[Press Release]

Enter Music Publishing, Inc. today announced that TRAPS magazine is merging with its sister publication, DRUM! Published quarterly since 2007, TRAPS has been widely hailed for its innovative editorial content, including book-length interviews, top writers and photographers, annotated transcriptions and a focus on jazz and rock drumming history. It will suspend publishing immediately. Current subscribers will receive DRUM! magazine subscriptions and be invited to join an upcoming TRAPS web community.

According to publisher Phil Hood, “In this recession it is imperative for us to focus our efforts our flagship product, DRUM! magazine. TRAPS is incredibly popular with its readership, but the downturn, particularly in advertising, makes it impossible for TRAPS to reach its goals in the near term. We are not immune to the forces impacting our advertisers and other publishers.”

TRAPS launched a test issue, featuring drumming great Max Roach on the cover in 2006. It published three issues in 2007, four in 2008 and one in 2009. Other cover stories featured John Bonham, Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes, Terry Bozzio, Lenny White, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Steve Gadd.

“We learned a tremendous amount from the TRAPS experience,” says editor Andy Doerschuk, “and we want to incorporate some of that TRAPS approach in DRUM! as we go forward.”

The final issue of TRAPS, featuring Tony Williams, remains on sale until March.

Now you can kinda’, sorta’ do so courtesy of DRUM! magazine. Peart will be the cover story for DRUM!‘s June 2009 issue, and instead of having the Professor interviewed by a regular old drumming journo, the magazine is turning over the question-asking to you, Neil Peart’s rabid fans. Just send your favorite to the following email address: neilpeart@drumlink.com. Fans whose questions are chosen will receive their names and pictures in the article. You got until March 15 to think of a good one. Check out the full details below:

[Press Release]

Enter Music Publishing, publishers of hip percussion mags worldwide, will feature Neil Peart on the cover of DRUM! magazine in June. However, instead of having one of its staff writers interview Neil, the company is inviting Neil Peart fans to conduct the interviews via email. In fact, the company has set up a special email address, neilpeart@drumlink.com, so the Neil Peart population can have their say. (Readers can also go online or access a question page on DRUM!’s YouTube site.)

Those fans who want to participate simply email their questions, and if chosen by editor Andy Doerschuk, they will have their names and pictures included in the story. “We’ve done this once before and it was a great success,” said Phil Hood, publisher of Enter Music Publishing. “With Neil’s fans it will be even better. We’re very curious to see what the results will be of our email story campaign.”

After receiving all of the interview questions, which are due by March 15, Doerschuk will then weave them into an integrated interview. “Neil Peart seemed like a great pick for this kind of story,” Doerschuk said. “After all, he has won DRUM! magazine’s “drummie” of the year for two straight years. Our fan base, regardless of age, obviously respects him and that did play into our decision to try this with him.”

DRUM! magazine expects a great response from Peart fans to this opportunity. The company just hopes that its drumlink.com server will not explode due to the amount of incoming email.

[Update 2022: the vid screenshot has alas been lost to time.]

The show stars at 4:30 p.m. (PST). The concert schedule is as follows:

• Tommy Igoe performing “Preach & Teach” and “Little Train”
• John Blackwell performing “No Jive,” “Nuttville,” and “Mind of J”
• Guitar Center Contest Winner Donnie Marple performing a solo
• Terry Bozzio performing “Machine,” “Tank!,” and “Some Skunk Funk”
• Tommy Igoe performing “The Chicken,” “Willowcress,” and “La Fiesta”
• Nick Rich performing “Buelah Witch” and “Mercy Mercy Mercy.” Also The Beat Goes On with Cathy Rich.
• Chad Smith performing “Dani California,” “Hocus Pocus,” and “Birdland”
• Neil Peart performing “Love For Sale,” “Time Will Tell,” “One O’Clock Jump,” and “YYZ”

Update: Click Channel 5, called “Backstage,” for pre-show chatter with Bozzio et al. Audio seems quite good—a little out of sync every now and then with the video, but quite watchable. This will likely be affected by your connection speed, of course, and how many folks are logged on.

Update: Terry Bozzio is performing songs from Cowboy Bebop!

One of our favorites so far:

Do you sometimes cringe when you read Anthony’s lyrics and WTF is a rockapotamus ferchristsakes LOL