. Approximate retail value of contest: $6,450. 10. Canadian participants must fi rst correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question before being declared a winner. 11. Sponsored by Modern Drummer Publications, Inc., 271 Route 46 W, H-212, Fairfi eld, NJ 07004, 973-239-4140. 12. This contest is subject to the complete Offi cial Rules. For a copy of the complete Offi cial Rules and/or the winner’s name, send an email to: [email protected] or write to: Modern Drummer Publications/Premier-Sabian/Offi cial Rules/Winners List, 271 Route 46 W, H-212, Fairfi eld, NJ 07004. MEINL USA, LC © 2015 DO YOU PLAY IN AN 8Os COVER BAND? (If so, stop reading now.) This is the Byzance 22" Big Apple Dark Ride. You don't have to be a jazz snob to appreciate it, but it helps. We took the original Big Apple Ride, known for its sweet stick articulation and left it un-lathed to give it the low-pitched wash of the Byzance Dark cymbals. It's thin enough to crash on and has a musical bell. Just like all of our Byzance cymbals, it's expensive and worth every penny.