MEGADETH Drummer: 'I Don't Abuse The Power That We Have In This Band'

Live-Metal.net recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Live-Metal.net: MEGADETH has such a huge catalog of music now. How do you guys put the set list together? That must be pretty hard.

Shawn: It's real hard, dude. When a band has over 150 songs — it's probably even more than that; it's probably 160, 170 — but yeah, it's really difficult because you've gotta play songs from the new record. We're playing four songs from the new record. You've gotta promote the new record, and that's what we're doing. But then there are songs that you have to play. You've gotta play "Holy Wars" and you've gotta play "Peace Sells" and things of that nature. So with all that said, it's a real small block of time that we have to choose what songs are gonna fit. That makes it real difficult. Everyone wants different things, and we try to mix it up the best we can. Ultimately, we can't please everybody, but we do try to do the best we can.

Live-Metal.net: It was a little strange earlier this year to see MEGADETH as an opening act on the HEAVEN AND HELL tour. How did that go for you?

Shawn: It was something that fell into our lap through management, and we thought it would be a great precursor to the release of the new record, just kind of go out there and play a couple songs from the new record and go out there and have fun. We crammed everything we could into 45 minutes. We had a really great time. They were great guys. For me, personally, I thought it was awesome. We're getting exposed to a different audience who may not have heard MEGADETH or be exposed to that music, so for me it was a win-win situation. We jumped on it.

Live-Metal.net: I want to say that I really like the new album, "United Abominations", a lot. A lot of people, including me, are saying it's one of the best MEGADETH albums in a long time. Did you guys have that kind of feeling when you were making it?

Shawn: I don't know. We didn't go in there with any preconceived notions, like, "This is gonna be better than that record." We just went in there with a bunch of songs that we thought were good, and we went in there and worked on them and hammered them out. I think the results speak for themselves. I think it's a really solid record. Whether it's better than this or that record, that's all subjective. My opinion is that it's a very solid record, and we're real happy with it.

Live-Metal.net: MEGADETH obviously is Dave Mustaine's baby. How involved are the rest of you in the making of an album. Obviously, you're playing your instruments, but in the whole creative process, what is your role?

Shawn: He's really open to suggestion and interpretation of certain things. With me, with my drum tracks, it was a real collaborative effort. I went in there and played what I thought it should sound like, and he'd say, "Hey, why don't you try this in that part," and the same with the engineer we had for the record, too. All three of us would bounce ideas, and even Glen and James at times would say, "Hey, what do you think about doing that or this?" We all fed off each other, and what you hear is a result of that. I thought it was a really cool process.

Live-Metal.net: Obviously, you guys must get along, but what is it like being out on tour with family? Are there times when you drive each other crazy?

Shawn: No, it's real simple for us. We get along well, as you implied, so that's a really great thing. We respect each other, and we know when to give each other space. We're not always having tea and crumpets all day long and constantly with each other 24 hours a day. We do our thing, and if I want to go read a book on the bus or whatever, that's what I'll do. And the same with the other guys. When we have a day off, we just want to do our thing, and it works out really well for us. Thus far, it's worked out very well.

Live-Metal.net: So far, what do you consider the highlight of your time in the band?

Shawn: You know, that's a good question. There's been so many. I would just say the overall experience has been a real high point for me in my life. I appreciate what I do and I don't take it for granted and I don't abuse the power that we have in this band. I'm here for the music first and I have a good time doing it, and that's pretty much it. The whole thing's been a lot of fun.

Read the entire interview at Live-Metal.net.