Megadeth Drummer To Perform Clinic

Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover will perform a free drum clinic at 6 p.m. April 26 at DP’s Music Center in Lewistown.

General manager of DP’s Music, Matt Combs, said that Drover will be performing the clinic to showcase ddrum company products and demonstrate his playing techniques alongside Megadeth recordings in which the drum tracks have been removed.

DP’s Music Center has featured clinics before, but this is the first time the business will feature a member of a prolific, international touring band.

Megadeth is considered by many to be one of the most influential and important bands during the nascent period (from the early to mid 1980s) of the thrash/speed metal movement. The band holds the honor of being part of the Big Four, a unique fraternity of genre-defining bands from the 1980s, including the ranks of other titans of metal, Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer.

During the late 1970s, after a decade dominated by singer-songwriters, progressive rock and disco and underground music, which ultimately led to the invention of punk, was rising from the corrupt, seedy underbelly of cities both in America and England.

The age old debate over who invented punk music – was it the Sex Pistols in London or The Ramones in New York? – is still debated. It was also during this time that a genre of primitive heavy metal was emerging in Britian that planted the seeds of modern metal. Deemed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, this obscure movement influenced countless bands during the early 1980s.

Megadeth’s frontman, Dave Mustaine, was heavily influenced by this emerging tour-de-force, and with speeded-up tempos and blistering guitar solos, became a pioneer of the early thrash metal scene.

Shawn Drover joined Megadeth in 2004. According to his biography on ddrum’s website, Drover was exposed to music at an early age. At age eight he realized he wanted to be a musician and received his first drum set when he was 12. Before the two joined Megadeth, both Shawn and his brother, Glen, played in one of Toronto’s premiere power metal bands, Eidolon. Glen has since left Megadeth.

The clinic is free and open to all ages. An autograph and meet-and-greet session will occur after the event. Fans are invited to bring copies of CDs that Drover has performed on, drum heads, sticks or photographs to have signed.