SHANNON LETO ITW SUR BATERIA TOTA 03/11

j'ai une traduction en anglais faite par mon amie joana, si quelqu'un se sent de la traduire en français....

Citation :

SHANNON
LETO


The ‘fan’ phenomenon is still very
current in full year 2011. 30 years ago guys like Leift Garret got it, and now
days bands like 30Seconds to Mars and Bieber getting it.


Interview and Photos by Sergi Ramos


Hordes of
dedicated and highly devoted fans follow the band wherever the band go, headed
by the charismatic front man and divo Jared Leto, a Hollywood actor who has
starred in films like ‘Fight Club’ and ‘American Psycho’. In the midst of such
phenomenon, there is plenty of good music expressed in three albums through EMI.
Maybe 30 seconds to mars are not YES, but have managed to bring progressive
song structures and rock in equal parts to a large audience that previously
never had been concerned to hear nothing but out beyond the 4x4. In the center
of the maelstrom and the center of the rhythmic structure is the brother of the
famous Jared Leto, which is none other than our protagonist, Shannon. 40 years
and the physical appearance and energy of a post adolescent, Shannon is the
steamroller rhythm that propels the often-complex songs of the super American
band. Graced with multiple awards and after making a marathon tour of more than
one year to present his album 'This is War', 30 Seconds to Mars are ready to
become the next big band from the scene. In front of more
than 4,500 people in Barcelona, the group gave everything, but just before we locked
ourselves in the dressing room with Shannon to explain to us the secrets of his
style on the intricate and complex that supports the entire band, including
Jared.




Why do you decide to play drums? Is a frequent question in my
interviews, I’m always intrigued to known which was the reason for a drummer
was launched to strike plates and boxes…


(Laughs) “The
truth is that, like most of the cases, I started hitting everything I had at my
disposal at random. Boxes, satins, whatever I found, also had bongos at home
and those were one of my objects of desire at first. My mother had many friends
who were musicians, who sometimes brought their instruments; a drum, a guitar
or keyboard and played in the house. It was natural that I ended up gravitating
on the idea of becoming a musician. “


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Do you took lessons or rode it on your own?


“ I never went to take
lessons of any kind. I started to play and that was it, I was structuring my
style over the years. The only slightly academic knowledge to which I had
access was sort of a jazz workshop that took place in my area. I spent one
season and then I came back again. The first season there was only music and
had nothing to read or anything like that, but the second one they threw some
papers with music to interpret and I thought ‘God’ when I hear the song I thought I can do it, but it wasn’t the
interpretation that was in the score. (Laughs) I was sweating quite a bit by
nerves and that was it for me. I think
that was a defining moment in my life because I realized that I wanted to learn
music through teaching, but wanted to learn music from my own interpretation of
what I hear, is the guitar, piano or other instrument. I started my own and play instruments with my
own interpretation of things that I heard. Is very difficult for me to play
things other musicians, even if it is something in plan “Let’s play some Led
Zeppelin” I just ended up finally playing my own version of John Bonham”




Lately I find several drummers who share a similar
mindset: teaching of which is to lose your originality and learn the
interpretation that another person will instill in the instrument that you
learn


“ Accurate. That's what I
think. I think there are many technical aspects that are amazing and that I
have been coverage over the years, because I care. I never released it and I
wanted to get into the more academic side of music learning because it would be
a waste of time for me. At the same time also I can assure you that I played
for a long time, hours. Listening to songs and playing rhythm, following the
voice with my left hand and my right hand to the beat of the song while taking
off and left in all sorts of things to follow what was doing the voice. When you
understand the paradiddles and those kinds of things, I understood what I was
doing in some cases and learned many things bounce the same way. On occasion,
played bass with my kick, which made the guitar with my right hand and the
voice replied with my left hand. Charles maintained the time. Such things have
made me much ease when playing my instrument. “




Did you ran into some problems when get into
the professional recording studio with a guy like Bob Ezrin (Who produced the
first album under the same name of the band) dealing with musical terms with him?
The legend has it that Ezrin is a very severe producer and works under a
meticulous environment


No. I got no problem. We know the direction we want to go as a band
and have somewhat unique musical presentations. My brother and I never took
music lessons from any kind and that transpires in our music. It is clear that
we do things differently than any other band, and that first album was no
different in this area.


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It was a personality clash?


“ No, He told me to play this part of battery as a test and I
tried, if it wasn’t worked well in the context of the song we were trying, so then
I went into what I had in mind and that’s it. Since the first record was clear and I knew
what I wanted to do. As I began to grow, to mature and evolve as a person too I
started to change as a drummer. When you get older you learn to listen more, to
reduce the pretensions and enjoy more of the time. Actually it reflects my current style. I
began to enjoy every moment of every song, to enjoy the space and the
simplicity of things, letting the songs breath, and that's what I'm doing
today. At the last album “This is War” there is much more space and more air in
many of the songs. Some of them are more direct and some others are electronic
but the common appellations are that there is more space between notes and note.
“




In this I give you the reason: The sense of
urgency from the first disc appears to be something else hidden in ‘this is war’,
although many people is labeled as a return to first work style. Compositionally
evokes much more to the first disc, but there are aspects that have changed. It
seems to apply so that the music is the space between the notes


(Laughs) Everything is a
reflection of your personality as I said. When you're younger you want to hear
and be impressed and all, but as time goes on, at least for me, it disappears
and you want to learn to be better musician in general terms, not only in
specific areas as speed and power. Everything is natural. I didn’t sit down one
day and said ‘ahh I'll put more space between notes’. I was interested in
evolving and differ from the work already published. All drums were recorded at
my brother’s home study. The box samples were made in the kitchen for example.
We have not used created samples contrary to that we have created all by
ourselves. One of the songs took us 10 days in creating sound are concerned. It
has been an interesting project.




Do you always use the electronic pads that you
spread on your acoustic kit or do you have for specific moments in some songs?


“I used the to recreated those samples that appear on the disc. I
have all the sounds I created on the pads and we have several keyboards in the
scenario that we use, to avoid having to pull live recording or samples. We
want to touch things and do not use the tapes all the time. The idea is that
everyone hit things with hands, feet, or whatever.”




It forces you to use slate samples to be used
in all the songs necessarily?


In some Use it in other non-Slate needed. The Slate is easy to play for me. It does not
get me a distraction. I can go a little behind or ahead when necessary. It is
easy to block or out of position when its plays. Isn’t hard to play with it as
well. Kings and Queens theme was a challenge to the hype, following what my
brother Jared was playing. So that’s why I play that tum- tu- tum- ta- ta – ta
– tu – tu –tu-tu-ta (sings the rhythm of the song)… was easy to get a rhythm
but nothing prepared. Went no further.





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You have always said that rehearsals of 30
Seconds to Mars were especially robust, for several hours and often. Do you
keep the same routine practice when you're on tour or relax the pace?


No, actually when we are on tour or even rehearse. I just heat up
before going on stage and stretch a little, but that's all




Live do you also use the clapperboard?


No, because when I play live I respect what I've done it and I
replied the album without problems but I like to repeat it accurately and
precisely because here comes the most complete and utter boredom.




30 Seconds to Mars music has a deceptively
simple representation but has many progressive elements. Do you prepare your
parts of the drums to display your skills somehow? Do you like to be a
challenge when run?


“Everything
comes naturally. I don’t do a map of the songs and a score, or design
particularly what I do. Are mostly my brother and I who lock up playing
together before recording the album and took the ideas. On occasion the song is
following by a rhythm of drums, on occasion, a piano melody, and occasionally
the vocal melody of a chorus. From time to time we hear something we have
learned, we developed it, play something that looks good and we have a song. We
do what gives us the inspiration at that time, do not prepare all with a great
plan




What drummers today arouse your interest?


“ I am the last person in the world that you can ask that. There
are thousands of good drummers in the world and you would know that not a
single name. I do not like something
when don’t have spirit, and that happens to many musicians today. There are
many copies of copies, especially in the world of drums. People become very
lazy when looking for sounds in the studio and simply replace sounds and little
else. When I record, I think my sound or look my sounds and that's what makes
me a certain identity.




Do you like to record fast in first or second
takes or do you usually do twenty takes of each song and then make a pastiche
with the best of each take to get a final version?


I like to create a basic shape and then stay with something I've
played and I really have felt. If I have to do twenty shots I do it. On
occasion it is difficult to get to that point but when I come I know.





Are you interested in sharing your knowledge
through workshops, classes and other or are complicated to express your vision
of the instrument?


“I'm very interested. I always went to concerts when I grew up, no
one classes. I have a lot of respect for people who do that part, but I'm not a
technical specialist regarding my drums to teach others.





Is your interest expanding your self beyond 30
Seconds to Mars?


“This band takes all my energy. Is not just about to playing in the
studio or on tour, but developing the whole concept that goes beyond. In terms
of play with what I do with 30 Seconds to Mars I am more than satisfied. “



Maybe when you turn 55 years …


“ Could be (laughs.) Other bands have asked me to go on tour with
them, record discs ... could have done,
those were moments when I’m doing nothing with 30 Seconds and the money was
good too, but for what purpose? I don’t like to play music of others. I like to
play what I do in my band. I find interesting also other styles like blues,
jazz, folk and electronic music, but I would venture to touch because it's not
my style.





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