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In our July issue of Drummer, we speak to DJ-come-drummer MckNasty following his appearance on prime-time TV phenomenon Britain’s Got Talent in his first ever interview with a drum magazine. His sincere and insightful interview lifts the lid on his varied and well-established career, of which his presence on BGT is only a very small part. With so much hype surrounding shows such as this it’s refreshing to read how real talent can actually be represented in such a public medium. Elsewhere we also get an exclusive chat with Chris Wood, sticksman of choice for Bastille, who, far from being an overnight success story, have been working hard to achieve their status for a number of years with Chris’s solid, powerful drumming providing the perfect foundation for their blend of driving, anthemic pop. We also speak to thrash-pioneers Evile’s wood shredder Ben Carter who lifts the lid on getting the perfect sound for the job and Antonio Sanchez who gives us the lowdown on his most recent album as he steps into the spotlight as bandleader/composer as opposed to his role as sideman in The Pat Metheny Group. Gear-wise, we take an exclusive look at two stunning new kits: Dixon Drums Fuse series and DrumCraft Series 5 kits; Sabian’s latest offering, the innovative Jojo Mayer Hoop Crasher; Meinl’s Laptop Table gets tested and we have a brace of stave snare drums from WorldMax, which deliver very pleasing results for a very surprising price. This issue we also begin an exciting new series, The Future Drummer, where we are joined by up-and-coming drummer/producer Tom Derryman, who aside from being one of the most talented and inspiring young musicians we’ve ever met, is an expert in all things technology based and will be taking us on a step-by-step journey to help us get to grips with this sometimes confusing aspect of modern music making. Alongside all of this we bring you our report from the recent THUMP festival plus our regular news, reviews, features and tuition...