features

Artist Q&A

Mercedes Lander of Kittie

The Lander sisters may be all grown up now, but the sound of their band, Kittie, is harder than ever on the newest release, In The Black. In this exclusive interview, Mercedes Lander explains how she laid down her parts for the new album and prepared to hit the road.

Artist Q&A

Dave Witte of Municipal Waste

There are reasons why Dave Witte is not exactly a household name, but they have nothing to do with his incredible dexterity or impressive bio. Instead, he chooses to play with some of the most extremem bands in the thrash genre, which kind of narrows the range of fans he might expect. It doesn’t seem to worry his one bit, especially since he continues touring the world with Municipal Waste, almost a full year after the release of its latest album, Massive Aggressive.

Artist Q&A

Rian Dawson of All Time Low

All Time Low drummer Rian Dawson talks about what it was like working with five different producers on the Baltimore band's latest smash CD Nothing Personal, plus offers a few tips about recording, tuning, and warming up.

Artist Q&A

Bart Elliott: Brewing Beats at Drummercafe

Bart Elliott is a drummer, teacher and a former drum shop owner. His recordings have been on hundreds of jingles, soundtracks and albums. But these days he's also known as the proprietor of one of the 'net's coolest percussion sites, Drummercafe.com. We interviewed Bart this past week.

Artist Q&A

Terry Silverlight: Lighting The Way

At the very dawn of the fusion era there was a band led by [keyboardist] Barry Miles with an amazing 14-year old prodigy on drums. That kid was Terry Silverlight, Barry's younger brother. Since those early days Terry has gone on to perform on dozens of top singles and albums with artists such as Natalie Merchant, Tom Jones, Freddie Jackson, Slaves of New York, and others.

Artist Q&A

Coby Batty Of The Fugs

The Fugs would have to be invented if they did not exist. Started in 1964 by Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg and original drummer Ken Weaver, the band was ahead of its times. From its group name to its song titles ("Kill For Peace", "Dreams of Sexual Perfection") the band had the sensibility of punks, the outrageousness of beat poets, the honesty of folk musicians, and the adventurousness of beboppers.

Artist Q&A

Rich Redmond: Thinking Musically

Jason Aldean rode back to the top of the country charts in 2009 with a series of mid-tempo anthems and slower introspective tunes. Aldean's style relies on deft lyrics with an emotional edge and authentic country feel that cuts through sophisticated production. His drummer, Rich Redmond, is a go-for-the-throat rhythm master, who likes to keep it simple but cut loose in a big way when the opportunity comes. Rich is also a budding drum clinician as well as a songwriter/producer and one of the founders of New Voice Entertainment.We interviewed him by email this week.

Artist Q&A

Troy Zeigler: Fewer Drums, Bigger Sound

Troy Zeigler has parlayed a lifelong music education and the ability to hit hard into gigs with two highly individualistic artists. He digs the rhythmic foundation for Serj Tankian's solo efforts in his band FCC (Flying Cunts of Chaos); and has just finished US and European tours with Juliette Lewis.. We interviewed him by email earlier in the week.

Artist Q&A

Jim Feck Keeps It Fresh At DrumART

How did you get started with DrumArt?
I started DrumART in the mid-90s, making custom bass drum heads for myself and a number of local friends and musicians. At the time, print technology wasn't anywhere near as advanced as it is today and the Internet hadn't yet "taken off," so it was very much a cottage business for the first five years or so. I'm a Web developer by training, so as the Internet marketplace began to reach the critical mass needed to support a business like DrumART.com, I was able to develop a website and bring it to a broader market fairly quickly.

Artist Q&A

The Innovators At Garrahand

Federico Parra and Ary Lacanna have created one of the world's most intriguing musical instruments, the Garrahand drum. They met in music conservatory and later built the first Garrahand drum together. The Garrahand is a versatile all-purpose hand drum that sounds great in a variety of styles, can be played acoustically or amplified, and is built from the ground up to be a first-class studio recording tool. There's a video at the end of this article so you can hear it in action. We interviewed Federico via email.