Creative and Musical Drummer

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I have 18+ years of experience in both live and studio performances. I started playing drums at the age of 11, starting to play professionally at 13 accompanying my older brother, which is also a musician. Having decided to pursue this career, my main goal was always to study the most I could and try to get a broader vision of music, going beyong only drums. At 16 I entered University of Brasilia for my undergrad in Music and at 22 I was granted a assistantship and scholarship to attend the Jazz Performance Masters Degree at the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Program in University of Louisville, KY, where I lived from 2011-2013. After that I came back to Brazil, living first in Brasilia and then in Rio de Janeiro, where I'm based now. During all of those years, I was blessed to have worked with great artists across multiple genres: - in Pop and Rock, I have performed with Angra’s guitarist Marcelo Barbosa, Latin Grammy Nominee Letrux and I'm the current drummer of Orquestra Petrobrás Sinfônica, with whom I have shared the stage with some of the most popular Brazilian artists such as Latin Grammy Winners Nando Reis, AnaVitória and Vanessa da Mata, and also having the experience to perform along with a 60+ symphonic orchestra; - in Jazz, I've performed with Grammy Nominee John La Barbera, Brandon Coleman, Miami Sax Quartet and Gene Perla; - in Funk and Brazilian Music, I'm the leader and composer of Funqquestra, with whom have featured legends like Carlos Malta, Nicolas Krassik, MARO and Sandra de Sá; With hundreds of tunes recorded, I'm happy to have, nowadays, more the 1million streams on works that I've done.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My drumset is a Gretsch 120th Anniversary Round Badge Limited Edition Kit, with a 8"x12" Tom, 14"x14" Floor, 5"x14" Snare and two options of Bass Drum: 14"x18" Bass Drum or 28x22x Bass Drum. This is an incredibly great instrument with a huge and rich sound, specially because of the high end quality shells and die cast hoops. It's also a versatile kit, that responds very well to tuning. With a couple of tweaks you can make it sound like a Jazz kit, with a lot of overtones, or make it more Pop, with a "dry" and low-end sound. I have a variety of cymbals for different occasions: - 15" Istanbul Mehmet Legend Dark Hihats, a high pitch Hihat that is great for Rock, Pop and Funk related genres. - 15" Vintage Ludwig Paiste Hihat (from the 70's), a controlled, classy and balanced Hihat that is incredible for Jazz, Brazilian Music, Ballads and all genres that require a lot of dynamic control. - 22" K Zildjian Constantinople Medium Thin High Ride, a great and versatile ride, with balanced ping and decay. - 22" K Custom Dry Complex Ride II, an exotic and unique Ride. Although not very versatile, this Ride is great for tunes that need a dry sound, with a defined ping. - 18" Vintage Avedis Zildjian Crash/Ride (from the 80's), a powerful cymbal, great to use as Crash for Rock and Pop tunes and Ride in Jazz, Ballads and Brazilian tunes. - 16" Sabian O-Zone Crash, an awesome Crash, with a very open sound, ideal for Pop, Rock, Funk and Hiphop related genres - 15" Vintage Ludwig Paiste Crash (from the 70's). Those are the same cymbals described as hihats above, but that are also great using separately as crashes. They are super thin, high pitch crashes that work great to give contrast to other crashes. - 10" Sabian O-Zone Splash, a great and fast splash, awesome to use to accent some parts of arrangements. - 8" Sabian A Splash, a thicker splash that is great to contrast with the other splash noted above. About those two last cymbals, they also work great as a STAX, adding one above the other, which provides a fast "trashy" sound, almost like a "clap", that is awesome to Pop and HipHop tunes. I mainly use Vic Firth AJ6 Drum Sticks for Ballads, Jazz, Latin and Brazilian tunes, as I feel they provide a more crispy and balanced sound. For Pop, Rock, Funk and other genres, I mainly use 55A Drum Sticks. I also have Regal Tip Brushes and Mallet DrumSticks. For pedals, I use a Pearl Eliminator Single Pedal. I also have a variety of accessories and percussion instruments, like Tambourine, Rattlers, Cowbells, Wood Blocks and Shakers, that can be used inside or outside the drumset. I record with a Behringer U-Phoria UMC 1820 + Presonus Firestudio Project, with 10 pre-amp channels, that is working greatly with my Microphones: - 1 Shure SM57, that I mainly use for the Snare Drum Top. - 1 Shure PG52, that I mainly use for the inside of the bass drum. - 1 Sterling S50, that I mainly use for the outside of the bass drum. - 2 CAD C9, that I mainly use as overheads. - Superlux Hi10, that I mainly use as Hihat - 1 Sterling S30, that I mainly use for Snare Bottom - 1 NADY DM80, that I mainly use for Toms. - Superlux Pro-218a, that I mainly use for Floor Tom. - 1 NADY DM70, that I mainly use for Room/Crotch. I'm eager to continue improving my audio setup, being aware of new opportunities to improve my gear.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love to make music with different people, from different places and different perspectives. I feel this is one of the most great gifts the music provides to us and, as a drummer, it's my goal to accommodate all of those different background in a way that makes everybody comfortable and grooving.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Your song comes in the first place. So no matter who is playing, it's your song that must shine.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Groovy, musical and rich drum parts.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: John Mayer, because I really enjoy how he makes super pop music, but with a more elaborated and rich take on it.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Jazz, Funk, Soul, Pop and Rock related genres, besides Brazilian Music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Musicality

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Groove, musicality and a more elaborated take on rhythm, always with the goal to provide balanced drum parts that works towards the arrangements.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If the client sends an audio, my first action is to hear the song repeatedly so I can get acquainted and intimate with its feel. Then I reach out for any other information provided, like sheet music, text instructions, etc. After that, I play around with the song a little without recording to get the ideas together and immediately after that I record the takes.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: Steve Jordan, Ash Soan and Brian Blade are major influences because of their skill to provide incredibly good sounding, groovy and creative drum parts, that, on the other hand, doesn't steal the thunder of the whole arrangement.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: To create or replicate pre-existing drum tracks on an arrangement, but aiming to apply a more natural, musical and unique feel that works towards the arrangement. I believe the drums are one of the most important elements on a song and my goal is always to provide the elements that can make the music reach a high level of maturity.