WIN LAMB OF GOD • FRANZ FERDINAND • CHRIS CUTLER A Zildjian/Tré Cool GREEN DAY Prize Package Valued At Over $6,600! JULY 2009 The World’s #1 Drum Magazine 12 REASONS TO LOVE U2’S LARRY MULLEN JR. YEAH YEAH YEAHS’ BRIAN CHASE JOHN RILEY DRUM ENLIGHTENMENT MD READERS POLL RESULTS THE FANTASTICF OUR GERALD HEYWARD, NISAN STEWART, CORA COLEMAN-DUNHAM, AARON SPEARS FROM THE CHURCH TO THE SHED PRETENDERS’ MARTIN CHAMBERS NADA SURF’S IRA ELLIOT MODERNDRUMMER.COM SUPERCHUNK’S JON WURSTER VORTEX TRIBE’S MINGO LEWIS REMO • ISTANBUL MEHMET • SABIAN • CANOPUS ON REVIEW July_2009_Cover.indd 1 4/23/09 4:03:27 PM CV2.qxd 4/23/09 11:24 AM Page CV2 001-005.qxd 4/23/09 10:40 AM Page 1 001-005.qxd 4/23/09 10:41 AM Page 2 001-005.qxd 4/23/09 10:41 AM Page 3 001-005.qxd 4/23/09 10:41 AM Page 4 001-005.qxd 4/23/09 10:42 AM Page 5 006_TOC 4/23/09 3:27 PM Page 6 CONTENTS Volume 33, Number 7 Cover photo by Alex Solca Paul La Raia 104 Alex Solca 64 48 Paul La Raia 16 UPDATE FEATURES THE PRETENDERS’ MARTIN CHAMBERS VORTEX TRIBE’S MINGO LEWIS MODERN DRUMMER’S 2009 ALTERED’S STEVE HOLMES 28 18 GIMME 10! READERS POLL RESULTS JON WURSTER The road and recording vet with Superchunk, Robert Pollard, and Bob Mould has seen it all. Who’s hot today to the most knowledgeable drum fans in the world? Some familiar faces—and quite a few first-timers as well. 20 PORTRAITS FRANZ FERDINAND’S PAUL THOMSON 48 THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS’ Disco jams meet indie pop: Franz Ferdinand’s BRIAN CHASE drummer explains the process. 44 WOODSHED The new YYYs album, It’s Blitz!, represents a considerable musical shift for the DOWN ON THE FARM band. Brian Chase risks losing his drumming voice, and comes out ahead. Hanging with the Kentucky HeadHunters’ Fred Young and Black Stone Cherry’s John Fred Young. 82 12 REASONS TO LOVE 64 THE FANTASTIC FOUR U2’S LARRY MULLEN JR. Ever since his martial intro to “Sunday Bloody From the church to the shed to the arena: Aaron Spears, Cora Coleman-Dunham, Sunday” became a must-learn for rock drummers, Gerald Heyward, and Nisan Stewart can nail the ultimate studio take one minute Larry Mullen Jr. has had our ear. This, the first and blow your mind the next. installment of MD ’s newest column, reveals twelve of Larry’s coolest recorded moments. 104 JOHN RILEY 100 WHAT DO YOU He’s that rare drummer who can explain our art as well as he KNOW ABOUT...? can play it. And John Riley can seriously play it. CHRIS CUTLER Chris Cutler might fly below most people’s radar, but his work with notorious out-rock ensembles like Henry Cow and Pere Ubu has left an indelible mark nonetheless. 6 MODERN DRUMMER • JULY 2009 006_TOC 4/23/09 3:32 PM Page 7 A Zildjian/Tré Cool Green Day Prize Package WIN Valued At Over $6,600!PAGE 98 EDUCATION 42 ELECTRONIC INSIGHTS 24 BUILDING A SMALL STAGE-MONITORING SYSTEM PART 2: MIXERS AND MONITORS by John Emrich 84 ROCK ’N’ JAZZ CLINIC NOUVEAU RETRO PART 1: GETTING THAT “VINTAGE” SOUND by Daniel Glass 88 STRICTLY TECHNIQUE TOP 10 RUDIMENTS PART 4: THE PARADIDDLE by Bill Bachman 90 LATIN SYMPOSIUM LINEAR LATIN 22 SYNCOPATED GROOVES by Powell Randolph 92 OFF THE RECORD LAMB OF GOD’S CHRIS ADLER WRATH by Ed Breckenfeld 34 96 ROCK PERSPECTIVES POLYRHYTHMS PART 1: FOUR AGAINST THREE by Rod Morgenstein DEPARTMENTS 10 AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW POWER UP! by Adam Budofsky 12 READERS’ PLATFORM 14 ASK A PRO NADA SURF’S IRA ELLIOT 36 24 IT’S QUESTIONABLE Ian Travis DEATH CAB’S JASON MCGERR ON GETTING A BIG, PUNCHY KICK TONE • RIDING ON THE SNARE • DUMPS AND DIVES 112 SHOWCASE 115 DRUM MARKET INCLUDING VINTAGE CORNER 116 CRITIQUE 118 BACKBEATS KICK SNARE HAT EVENT • IN MEMORIAM 120 KIT OF THE MONTH Neil Lim Sang A SEA OF PERCUSSION 92 EQUIPMENT 34 NEW AND NOTABLE JUST INTRODUCED 36 PRODUCT CLOSE-UP • CANOPUS NEO-VINTAGE NV60-M2 KIT • SABIAN ARTISAN VAULT ADDITIONS AND RADIA NANO HI-HATS 116 • REMO VINTAGE EMPEROR HEADS • ISTANBUL MEHMET MIKAEL Z AND MEHMET TAMDEGER TRIBUTE RIDES MD DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS! When you see this icon, click on the Multimedia toolbar at moderndrummer.com to access selected sound files. Sign up online! 120 006_TOC 4/23/09 10:45 AM Page 8 006_TOC 4/23/09 10:45 AM Page 9 010_Editors_Overview.qxd 4/23/09 10:48 AM Page 10 AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW POWER UP! Volume 33, Number 7 FOUNDER MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Kenny Aronoff, Eddie Bayers, here are two things I probably haven’t gone RONALD SPAGNARDI Bill Bruford, Harry Cangany, Jim Chapin, 1943–2003 Dennis DeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len without in thirty years: drums and maga- DiMuzio, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth, Bob Tzines. I plan on having a drumkit set up in Gatzen, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Paul Leim, Peter Magadini, my house until I’m too feeble to pick up the sticks. PUBLISHER/CEO George Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod Likewise, I think I’ll be a magazine fanatic forever, ISABEL SPAGNARDI Morgenstein, Andy Newmark, Neil Peart, despite what some people say about the rise of Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, Ed Thigpen, Billy Ward, Dave Weckl, the Internet signaling the demise of the printed SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Paul Wertico. word. That’s just crazy talk, I say. The popularity LORI SPAGNARDI CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: of one format doesn’t necessarily mean the extinc- Michael Bettine, John Emrich, Robyn tion of another. I mean, I love the world of possibil- VICE PRESIDENT Flans, Dr. Asif Khan, Rick Mattingly, Ken Micallef, Mark Parsons, Mike Haid, Robin ities an electronic drumkit can provide, but I’m not KEVIN W. KEARNS Tolleson, Lauren Vogel Weiss, T. Bruce exactly tossing my 1964 Slingerlands out the win- Wittet. dow, if you get my drift. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER MODERN DRUMMER magazine But I’m no troglodyte, people. I’ve got TiVo, Pro Tools, a seventy-five-song-a-month eMusic TRACY A. KEARNS (ISSN 0194-4533) is published habit…. Despite my love of the old skool, I’m all about new technology when it fits in with my monthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., lifestyle or my artistic demands. If what many of you readers have told me over the years is true, 12 Old Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. you’re probably like that too. That’s why I have no qualms telling you that you need to sign up for EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PERIODICALS MAIL POSTAGE paid at Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 and at additional Modern Drummer Digital today. ADAM J. BUDOFSKY mailing offices. Copyright 2009 by MDD is exactly how it sounds: a digital version of Modern Drummer magazine that you can MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc. access anywhere on the planet and read from your computer. If you ask me, that alone makes it All rights reserved. Reproduction without the MANAGING EDITOR permission of the publisher is prohibited. pretty sweet. 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