He comes from "Mars", he is the brother of...
And he is a powerful drummer that lacks musical boundaries...
(Photo: vater.com)
1. He is the older brother of Jared Leto and was born on March 9, 1970.
2. His parents divorced when he was a small child and his father committed suicide when he was only 10 years old.
3. His mother, who was a hippie, created a free atmosphere of creation and experience in the family environment and this of course greatly influenced the two brothers.
4. Of all the musical instruments that were scattered throughout the house, Shannon was particularly attached to the drums. At first, he played on pots and buckets and at the age of 10 he got his first drum set. Together with his brother, they started playing and creating music together.
5. As a teenager he experienced a very difficult life when he felt out of place and did not fit into any social framework. He left school, started using drugs, and became outraged in every way possible.
6. His brother is the one who helped him, supported him, and managed to get him out of the mental complexes and the drug cycle.
7. In 1998 the Leto brothers formed the band "Thirty Seconds To Mars". The two recruited more musicians and began performing in small clubs throughout Los Angeles while simultaneously recording demos.
The demos reached a number of record companies and in 1999 the band signed with Virgin Records.
(Photo: thirtysecondstomars.com)
8. In 1999 he formed the supergroup "The Wondergirls", the ensemble included a large number of artists such as: Scott Weiland, Mark McGrath, Ian Astbury, Doug Ardito, and a few others. They recorded only two songs "Let's Go All the Way" and "Drop That Baby".
9. In 2002 came out Mars' debut album bearing the band's name. The album, was recorded in a cabin far away and detached from civilization and was produced by two great producers Bob Ezrin and Brian Virtu. The album is a concept album that focuses on human struggle and self-definition.
10. In light of Jared's busy career as an actor, the band was forced to roam the recordings for the next album. In 2005 the band's second album "A Beautiful Lie" was released. An album that was different both musically and lyrically from the previous album. This is the album that brought the band the international breakthrough and sold over 4 million copies. In this album, Shannon uses a combined system of acoustic and electronic drums, a composition that has become very popular today.
11. In 2009 the band's third album "This Is War" was released. The album takes the brothers to new experiences like Prog, Metal, and New Wave. The lyrics on the album were mainly influenced by the band's 'war' against the record company EMI. The album was accompanied by a documentary called "Artifact" directed by Jared which documents the period of the struggle. This album was part of the Guinness World Record when the band conducted more than 300 shows, the highest number of shows per album tour.
13. In 2013, the band's fourth album, "Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams" was released. An album which is a kind of concept album that focuses on the four elements that appear in its name. Here the band already started to have greater use of electronic elements. The album continues the band's success and brings it to No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
14. Already in this album you can feel the change that the music goes through when Shannon stretches the electronic boundaries of the song and its drums. He is considered a very diverse drummer who loves to experiment and try new elements on the drums.
15. In March of that year a copy of the song "Up in the Air" was released into space with NASA's SpaceX CRS-2 spacecraft, it was the first single from the album. This is the world's first replica of commercial music sent into space.
16. In 2018 came out the band's fifth album "AMERICA". This is a completely different album from the band's previous albums. The musical style changes dramatically as electronic sounds, effects, and soft melodies take the place of guitars and drums. Here too the album is a concept album that deals with social concepts like sex, fame, and individuality. Despite the mixed reviews and disappointment from the band's longtime fans, it reached second place on Billboard and was a huge success.
17. In 2023, the band releases its sixth album, "It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day." The album continues the musical trajectory from the previous one, thus completing the band's musical transformation in a definitive manner.
18. On stage Shannon is an evil beast !! He is a charismatic drummer with a significant presence and plays an integral part in the show on stage. His energies on his integrated drum set are a mesmerizing sight, we experienced this in August 2010 when they performed at the Hanger 11 in Tel Aviv.
(Photo: thirtysecondstomars.com)
19. Before every show, Shannon meditates, which is accompanied by at least 20 minutes of listening to metal music in order to get in the mood, and at the end of each show, he likes to be alone for half an hour in order to absorb the energies and experience that took place.
20. During the tour he usually eats neatly and sleeps at least 8 hours before the show.
21. He is not a professional actor like his brother but he has appeared in three films Prefontaine (1997), Sol Goode (2001), and Highway (2002).
Listen to the band's latest album on: Spotify, Apple Music