Review: Steve Gadd Band’s New Album
A review of the Steve Gadd Band‘s new album “Way Back Home” has been released. Read more
Reviews
Gear Review – Evans Level 360 Drumheads
Evans is trying to move the needle on modern drumhead manufacturing by rethinking the way drumheads are constructed. Is it truly groundbreaking or is it marketing snake oil?
Gear Review – Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Kit
It’s the new year, and you’re on the look out for a new sound. Out of all the manufacturers of fine quality drums, whom do you pick? What drum set should be your next investment? Lets take a look at Yamaha’s mid-line flagship, the Birch Stage Custom.
Gear Review – Istanbul Agop 24” Xist Ride
Big, big, and bigger! Large cymbals and large drums are making quite a comeback in the modern drummers arsenal these days.
Gear Review: Ludwig Jim Riley Signature Snare
Snare drums can make or break your gig. Finding the right shell to accommodate the style and nuances of the music is a challenge every drummer takes on.
Book Review: “Sittin’ In with the Big Band” Vol I
Sittin’ In with the Big Band is a music minus one type of series of big band arrangements written in a variety of styles ranging from swing to Latin, and from funk to rock. With killer tracks, fun arrangements, and a few challenging charts, it’s a great addition to your shelf!
8 Drum Mic Kits Tested by Electronic Musician
I am of the belief that every drummer should own his/her own set of drum mics. You never know when they’ll come in handy at a gig, and I’ve run into many times where the mics I had were superior (and more numerous) than the house mics. You’ll garner the appreciation and raised eyebrows of many a sound guy with this level of pro-readiness!
Check out the reviews Electronic Musician did of 8 different mic kits ranging in price from $299 to $2500.
Gear Review – Vic Firth Stereo Isolation Headphones
Hearing protection is something we drummers need to be mindful of, but we often take it for granted until we start noticing early-onset tinnitus or other hearing damage. As someone who did several years in drumline and many more years in rock bands sans ear plugs, I can testify that it’s never too early (or too wimpy) to take care of our ears.
One of the primary dilemmas we face when looking at hearing protection is how to best have good sound reduction while also hearing a click or a backing track for gigs and practice. Enter the stereo isolation headphone! Now, you can have your dB-cutting cake and eat your stereo sound source too! Read more
DRUM! – Sabian XS20 Cymbals Reviewed!
From Drum!
If you’re a drummer that bashes away in a rehearsal room with your bandmates four nights a week, you may not want to incur the almost inevitable expense and disappointment that can come from cracking your super-expensive crashes. Hence, these semi-professional crashes provide an excellent opportunity to save those expensive models for the good gigs – not the rehearsal room.
Click here to read the full review…
DVD Review – Behind the Player: Stephen Perkins
Stephen Perkins is best known for drumming with Jane’s Addiction but he’s also played for Porno for Pyros, Infectious Grooves and he currently plays with Banyan. Of course, if you have seen this DVD before you would already know that because player history is one of main features of a BTP DVD. All of these BTP features have the same basic structure: there will be a BTP section, 2 or 3 song lessons, and some extras.
Todd Sucherman: Methods & mMechanics for Useful Musical Drumming
I’ve been excited to see this one for a while. I was waiting for the promised Blu-Ray version to come out so I could see if the instructional experience is that much better in HD. Alas, my patience expired when I saw it available on Netflix. I saw the preview for this DVD and thought “that guy sounds like a more progressive version of Steve Smith… and I like that.” As it turns out Todd Sucherman: drummer for Styx, session drummer, and clinician, is a big fan of Steve Smith. In fact Todd actually tells a touching personal story about his relationship with Steve Smith which is one of the nice little touches in this DVD that make it so great, but I’m getting ahead of myself. 
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Victor Wooten & Carter Beauford: Making Music
This review might be a little nontraditional but you’ll have to forgive me because this DVD is quite nontraditional. It’s one of those most rare of animals, the drum and bass instructional video. Carter Beauford, (drummer for DMB) and Victor Wooten, (bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), decided to turn the recording session for Victor’s album Yin-Yang into the foundation for an entire drum/bass instructional DVD. This isn’t two separate instructional DVDs that Hudson Music decided to sell as a package. It doesn’t try to teach everything you need to know to play either instrument. Rather, it focuses on the music on the Yin-Yang album and examines the give-and-take between Carter and Victor when they play. This is an instructional that demands you pay attention to what they play and analyze it for yourself. Read more
DVD Review – Matt Sorum: Licks and Tricks from the Rock & Roll Jungle
If there’s any drummer who can claim they’ve come from the rock and roll jungle it’s Matt Sorum. With seven years under his belt, he’s the longest sitting Guns N’ Roses drummer ever. Matt Sorum was ejected from the band by Axl Rose after he defended Slash’s decision to leave. So along with Slash and former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan they formed Velvet Revolver… which is now on hiatus because their lead singer left the band. Lead singer issues aside, Matt Sorum is a road tested rock drummer and well qualified to speak on the topic of rock drumming. Read more
DVD Review – Alan Schechner: Coordination & Groove
Coordination & Groove is a video that is pretty much honest about its content. It’s a video about coordination and groove, in that order IMO. Alan Schechner (the host) is another one of those working drummers. The kind that we’ll probably end up like if we pursue the working drummer career path. Not famous, but then again… who needs fame if you have a job making music with the instrument of your choice? Read more