For this week's column, I sat down to speak a bit with my friend Glen Drover.
I had the honor of having Glen perform a solo on my song “Devils Roadmap.” Glen plays the solo from 0:08 to 0:34 in the song. I do all of the ones in the middle and then another Megadeth alum, Chris Poland, does the solo at the end.
Glen's past playing in Megadeth, King Diamond, Eidolon and his work helping out touring with Testament has always been top notch.
Recently Glen released the critically acclaimed CD Metalusion. It features Al Di Meola and Frank Zappa covers as well as many blistering originals. The playing on the album is amazing, but what also struck me about it was the quality of the production, most of which Glen did himself.
It was also just revealed that Glen will be touring Europe and Asia with the all-star lineup of Hail, alongside Ripper Owens on vocals, James Lomenzo on bass and Paul Bostaph on drums.
Also mark your calendars because Glen will be hitting the stage for a very special first performance of his Glen Drover Band at 3 p.m. September 25. For those of you who can’t see the show live in Canada, the concert will be streamed live worldwide at: http://live.magnacarta.net
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The live web-cast will have stellar audio and video production so tune and rock out.
The show is going to be Live at the Metalwork’s studios in mississauga, Canada and will be held in the brand new North Auditorium. If you’re in the Toronto area you will not want to miss the chance to see this live. Also featured on the show will be guitarist Dave Martone.
Here are all of the different times so you guys out there can tune in:
* Noon: Los Angeles *3 PM: Toronto, Canada; New York; Boston *8 PM: London, UK *9 PM: Paris, France *4 AM Monday: Tokyo, Japan
This is what Glen had to say about the upcoming concert:
So this show will be the very first performance of the Glen Drover Band. This has been a long time coming; you must be really excited for people to see this thing.
For sure! We are all very excited that this show is going to be a worldwide webcast. Should be lots of fun!
What can people who come to see the show live in Canada or tune in to view the live webcast expect from you and your group? What do you want the fans to walk away with?
I think the people who see the show will certainly see how talented the musicians I’m working with really are, and will be able to see how well we work together as a unit, as well as seeing how much fun we have doing it!
What is your live rig going to be like for the concert and for the tour if there will be one?
I’m using the new DIME amp, along with my Randall gear, which are two 4 x 12 cabinets, loaded with 75 Celestions. A V2 head, the Digitech GSP 1101, Rocktron moan Wah, and the Digitech whammy DT, which I have to tell you is one of the best creations out there in a long time! I’m now able to play in drop tuning without switching guitars, and it sounds wicked! I highly recommend this pedal. Great tracking and no loss of tone -- just great.
What has the last few years spent making your new record taught you as a musician?
Great question! Many things, such as playing with a keyboard player for the very first time. The value of taking your time on a project and the benefits of doing so. You see, in the past, I had worked on a number of albums where we would put a finish date on the album, which was so stupid. That was all about being impatient and not looking at the big picture. I wish I would have done some of the albums I have done in the past differently. Oh well, we all live and learn.
What have you been listening to these days? Any cool new artists or players we should know about?
Yes. I really like Animals As Leaders. The new Dream Theater is a great album. Their best in many many years in my opinion. Aside from that, I listen to a lot of Return To Forever, Pink Floyd and Saga.
What has been your biggest challenge preparing for this concert?
Learning to play standing up is always a challenge for me, but after a week or two of doing that, I’m OK. Also, I have been having some issues with my left hand since 2005, but now that I’m doing things a little differently in the way I do my warm-ups, things seem to be improving greatly and I’m feeling a lot stronger. Basically, I would always pick up the guitar and start playing more challenging things right off the bat, which is stupid. Now I just start by playing more slow and melodic ideas and then increase from there. It’s all common sense, but sometimes I would just want to jump right in and play fast patterns before being ready to do so.
Will the Al Di Meola cover from your record “Egyptian Danza” be played at the show?
Not at this show. Being that this is our first show, only having three rehearsal days in advance and a 40-minute set time, we decided to cut a lot of the covers out of the set. Having said that, I can assure you that the set we are playing is very powerful!
Who were your main influences early on, and how have they changed? Who are your main influences today?
It all started out with Ace Frehley from Kiss, then Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath. These days it would have to be players like David Gilmour, Al Di Meola and Vinnie Moore. Guys like that.
I have a Guitar World reader question here from Rena: What is an effective way to start being able to hit the right notes and chords while playing live and standing up -- without having to constantly be looking at the guitar neck or what you're doing when you're used to practicing while sitting down and looking at the guitar neck?
Great question and very easily answered. Play your parts a million times! That way you will be much more comfortable and confident as to where you are going, and being able to execute what you are playing much better without having to stare at the neck all the time. Sometimes you have to look regardless, but it’s nice to see other things around you aside from the fret board for sure!
I know you teach a lot of guitar students, which must help keep your chops up a lot, but are there any other things you do to keep your chops up that you can recommend to players out there?
Yes. Try to play along to music. Free form solos over the keys that you are playing along with, not necessarily playing exactly what you hear. This is where all of my improvisational skills came from.
Thanks, bro. Have a fantastic show. I'll be watching.
Thanks, Dave!
Dave Reffett is a Berklee College of Music graduate and has worked with some of the best players in rock and metal. He is an instructor at (and the head of) the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal department at The Real School of Music in the metro Boston area. He also is a master clinician and a highly-in-demand private guitar teacher. He teaches lessons in person and worldwide via Skype. As an artist and performer, he is working on some soon-to-be revealed high-profile projects with A-list players in rock and metal. In 2009, he formed the musical project Shredding The Envelope and released the critically acclaimed album The Call Of The Flames. Dave also is an artist endorsee for companies like Seymour Duncan, Gibson, Eminence and Esoterik Guitars, which in 2011 released a Dave Reffett signature model guitar, the DR-1. Dave has worked in the past at Sanctuary Records and Virgin Records, where he promoted acts like The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Korn and Meat Loaf.
