July 1978 - Modern Drummer - Ed Shaughnessy

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Ed Shaughnessy has been playing drums since he was 14 years old in his native New Jersey. By 19, he was working with George Shearing at New York's Three Deuces. He's performed with the New York Philharmonic, the NBC and Pittsburgh Symphony, and the big bands of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, and Oliver Nelson. Today. Ed is one of the most in-demand drum set clinicians in the music world. He is most widely known for his resident gig with the Doc Severinsen NBC Orchestra on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show where he's in his fourteenth year as a regularly featured instrumentalist. Shaughnessy also works with Doc's band, his own band Energy Force, and does numerous recordings and clinics. This interview was conducted while Ed was in Michigan for a drum clinic.

What would an average day in the life of Ed Shaughnessy be like? ES:

Well, I usually start out the day with some recording dates in the morning, from 10 o'clock to around 1 . After lunch and practice, it's usually about time for band rehearsal on the set of the Tonight Show. That runs from 3 to 4 o'clock or however much time is needed. The show is taped from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. with no breaks. I'll usually have supper around 7:30. On nights when my band Energy Force is playing, the gig usually lasts from 9 to 1:00 a.m. The band gigs mainly around Los Angeles, but we'll be doing some touring. Unfortunately, we don't have an album out yet. The main problem has been finding a studio. There are very few studios interested in recording a band like mine. MD:

You travel quite a bit. With so much going on, do you ever run into any schedule conflicts? ES:

No, not at all, and that's mainly because of Doc's good nature. He's very understanding and easy to work with. I do a lot of in-store clinics, concerts, school clinics, and periodic out of town gigs with Doc's band. I can get occasional time off whenever I need it. MD:

You deal with every imaginable musical situation; live concerts, recording, TV. Does your set-up or style vary with each situation? ES:

Not the set-up or style, as much as the tuning. My recording outfit is heavily muffled. All the toms are one-headed. On the Carson show, the sound is semimuffled, more open than for recording. For live work, a full, open sound is needed. That's pretty much the way all players do it in those situations. MD: ES:

What about your actual set-up? I've been using Pearl drums for five years, with no special modifications. I've got the 20" and 24" bass drums, 14" floor tom on the left, 16" and 18" floor toms on the right, and the Jupiter snare drum. The two mounted toms in the middle of the set are both 9 X 13. I have a cluster of three concert toms, 6", 8" and 10" on a single floor stand up on the left. I understand Pearl is going to catalog this exact set-up as the Shaughnessy 1 1 . MD:

Is it true that you use woodfiberglass on the Tonight Show, and solid fiberglass for live work? ES:

It used to be. But now I'm using strictly solid fiberglass. It's a bigger sound. More powerful and fuller in a contemporary way. It's big and flat, not big and ringy. MD:

What about heads? How often do you change them? ES:

I use Remo CS on all the drums except the snare where I use an Ambassador weight coated. I just put some of the new Pin-Stripe heads on my small concert toms and I really like them. They're a little flatter than the CS heads and very little, if any, taping is required. As far as changing heads, it depends on how much they're played. On my busy drum sets I have to change them fairly often. When I go to Vegas, we'll do two sets a night. I have to change the snare head at least once a week, sometimes every five days. I recommend changing them as soon as you get that shiny spot. Most of the zip is gone at that point. MD:

How do you tune your set?

My bass drums are tuned a minor third apart. The toms are also tuned in minor thirds, starting from the largest floor tom and working up. Some people use fourths, others a major third. I don't feel the pitch is that critical, as long as when you go down the toms on a multitom set, it sounds like you're going down. MD:

I'm sure you're frequently asked why you use 20" and 24" bass drums. ES:

Sure. And it's a very good question. You see, I've never treated the pair of bass drums as one sound. Many people feel that

SWINGER ON STAFF by having two bass drums you can get twice as much of one sound. But I get two very different sounds. It's much hipper for rock to have the power on the right foot off-beat, and complement it on the other foot. It gets me in the feel of the sound. Ml):

How about your cymbal set-up?

I t depends on the s i t u a t i o n . A typical set-up is a pair of 15" hi-hats, a couple of 18" medium-thin crashes, and a 22" ride. I'll also use 14" hi-hats. I like a couple of 20" mini-cup rhythm cymbals for recording. They're very distinct and don't build up so you lose the ride sound. I use a Rock 21" for live work. It's a dynamite cymbal, very powerful. MD:

Let's talk about miking for a moment. Do you place the mikes, or do you work with the engineer on placement? KS:

M i c r o p h o n e placement is left strictly to the engineer. He knows his room and the sound he's going for. Sometimes, in the studio, I get the feeling they're miking my nose. There can be anywhere from two to ten mikes on the outfit. MD:

How about the Carson show?

Three mikes. The 24" bass is miked. There's also a mike between the snare and the hi-hat, and an overhead. The overhead is an AKG Condenser. The other two are Shure mikes.

THERE IS REALLY NO ACCEPTABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR A GOOD TEACHER. YOU MIGHT GET YOURSELF THERE SOONER OR LATER ON YOUR OWN, BUT WHATEVER YOU LEARN THAT'S GOOD, YOU COULD'VE LEARNED A LOT FASTER WITH A TEACHER."

"DRUMMERS WHO GO THROUGH STICKS AND HEADS ARE PLAYING WRONG. IF THEY PLAY INTO THE DRUM WITH A DOWNWARD DRIVE, INSTEAD OF PULLING THE SOUND OUT OF THE DRUM, THEY'RE NOT ONLY GOING TO BREAK EQUIPMENT, BUT CHOKE OFF THE SOUND, AS WELL."

This gets the sound close enough so you don't drown it out with the drums, but you still hear your instrument as it really sounds. This sort of practice, and of course practice with live musicians whenever possible, makes for better ensemble players.

I've always stressed to my students that their goal should be to make music with other people. They can't just work on solos because nobody is going to hire a soloist who can't carry a band. MD:

Many drummers complain they cannot take lessons because there simply aren't any qualified teachers in their area. What would you suggest for them? ES:

Before I answer that, I'll say that there is really no acceptable substitute for a good teacher. You might get yourself there sooner or later on your own, but whatever you learn that's good, you could've learned a lot faster with a teacher. When there simply is no teacher, I guess my advice would be to get records. Out of an average day's two hour practice session, at least 45 minutes should be spent playing along with records. And I'm talking about a broad segment of music. Even the heaviest Led Zeppelin freaks should listen to things other than Led Zeppelin. They should have at least one or two recent albums by Maynard Ferguson, and albums by Count Basie, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich. By listening to big bands, heavy rock, Ohio Players type stuff, and the jazz-rock fusion, they will become total players, and more likely to work.

A wide assortment of drum heads — always available at PDS.

Mountains of Gretsch and Ludwig drums serve as a backdrop for a barrel of drum sticks.

Rogers Drums, LP congas and Ms. Perc cymbal bags stacked in a corner of the shop.

The PDS bargain counter houses items of every type and description. The garbage can cover was a gift from Armand Zildjian.

Pearl, Sonor and North Drums fill display shelves. Huge selection of major lines makes this L.A. shop a virtual drummers' paradise.

professional drummer.

Whatever he wants, we'll do it for him," Yeager stated. Yeager stressed the importance of cymbals to the working drummer and some years ago, constructed a special room in the shop where cymbals can be tested and matched. The vast array of gongs and cymbals displayed would fascinate any percussionist. Yeager has twice visited the Paiste cymbal factory in Switzerland and toured the Avedis Zildjian plant in Massachusetts. Eye-catching items displayed in the shop include a large garbage can cover with the message

"Cheaper yes—Zildjian no!" etched in red across the front. It was sent to Yeager from Armand Zildjian. Another oddity is the square cymbal with the words "Don't be square—try Paiste." "I asked Robert Paiste about making a square cymbal, and suggested that slogan to him when he visited here in 1969. Early in 1977, he delivered one to the shop. We could have sold three the first day. I think there may be a market for the square cymbal. At least it won't roll away." Percussionists from all over the world pass through Los Angeles and most of them find their way to the Professional Drum Shop. When the Bolshoi Ballet played in town recently, the Russian drummers accompanying the troupe stopped in for a visit. "About 95% of our business comes from professional drummers, the other 5% from students who want to be professionals. Everyone gets treated alike here whether they're a top name drummer or a guy who only plays a job a month. We believe in service, integrity and quality. Our products are first rate and we have a price structure we adhere to. It's worked out successfully."

Harvey Mason. World renowned studio drummer has appeared on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has three of his own albums on the Arista label, including his most recent release, "Funk in a Mason Jar".

ROGERS

THE SOUND THE PROS DEPEND ON.

Rogers Drums, CBS Musical Instruments, 1300 East Valencia Drive, Fullerton, California 92631

HARVEY MASON TALKS ABOUT STUDIO DRUMMING AND ROGERS.

"As a musician, playing in the studio gives you a very special kind of challenge. When you walk in for a studio date, you just never know what you might have to play. It might be rock, jazz, latin or a score for a movie. When the tape is rolling, the Studio Producer wants a person who can handle anything that comes up.

That's why you have to be well prepared technically for a studio job. You've got to be able to sight read, learn how to work with click tracks (without sounding like a robot) and play all different kinds of music. If you're afraid of what's coming up technically.

R you just won't be free to do the even harder job of creative interpretation.

There is another kind of pressure, too. Sometimes the orchestra will do the same music over and over, with slight variations in music requested by the Producer. You must be perfect every time, because you never know which take will be selected. The more routine

GERN

it becomes, the more you must concentrate. This is the challenge.

The variations in studio music also require a special insight into proper tuning. That's one reason I think Rogers drums are so outstanding. Whatever studio tuning situation I come across, I've found that Rogers equipment can give it to you accurately...every time...without taking forever to adjust. I tune the set so that each drum sounds most resonant and has a distinct voice. In tuning, I want the tone to have a characteristic sound, not a specific pitch. There's another thing about Rogers. The MemriLoc hardware on Rogers drums gives me an exact duplication of my set-up every time. I know my set-up backwards and forwards. In order to relax, everything must be exactly where I want it...so I can forget about constantly re-adjusting positions of my drums...and I can really get into the music...in a way that makes my interpretation add a special kind of dimension within the total fabric of the music.

If you are serious about your music, you are learning all the time. You need to grow and you always want to get better. Part of that learning process involves your drum equipment. The more you understand your instrument, the better you can play. I tell people to check out the different kinds of drums and learn what really makes for quality. I think when they do that, they'll pick Rogers. It's like other kinds of things, you do a better job with good equipment. You sound better...you play easier...and you free up your musical creativity."

"IF YOU'RE AFRAID OF WHAT'S COMING UP TECHNICALLY, YOU JUST WON'T BE FREE TO DO THE EVEN HARDER JOB OF CREATIVE INTERPRETATION" -HARVEY MASON.

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