Frank Zummo of Sum 41 Releases New Book "Unbreakable Rhythm".

The Pop Punk Dad
2 hours ago
3 min read

Legendary drummer Frank Zummo has released his much anticipated book UNBREAKABLE RHYTHM: My Journey Through Music, Wellness, and Mental Strenth with music journalist Jason Pettigrew through Modern Drummer Publications.

The idea for the book was sparked during a powerful moment during Zummo’s 2023 School of Rock Workshop. After performing with Sum 41 and The Offspring, Zummo drove straight to House of Vans Chicago to lead the event. In the crowd that day was Pettigrew, who had already been discussing the possibility of a book with Zummo and had driven several hours just to attend. What unfolded backstage after the event became the starting point: Pettigrew hit record, they began talking, and that conversation ultimately became the book’s introduction, and I was fortunate enough to grab a copy and have a read for myself, and this is what I learned along the way.

In this book is conversations and testimonials from the likes of fellow Sum 41 member Deryck Whibley, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warped Tour, Dhani Harrison, son of The Beatles George Harrison and more.

When you take a look from the perspective of the everyday music listener, the last thing you think from their eyes and ears is that a drummer from a punk band is well versed in every style of music from Broadway-style musicals to Latin music and jazz. Well Meet Frank Zummo. Drummer of Sum-41, Motley Crue, and founder of the Street Drum Corps as well as Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee.

Frank Zummo’s Unbreakable Rhythm isn’t your typical “tell all” rock memoir. Where others in the genre lean on tales of excess and chaos, Zummo, best known for his punk rock drumming in Sum 41 and Street Drum Corps, delivers something far more grounded and sincere. It’s a story about discipline, family, the music community, and the importance of dedication to one’s craft and the love for their own art.

This book isn’t just a retrospective on a musician’s career either, but more of an instructional manual on honing one’s art through Frank’s own experiences.

Unbreakable Rhythm reads almost like a hybrid between autobiography and oral history, like a Netflix documentary at times with excerpts and testimonials from friends and family rather than a straight-forward biography but then also perspectives from Frank’s own worldview.

Zummo’s narrative is interspersed with interviews from friends, family, and collaborators including the likes of Tommy Lee, Kevin Lyman, founder of the Vans Warped Tour, and Mike Ciprari, owner of SJC Drums, just to name a few, which offers a chorus of perspectives that expand Zummo’s personal story into a larger commentary on creativity and perseverance.

The book’s pacing moves briskly from his early days studying under jazz and Afro-Cuban teachers to his trials and tribulations in the L.A. scene, where the foundation of Street Drum Corps began, and finally to his reflections on the Sum 41 era and his ongoing mission to connect music with mental wellness.

Where the memoir truly shines is in its vulnerability. Zummo doesn’t shy away from the darker edges of touring life or the mental health challenges that come with high expectations as well as temptations faxed on the road in the music scene. Instead, he uses them as entry points into his advocacy for mindfulness and wellness, bridging the worlds of performance and personal care in a way that feels both authentic and necessary in the post-pandemic creative landscape.

The photos and sidebars breathe, giving the reader space to absorb his lessons about fear, discipline, and love for the craft and art of music. His recollection of seeing Mötley Crüe at age five and deciding then and there to become a drummer may sound like cliché rock origin-story, but is more of a full circle experience when he becomes Motley Crue’s drummer later on down the road in life.

Unbreakable Rhythm stands out because it’s not about self destruction or the rise and fall of another rockstar musician, but rather it’s a manual for building a life around art, mental strength, and purpose. Zummo’s mantra, “Make it Art. Make it work,” feels like a fitting one sentence summary for the entire narrative.

Check out more on FRANK ZUMMO below!