03_July 1978
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- JULY 1978. $1.75MODERN DRUMMER A Contemporary Publication Exclusively for Drummers
- Join the Greatest Community in DrummingSubscribe to Modern Drummer Gear Reviews
- Page 3Some drums have to be grown. Not made. The sound of a drum with a solid wood shell is unlike all other sounds. It's rich. It's mellow, It's solid and sometimes even primal.
- ED SHAUGHNESSY by Rob CookEd 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. MD:
- Page 5SWINGER 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?
- Page 6"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.
- Page 7A 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.
- Page 8Pearl, Sonor and North Drums fill display shelves. Huge selection of major lines makes this L.A. shop a virtual drummers' paradise. professional drummer.
- Page 9Harvey 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
- Page 10it 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.
- Page 11NEW 16 SIZES
- Page 12Great cymbals are made, not manufactured. The one thing that mass pro- duction cannot produce is greatness. That's why no cym bal with the Zildjian name on it will ever be stamped out of sheet metal.
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ED SHAUGHNESSY by Rob Cook
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