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⚡ Quick Hits
🌪️ Virgil Donati tears through The Quiet Place live
@Virgil Donati
Virgil Donati dials into "The Quiet Place" for a head-to-out reel that shows why his phrasing still floors players a generation younger. Backed by Junior Braguinha on bass, Marcos Foglia on guitar, and Alex Argento on keys, he navigates the tune's shifting meters with the kind of calm authority that makes the hardest math look conversational. A tidy ninety seconds of tourlife fuel.
🎬 Dylan Howard tests three Remo heads at HQ
@Remo Inc.
Dylan Howard put Remo's Valencia HQ through its paces with a full Gorey Eyes performance, pairing a Controlled Sound Coated snare with Emperor Coated toms and a Powerstroke P3 Clear Black Dot kick. The self-titled track from Gregg Cash gives the kit plenty of dynamic range to show off, from tight snare articulation to deep, focused low end. A clean head-nerd reel worth a minute of your scroll.
🎷 Tower of Power's Peter Antunes joins the Yamaha family
@Yamaha Drums (Official)
Peter Antunes, the groove engine behind Tower of Power, has officially joined the Yamaha Drum Artist roster. In this welcome reel he's behind a Live Custom Hybrid Oak kit, and the match makes sense: the shells deliver the punch and warmth that Tower's horn-driven funk demands. A quick, tidy announcement clip worth a look for anyone tracking the funk chair.
🌊 Deep Dives
🎧 Ash Soan builds a Three Days Grace part blind
Ash Soan, the session ace behind Adele, Seal, and Snow Patrol, sits down cold with Three Days Grace's "I Hate Everything About You" and has to build a part using only kick, snare, and hi-hat. Watching him dissect the track on first listen and land a Stewart Copeland flavored final take is a masterclass in economy. Neil Sanderson's reaction at the end is worth the 19 minutes.
💥 Gergo Borlai's full 10-minute solo at UK Drum Show 2025
Gergo Borlai walks onto the UK Drum Show 2025 main stage, sits behind an Azure Blue Burst Gretsch USA Custom, and holds the room silent for ten straight minutes. The solo moves from whispered textures across six toms to full-throttle power, a clinic in dynamic control and phrasing. Worth the full sit-down if you care about how a great soloist shapes tension across real time.
🎃 Smashing Pumpkin's Jimmy Chamberlin on crafting the Mellon Collie sound
Jimmy Chamberlin sits down with Elmo Lovano for a two-plus-hour conversation that traces the jazz-fusion-meets-rock alchemy behind Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, and Gish. Chamberlin breaks down the sessions behind Bullet with Butterfly Wings, 1979, Tonight Tonight, and Cherub Rock, plus how Smashing Pumpkins actually kept time and when click tracks entered the picture. Worth the full sit for the stories on Cobain, Butch Vig, and Billy Corgan alone.
🎭 Nate Smith and Steve Goold on composing for solo drumset (55 min)
Nate Smith and Steve Goold sit down with Cory Wong to unpack how they actually compose for solo drumset, a format both have committed to full albums. Across nearly an hour, they dig into phrasing, melodic intent, and the mindset shift from accompanist to composer. Worth the full listen if you have ever tried to make a kit sing on its own.
🎓 Practice & Skills
🎯 Simon Phillips reveals his rim shot secret
@Rick Beato
Simon Phillips breaks down his rim shot technique in a clip from Rick Beato, offering a rare look at how one of fusion's most precise players gets that cracking backbeat. The short-form format makes it easy to study his stick angle, grip, and striking position in a single sitting. Worth a few replays before your next practice session.
🦶 The rudiment trick that unlocks four-way coordination
@Drum Beats Online
Drum Beats Online drops a practice concept worth stealing: rudiment splits, where you divide any rudiment between your hands and feet instead of keeping it on the snare. It is a simple reframe that instantly opens up four-way coordination work from the vocabulary you already know. Take a paradiddle, send the doubles to your feet, and hear how fast your independence sharpens.
🎹 Steve Smith's four hidden grooves in Don't Stop Believin'
@Daniel Hegerle
Don't Stop Believin' hides more drum nuance than most players realize, and Daniel Hegerle walks through all four distinct sections that Steve Smith layers across the track. His breakdown isolates how the groove evolves from the verse pulse to that famous payoff, giving you a clear map to play the tune accurately instead of faking the feel. A worthwhile study in song-form drumming.
🛒 Gear Picks
🔧 Bruno Valverde's fix for slow head changes
@Bruno Valverde
Bruno Valverde puts the Evans Pull Cord Drum Key through its paces, and the retractable pulley system rips tension rods loose faster than any drill workaround. The stationary key head still handles fine tuning like a standard key, while the pull cord housing is rated for hundreds of head changes. If head swaps are eating your session time, this is the fix. You can grab it here.
✨ Paiste Masters four-piece: dark hats, rivet ride, extra thin
@Paiste Cymbals
Paiste's Masters Series gets a curated four-piece showcase: a 14" Dark Hi-Hat, 18" Dark Crash, 20" Dry Ride with rivets, and a 19" Extra Thin. It's a versatile spread built for players chasing warmth and articulation across jazz, pop, soul, and R&B. The rivet-loaded Dry Ride is the standout voice here, adding a sustained sizzle to an otherwise focused, dark-leaning setup.
🎒 On Sale: Paiste Cymbal Accessories Professional Black Cymbal Bag 22-inch (Amazon)
Paiste's Professional 22-inch Cymbal Bag is built for drummers hauling a serious stack, with vinyl internal dividers to keep metal off metal, a rounded front pouch sized for 16-inch cymbals or accessories, and both backpack straps and a single shoulder strap for flexible carrying. Currently listed at $99 (down from $124), it is an Amazon's Choice pick and backed by Paiste's two-year warranty.
🌎 From The Community
🎪 Carter Beauford stretches out on a 7-minute "Break Free"
Carter Beauford opens up "Break Free" from DMB's May 2022 Moody Center stop in Austin, a nearly seven-minute cut that gives the kit plenty of room to breathe. Beauford's signature open-handed groove and hi-hat work remain a masterclass for any drummer studying feel inside a jam-band framework. Worth the watch if you want to hear a pro stretch without ever stepping on the song.
🤫 Before buying that e-kit, Reddit has one tip
A newcomer on r/Drumming is weighing an electronic kit for a tight, work-from-home household, and the community pushed back with the classic beginner gospel: grab a practice pad, a pair of Vater sticks, and a copy of Stick Control before dropping cash on gear. The thread is a tidy reminder that singles, doubles, and paradiddles build more drummers than any starter kit ever has.
That's it for today! Thank you for carving out time to read! This community means a lot to me, and I'm grateful you're here. 🙏
If you have feedback, a story, or something you'd love to see in the newsletter, just reply to this email. I read every message and respond to each one.
Happy drumming,
Matteo