ARTIST MICRO FEATURE - MEGADETH's SHAWN DROVER

ARTIST MICRO FEATURE SHAWN DROVER Dirtbag Clothing has afforded me the great opportunity to meet some spectacular musicians. Shawn Drover happens to be just one of those spectacular people. A few weeks ago Shawn calls me to say they are going to South America for some gigs and all his Dirtbag swag was in the “A-Rig” and they were taking the “B-Rig” and he asked if I could send an emergency shirt his way to rock South America…. HELL YEAH I said! I then asked if he would be my guinea pig for my “Micro Feature” I wanted to do for the new site and he said sure thing! Five questions short and sweet. I hope you guys like it. DBC: What are the differences from your studio kit vs. touring kit? And as a part 2 to that, what advice would you have for a drummer that just can’t take his entire kit on the road with him? (Advice on how to “edit” a drum kit?) SD: My studio kit is actually 1 of my touring rigs, as I have an A,B and C rig for each World tour we do. At the end of a World tour all 3 kits are in our recording studio, so its quite easy to have 1 of them set up for recording. As for advice on a drummer who can't take his entire kit on the road-Get in a band where you CAN take your entire rig on the road!!!!!! ;-) DBC: What’s the pre-show routine when it comes to your drum kit? SD: Honestly, I don't have any set pre-show warm-up, etc. before going onstage-We usually play 3-4 songs on our backstage rig before the show, so that along with some stretching and drinking lots of water is enough for me to be prepared for a show. DBC: Back up item(s) every drummer must have for a live gig? SD: Extra sticks, bass drum pedals and drum heads are important to have plenty of on the road, as they will all break at 1 time or another, so be prepared and have lots of extra in case something does break. DBC: Endorsements – every drummer wants to be endorsed and you know it’s not that easy. So what do you feel are the proper steps to take in reaching out to a company looking for those endorsements? SD: Endorsements are easier to get once you're in an established band, as most of them want you to play and showcase their product in a live setting and in the studio-Some musicians are purists though and feel no need to be endorsed by a certain musical company, which is commendable, certainly. Everything that I am endorsed by I would use anyways and in most cases have used for years. DBC: You’ve had a tremendously successful career that is still growing. So this is the proverbial knowing what I know now, back in the day I would have done __________________ (this) differently. Second question- Knowing what I know now, I wish I had this advice when I first started out in music?? SD: I am not sure how differently I would do anything to be where I was at this point of my life. Of course, I could always say "I wish i was successful at a younger age, but then who is to say I would still be doing this at my age if I was successful 20 years ago?? I just keep doing what I'm doing and am thankful I have been releasing records since 1996. Links: http://www.megadeth.com/content/shawn-drover Twitter: SHAWNDROVER