Behind The Scenes - Preparing For A MEGADETH Tour
Behind The Scenes - Preparing For A MEGADETH Tour [Hot Flashes - 04.10.04 09:26:48]
Fresh MEGADETH guitarist
Glen Drover (EIDOLON, ex-KING DIAMOND) spoke to BW&BK recently as he readies himself for the gig of a lifetime - roadwork with 'Deth leader Dave Mustaine and Co. in support of their monstrous comeback album, The System Has Failed.
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Drover says that he's "Been on a pretty strict schedule of practicing and working out and eating good and all that other stuff. For hours a day I'm going over Megadeth songs. I have a couple of CDs that I call my “work CDs” and they are basically all the songs from the set list that have been chosen and I go through those songs every day. It's kind of like a compilation. So, say in the morning, if I get a chance, I’ll go over one CD and then at night I’ll go over the other CD or whatever. Depending on the schedule will determine when I’m gonna practice but in the day I try to at least get them done once. But I’ve been doing it for a while now though. Back when it was a consideration for me getting the gig I was just basically digesting the music guitar-wise and then I was practicing a little bit and just slowly getting into it. But when I got the gig then of course I went full tilt."
Has Mustaine revealed the actual live playlist?
"No, no indication. I have a lot of songs and there is some that, who knows, a couple might not make it, for whatever reason. If Dave feels that, you know, there’s one that he doesn’t want to do for whatever reason. But all I have now is what is chosen and I just go through that - basically in chronological order from the first album to the new album."
Are you part of the decision-making loop when it comes to live decisions?
"No, but it sounds like... I mean Dave seems to be the type that is open to suggestions and if you have a good idea he’ll listen to you. That seems to be the kind of person he is. I mean not yet, but who knows down the road. But at this point it’s kind of like, well here are the songs that have been chosen and everybody is kind of just doing their thing and getting the songs down. Who knows, once we get to rehearsals, who knows what’s going to happen at that point."
And rehearsals begin later this week according to Drover. "We’re gonna be rehearsing in Phoenix, AZ for ten days and then I think we’re going to Los Angeles, CA for five. I leave on Thursday. Actually, James (MacDonough - bass, ex-ICED EARTH) and Nick (Menza - returning drummer) are together now. They'll have a week together before we, the whole band, are there. Just kind of like the core, you know, the bass and drums, kind of getting a foundation built up a little bit. So there is a lot of rehearsals. When I was with King we did five days and then we would start the tour. This is 10 days before we even get to the five full production rehearsals, which is great though. But that’s why, you know, obviously when we get to the first show it is going to be like a machine.
"Right now I’m actually really excited," the Toronto-based guitarist continues. "No nerves because I’m really confident with what I’m doing with the material. 26 or 27 songs is a pretty astronomical amount of work to get down, especially when you’re dealing with different personalities. I mean ‘cause MARTY FRIEDMAN, CHRIS POLAND and even the Jeff Young stuff, you know, they’re all completely different players so you have to try to adapt to their feel and their kind of personality, which is not necessarily easy to do but I’ve been managing to do it pretty decently now and I’m really confident with all that.
You gain more confidence when you get more of the stuff down, you feel better about it. I’ve always been like that. You do your homework and then when you get there there’s not all kinds of unanswered questions and all this pressure to try and do stuff in a couple of days. I’ve always been like, try to get your work done, and it’s a lot easier that way and it’s less stressful, obviously."
[Taken from
http://www.bravewords.com/news.html?id=18416]
