A TRIBUTE TO JOHN BONHAM 44 He melded heavy and delicate like no other drummer before or since. No won- der fifteen years after his untimely passing in 1980, interest in all things Bonham has only grown. Bonzo lives, indeed. by T. Bruce Wittet Words From The Wise 76 What's to be discovered among a thousand miles of cassette tape, a forest of manuscript paper, and twenty years of drum history? Only the most incisive, inspiring, and poignant quotes from the top drum masters of our time—all as they originally appeared in the pages of Modern Drummer. by William F. Miller The Evolution Of The Drumset 102 Even Charles Darwin on his most rockin' days couldn't have pre- dicted the modern drumkit. A unique historical perspective on the instrument that constantly tests our heads, hands, feet, and souls. by Harry Cangany Gone But Not Forgotten 116 A lot of amazing drumming has passed our ears in the last two decades. Sadly, many of drumming's greatest practitioners have also passed in that time. A humble tribute to those who broke down the walls and set our imaginations free. Volume 2O, Number 1 Cover photo by Neil Preston education equipment 1 2 ROC0 K PERSPECTIVES 2 8 NE W AND NOTABLE Progressive Phrasing On Double Bass by Ken Vogel 3 6 PRODUC T CLOSE-UP Premier XPK Drumkit 1 2 ROCK'N'JAZ2 Z CLINIC by Rick Van Horn Crossovers: Part 2 by Rod Morgenstein 39 Zildjian K Custom Dark Cymbals And Zil-Bels 1 2 DRU4 M SOLOIST by Rick Mattingly Philly Joe Jones: "Woody 'N You" transcribed by Steve Korn news 1 4 2CONCEPT S 1 2 UPDAT E Soloing From Your Soul Bad Company's Simon Kirke, Gayelynn McKinney of Straight Ahead, by Trilok Gurtu Jeff Hamilton, and Eleven's Greg Upchurch, plus News 1 6 I4N TH E STUDIO 1 7 0INDUSTR Y HAPPENINGS The Drummer's Studio Survival Guide: 1995 DCI World Championship Report, and more Part 10, Communication by Mark Parsons departments profiles 4 EDITOR' S OVERVIEW 1 2 6 PORTRAIT S 6 READERS ' PLATFORM Dottie Dodgion by William Minor 1 6AS K A PRO Simon Phillips, Dave Abbruzzese, and Mark Zonder 1 03 Akir a Jimbo by Greg Siegel 2 2 IT' S QUESTIONABLE 1 3 4FRO M THE PAST Denzil Best 1 5 8CRITIQU E by Burt Korall Bill Frisell and Haji's Kitchen CDs, West African Rhythms book, live Police video, and more 1 4 0A DIFFEREN T VIEW Herbie Hancock 1 7 DRU4 M MARKET by Robin Tolleson Including Vintage Showcase 1 44 O N THE MOVE 1 7 8CROSSWOR D by William F. Miller 1 4 6TEACHERS ' FORUM 1 8 0 Freddie Gruber DRUMKIT OF THE MONTH by lan Wallace 1 18 MD GIVEAWAY Win a one-of-a-kind John Bonham drum and cymbal setup from Ludwig and Paiste! 21 Years Of MD his issue marks Hundreds of leading drummers have been period of nine decades. MD's drum histo- Tthe beginning of interviewed, and a wealth of ideas and rian, Harry Cangany, takes us on the jour- our twentieth con- advice has been disseminated through our ney. Also, in keeping with an MD anniver- secutive year of many column departments. We've sary tradition, our "Gone But Not publishing MD. reviewed and reported on thousands of Forgotten" tribute honors many of the out- Two decades ago, new products, books, recordings, and standing members of our fraternity who the very first 32- videos, and done our best to address issues we've lost over the past twenty years, and page issue of that concern drummers of all ages, at all whose contributions can never be ignored. Modern Drummer playing levels, and in a variety of musical I must take a moment to acknowledge was distributed to styles. the hundreds of people who helped us a handful of music We lead this anniversary issue off with a reach the twenty-year mark. My thanks to shops and about 1,500 hopeful subscribers tribute to the late John Bonham, certainly all the manufacturers, the artists, the deal- who'd signed on before the first issue was one of the most influential forces on the ers who carry MD, our fabulous writers even released. Since then, we've gone rock drumming scene. We felt T. Bruce and photographers, and, of course, the best from a basement office with four over- Wittet's compelling portrait of this leg- in-house staff anyone could wish for. Most worked employees to a full staff of profes- endary player would be a great way to kick of all, my sincere thanks to you, the loyal sionals in a modern, 8,400-square-foot off our twentieth-anniversary celebration. readers of MD. A devoted readership is the office building. We've watched MD grow We also thought it might be interesting to backbone of any publication, and we thank from a meager print run of 3,000 copies to look back at some of the great players who you for twenty years of support. I can an international publication read by nearly have appeared on the cover of Modern assure you, we'll keep doing our very best a quarter of a million drummers each Drummer over the years, and extract an to bring you the finest drum periodical we month in over seventy-five countries. assortment of their most memorable and can each month. Hopefully, we can contin- As I reflect on the nearly two hundred inspirational comments. And what better ue to inspire you to be the very best you issues we've published, I'm quite proud of way to celebrate a milestone in drum pub- can possibly be for the next twenty years. the enormous amount of information that's lishing than to take a glance at the evolu- been passed along through our pages. tion of our instrument as it grew over a MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Henry Adler, Printed in The United States EDITOR/PUBLISHER RONALD SPAGNARDI Kenny Aronoff, Louie Bellson, Bill Bruford, Harry Cangany, Jim Chapin, Alan Dawson, Dennis DeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len MODERN DRUMMER wel- ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ISABEL SPAGNARDI DiMuzio, Charlie Donnelly, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth, Bob Gatzen, comes manuscripts and photo- Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Peter Magadini, George graphic material, however, cannot assume responsibility for MANAGING EDITOR RICK VAN HORN Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, Andy Newmark, Neil them. Such items must be accompanied by a self-addressed, Peart, Charlie Perry, John Santos, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, stamped envelope. FEATURES EDITOR WILLIAM F. MILLER Ed Thigpen, Dave Weckl. MUSIC DEALERS: Modern Drummer is available for resale ASSOCIATE EDITOR ADAM J. BUDOFSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Robyn Flans, Burt Korall, at bulk rates. Direct correspondence to Modern Drummer, Rick Mattingly, Ken Micallef, Mark Parsons, Matt Peiken, Dealer Service, P.O. Box 389, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. Tel.: (800) EDITORIAL ASSISTANT SUZANNE HURRING Teri Saccone, Robin Tolleson, Rich Watson, 334-DRUM or (815) 734-1214. ART DIRECTOR SCOTT G. BIENSTOCK MODERN DRUMMER magazine (ISSN 0194-4533) is pub- SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE: Modern Drummer, lished monthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 480, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0480. Change of address: ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR LORI SPAGNARDI 12 Old Bridge Road. Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Second-Class Allow at least six weeks for a change. Please provide both old Postage paid at Cedar Grove. NJ 07009 and at additional mail- and new address. Toll Free Tel.: (800) 551-3786. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER TRACY A. KEARNS ing offices. Copyright 1996 by MODERN DRUMMER ADVERTISING DIRECTOR BOB BERENSON Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Modern Drummer, permission of the publisher is prohibited. P.O. Box 480, Mt. Morris, JL 61054. ADVERTISING ASSISTANT JOAN C. STICKEL EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBER: Magazine Publishers Of America MARKETING AND PATRICIA DONNELLY OFFICES: MODERN DRUMMER Publications, 12 Old National Association Of Music Merchants Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Tel.: (201) 239-4140. American Music Conference PUBLIC RELATIONS E-mail, [email protected]. Percussive Arts Society OFFICE ASSISTANT DIANA LITTLE Music Educators National Conference SUBSCRIPTIONS: $34.97 per year; $56.97, two years. National Drum Association \ In celebration of MD's 20th Anniversary, it's also very rewarding to see someone the following artists offered comments who had a story in the Up & Coming sec- DOANE PERRY regarding what the magazine has meant to tion in the '80s show up a few years later It's been wonderful to have a magazine them over the years. on the cover. I'm proud for them. I think devoted to the art of drumming—and thus we all share in that person's success. I had to be able to look inside the minds of major CARL ALLEN a cover story recently, and I'm still very drum artists over the last two decades. MD I've always said that moved to have been invited to do that. focuses on the techniques and artistry of communication is the Here's wishing you another twenty years drumming, which is not something that is basis of life. When of successful drumming communication. addressed in interviews with bands in other communication breaks magazines. I like to see if the image I have down, abnormality sets of a drummer—through the personality he in. Checking out or she projects on the drums—is reflected Modern Drummer every JESUS DIAZ at all in the way he or she thinks. month makes me feel It was very exciting to be able to perform Sometimes it is, but other times I'm com- like I'm still communicating with the with Talking Drums at the 1994 Modern pletely surprised.