Shannon Leto
Birth name Shannon Leto
Born March 9, 1970 Bossier City, Louisiana
Genres Alternative Rock
Occupation Musician, Photographer, Actor
Instruments Vocals, drums, percussion, samples, guitar
Associated acts 30 Seconds To Mars, Wondergirls, CB7, Street Drum Corps
Shannon Leto (born March 9, 1970) is an American drummer and an occasional actor. He is the older brother of musician and actor Jared Leto; both are part of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.
Career
Shannon Christopher Leto was born in Bossier City, Louisiana. He has been playing drums since 1975, and currently plays in the band 30 Seconds to Mars, whose singer is his younger brother Jared Leto. Some of Shannon's favorite drummers include John Bonham, Roger Taylor, Stewart Copeland, Keith Moon, Nick Mason, and Lars Ulrich, all of whom he notes as influencing his own playing style.With the band, he practices six to seven hours a day. In an interview with Modern Drummer magazine in February 2006, he stated: "Rehearsing that much has helped to build up my stamina and make my playing more precise". He has also said that he doesn't like playing to tape or to a loop, and prefers the more organic way of doing things, experimenting with electronics the band creates on their own.
Bob Ezrin, who helped produce 30 Seconds to Mars's debut self-titled album, referred to Leto as "one of the most inventive drummers I've worked with. He isn't satisfied with simply adding a beat; his drum parts are an integral part of the orchestration of the record. He's also a great live drummer who is lots of fun to watch, with a presence and energy level that are mesmerizing".
Leto describes his band's music as having the grandiosity of Pink Floyd and the energy of The Sex Pistols. His other musical influences include The Cure, the first two albums from Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who, early The Police, and Steely Dan. He appeared on a few episodes of My So-Called Life with his brother Jared before forming 30 Seconds to Mars in 1998 with the addition of bass player Matt Wachter and later joined by Tomo Miličević on guitar.
He also expresses interest in writing, Abstract art, progressive rock, self-interpretation, and practices photography.
For his drums he uses Sabian Cymbals, Vater Nude 5AN drum sticks, Remo drumheads, Sonor Drums, And DW hardware. His drums are decorated with RockenWraps Skin artwork that features photos of over 400 people of The Echelon.
He is also occasionally an actor; initially he appeared in some episodes of the series My So-Called Life with his brother Jared, and he played a small role in Prefontaine and Highway, in which his brother starred.
Instrumentation
- 14" x 7.5" Snare drum
- 8" Rototom
- 8" x 8" Tom
- 10" x 8" Tom
- 12" x 8" Tom
- 14" x 8" Tom
- 18" x 18" Floor Tom
- 16" x 18" Floor Tom
- 20" x 19" Bass drum
- (auxiliary snare) 13" x 5" Snare drum
Electronic Drum Kit (Spread out amongst acoustic drum kit, Roland):
- TD-12 V-Drum module
- KD-7 kick trigger pad
- 8 PD-8 dual-trigger pads (3 spread out above rack toms, 5 on left)
Drumheads (Remo):
- Coated Pinstripes (top) and Ambassadors (bottom) on all Toms, Coated Emperor X (top) and Ambassador (bottom) on snares, and Clear Powersonic on Bass Drum
Cymbal (Sabian):
- 14" AA Hi-Hats
- 10" AAX Splash
- 8" Chopper
- 8" AA China Splash
- 14" AAX Mini Chinese
- 19" AAX X-Plosion Crash
- 19" AAX X-Treme Chinese
- 20" AAX Stage Crash
- 21" HHX Raw Bell Dry Ride
Other:
- TreeWorks Tre35 Chimes
- Tomo Milicevic
Percussion mallet: Nude Vater 5A Nylon (length 16", diameter 0.57")
Hardware: Tama Iron Cobra II, DW 9000 Series Rack System
Pedals: Drum Workshop 9000
Discography
30 Seconds To Mars
- 2002 – 30 Seconds to Mars
- 2005 – A Beautiful Lie
- 2009 – This Is War
The Wondergirls
- 1999 – Drop That Baby
- 1999 – Let's Go All The Way
Filmography
1994 My So-Called Life
1997 Prefontaine
1997 Way Out West
2001 Sol Goode
2002 Highway
Thanks to some great people.
Thanks Wikipedia.
