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SDM: What kind of music do you normally prefer to play?
Glen: It really depends. If I’m on a hard-hitting rock gig for a while, then I might start to feel like I want to play some more mellow groove stuff. And vice-versa. Every style is related in some way, and they all help each other out.
SDM: What happened to you playing with Beautiful Creatures?
Glen: I played with Beautiful Creatures from 2000-2003. It was such a great experience, and I talk to those guys all the time. In 2007, I did Nikki Sixx’s Sixx A.M. gig with DJ Ashba, the original lead guitar player in Beautiful Creatures. We were signed to Warner Brothers and went through the whole machine of having a big label and big budget to get things done. But shortly after our record came out, a new CEO took over the label, and that changed everything. Most of the people in the various departments that were excited to be working on our record were fired or left, and thus the playing field was changed. Soon enough, we were given the ax as well. The new CEO, Tom Whalley, didn’t really get or like what we were doing, and since we weren’t selling big right from the first week of sales, we were dropped from the label. This is all a very typical story for many recording artists at the major labels; things change everyday.
A new band or artist is expected to sell big right away or it’s over. There’s no time for artists to develop a following these days. It needs to happen quick or never in a lot of execs’ eyes. The music biz was slowly taking its cues from the movie industry where the opening weekend tallies were the most important thing, but Beautiful Creatures was a band that needed to grow its following on tour, which we were doing on Ozzfest and the other tours, but soon it was over.
By the time there was a new CD put out on a different label, it was four years later and I was already on to other things. I didn’t want to wait so long for the band to get its stuff together. I’m a workaholic [laughing].
I’m very proud of that record we did back in 2001. The songs, production, and mix were top-notch, and it has sustained a following over the years. I always get people asking me about it.
SDM: Tell us some of the session work and touring gigs you’ve had recently.
Glen: Well, I just did a country/pop gig last night in Hollywood with a great female artist. In July/August, I was in Europe and Japan doing shows with Impellitteri, supporting the new CD we did, and then did a week and a half of Japan clinics as well a Guitar Center clinic in Orange County when I got back.
Earlier in the year I was doing tour dates with Alcatrazz, and there’s been a couple of Elliott Yamin dates mixed in lately, as well as different gigs at one of my favorite places to play in LA, The Baked Potato, which is the place for fusion, rock, jazz, et cetera. I play there lately with artists like Jeff Kollman and Adrian Galysh.
As far as session stuff, I was recently starting to do sessions for Ben Moody. Ben was the original guitar player in Evanescence, and after he left he became quite a successful writer/producer. Lately he’s concentrating on his new band called We Are The Fallen. It’s great stuff, and I’m looking forward to hearing the finished record.
Another batch of sessions lately has been demoing the latest sample library from Steven Slate Drums. Steven has the best drum samples in the business, so we recently filmed a bunch of promo videos in his studio with me demonstrating the sounds on a V-Drum kit. They can be seen at his site.
SDM: How familiar are you with extreme metal drumming? You certainly have the chops; would playing in a band like this be something you’d be interested in?
Glen: I’m pretty familiar with a lot of the bands old and new in extreme metal. One of my favorite bands is Meshuggah. I’ve been listening to them for ten years, and was blown away by them after the first listen. If I did a band in the extreme metal genre, I would want it to have influences that have more in common with bands like them. One of the play-along tracks I use in my clinics has a couple of sections that are clearly influenced by Meshuggah. It’s a tune called "Scramble!", and there’s at least one version of it on YouTube.
Other metal bands I like are acts like Soilwork, Fear Factory, Slipknot, and a lot of others.
It’s an honor to do this interview for Sick Drummer Magazine! Your site is filled with so many great features and interviews. Thanks for contacting me. If anybody wants to get in touch with me or check out audio and video clips, they can do so by going to: <http://www.myspace.com/drummerglen> or <http://www.facebook.com/drummerglen> ~ Cya soon!
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