The Year In Drums: Part Three

The Year In Drums

2010 was a hell of a year for drumming, with passings of several well-loved sticksmen, the return of a host of drum gods and, of course, we celebrated our 25th birthday. Here, we look back at the key moments of the year.

The Year In Drums

There’s only one place to start a round-up of September – Rhythm’s 25th birthday! We celebrated in style by interviewing a heap (25 to be precise, see what we did there) drum icons.We also looked back on some of our favourite ever Rhythm covers.

We also found time to talk to Tommy Lee about his plans for a drum riser rollercoaster. He told us that he thinks he’s pretty much got it figured out. Look at for that one at a venue near you.

In the gear world we all sniggered when the Bum Chum turned up in the office. Then we tried the monitoring system for ourselves and fell in love with the Bum Chum. Then they went and changed the name to the BC2, phew.

The bombshell of the month (and possibly the year) came as news filtered through that Mike Portnoy had left Dream Theater. At the time of writing a replacement is yet to be announced, but we’re told that DT have found their new. That’s some pretty huge shoes to fill.

The Year In Drums

With the Mike Portnoy saga finally put to bed (or so we thought), along came another. The Chad Smith episode got under way. It all started this month with Chad saying that he wouldn’t be able to tour with Chickenfoot in 2011 due to his commitments with the Chili Peppers.

From one band seemingly in search of a new drummer to another finding one, My Chemical Romance unveiled former The Bled sticksman Mike Pedicone as Bob Bryar’s replacement.

In keeping with the comings and goings theme, Lordi parted ways with drummer Kita for perhaps the greatest reason ever. The tub thumper was sacked for taking his mask off. Seriously. He got the boot after he revealed plans to enter Eurovision with his new band. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was entering the Eurotrash singoff without his stage gear. A rookie mistake.

Elsewhere, the first lady of percussion Evelyn Glennie announced a mammoth trip to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro all in the name of charity. The trip came to an end later in the year, with Evelyn reaching the summit, raising a shed-load of cash in the process.

From Los Angeles to Grimsby? Steven Adler confirmed a batch of UK tour dates for 2011, and it’s fair to say he’s not venturing to the usual tour stop offs. Instead, the likes of Grimsby, Sutton and Bilston will be treated to Adler’s Appetite in February.

The Year In Drums

A/Bloodhound Gang drummer Adam Perry continued his workaholic ethos by launching BandApp. Branded as the new mobile MySpace. Perry has put a ton of effort into the app, with record deals, tours and more on offer for successful acts.

With the nights drawing in and the weather turning decidedly dodgy, one piece of news really gave us a much-needed boost. Yes, Rush are returning to the UK. Neil Peart and co announced a batch of 2011 dates. Booya.

November also saw Dave Phillips drop his gorgeous coffee table book A Drummer’s Perspective. Crammed-full of shots taken from a drummer’s eye view, this one looks absolutely stunning and it helped us through a particularly painful issue deadline. Result.

The Mike Portnoy saga reared its head once again, with Portnoy telling us ahead of Avenged’s stunning co-headline Birmingham show with Stone Sour that they were “taking baby steps” together, and his future was in the band’s hands. He’d be in there full-time then, surely?

Veteran session ace Clem Cattini raised a call to arms this month in a bid to save the 100 Club. Clem called on some of the “rich guys” to put their hand in their pockets and dig out some change to save the iconic venue. Well said, Clem.

The Year In Drums

As we entered the Christmas period the drum world showed no sign of slowing down. The month was filled with jaw-dropping nice, like Dave Grohl appearing on the new Michael Jackson album. Didn't see that one coming, did you?

Meanwhile, with 2010 undoubtedly being the year of Portnoy, Dream Theater announced that they had found a new drummer. But they weren't telling us who just yet.

Back with Portnoy, a huge bombshell was dropped when Mike announced his involvement with Avenged would cease at the end of 2010. Leaving him without a gig and Avenged again looking for a new drummer.

Another band that we thought were on the lookout for a new drummer was Chickenfoot, but Chad kept us guessing by this month saying that he would be able to record with the band in 2011. We really can't keep up with these guys.

Phew, so that was 2010. A huge year for drumming and also for Rhythm, and 2011 is looking every bit as jam-packed. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, we'll see you in 2011.