It's an odd turn, but if there's a band that can pull it off, it's The Roots.  In a recent Billboard interview, drummer and bandleader, ?uestlove, discussed how the band's next record will be a full-length, orchestral concept album. "It's going to be heavy on sort of orchestral chamber music with harder beats in it" Black Thought added that conceptually, the album will stem from the "same idea" as "How I Got Over," but "kind of flipped. ...

Good to see that Louie Bellson is on the mend. This guy is a big reason we study jazz today. He really did a lot for drumming, jazz music, and musicianship in general. Here's to many more years! Source: ModernDrummer.com The great Louie Bellson was recently hospitalized a few months back while recovering from a hip-breaking fall. However, he has been enormously encouraged and thankful by the greeting cards and well wishes. Mr. Bellson has now transferred to ...

First it was clothes, then coffee and mugs, now ?uestlove, the groove machine for The Roots, has released his own line of Nike sneakers. I know I'm not the target demo for these shoes, but I think they are simply hideous.  People even camped out in Philly to get their hands on them.  *sigh*

All this week, The Roots are being featured on Comedy Central's Colbert Report (which is live in Philly). Check out their rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." Man, it hurts to see them smash the guitars. P.S. Is that bass made of titanium!?! To view this video, head over to Comedy Central.

The drummer's number one enemy when grooving isn't an inability to keep time (though that's a big one too)... it's the itch. It's the feeling you get to break out (musically) when you are locked in the pocket. It's like the musical equivalent of claustrophobia. Staying in a groove can make your musical universe seem very small. So you leave the pocket to come up for air... deep breath... and then you're back in again. ...

Source: LiveDaily.com "Lay It Down," Green's first studio album since 2005's "Everything's OK," features co-production by Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and keyboardist James Poyser. The set, which is due in stores May 27, also features guest shots from John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton, among others. "I've never heard anything quite like it, 'cause I've never had anybody produce me other than Willie Mitchell," Green told Billboard.com last summer. "And when you give these young kids ...

On the Creative Coordination DVD, Thomas Lang states that Independence and Interdependence are both different states of mind. And after considering and pondering what he said for a couple of minutes, I came to agree. If you think about it, the only difference between interdependence and independence is how you view what you're playing. If you view what each limb is doing as a separate rhythm, that's independence. if you view each limb as playing ...

This week, we discuss the historical and musical aspects of polyrhythms. Mike covers the news, the Lesson 25 is the rudiment of the week, and Thomas Lang is the drummer of the week. Show Notes Show Notes

Here's a little food for thought next time you sit down to practice. Drummers are often guilty of growing their kit instead of growing themselves, and I'm as guilty as anyone else. We often try and open new doors (musically) by adding something to the kit. New ride, new hats, cowbells, shakers, special effects crashes, and octobans. in the hopes that one of these new additions will spark a new creative streak, I think we actually ...

In the last episode (February 29th, 2008) of Drummer Talk, the guys discussed how to get out of a musical rut. Many good ideas were discussed, but I wanted to challenge you to consider this: how, or in what, do you find inspiration? For myself, I wanted to elaborate on two points that I feel have provided me musical inspiration: using electronics to step away from being just a "drummer", and taking a break ...