hen
I go back and try to pinpoint how I gravitated to the world
of music, I recall being fixed on two things: the beat and
the melody. I remember, as a kid, playing my mother’s pots
and pans from the kitchen. I loved the type of sound they
created. And that Sultana Crackers can… What a sound! My
drum sticks were cut from bamboo trees across the street
from our house in Caguas, my hometown in Puerto Rico. I
would go to the park’s playground and there they were; thick
and tall. The trees had some small branches that I could
take home and cut with my mother’s help. Other times I would
take forks or anything to keep the drummer in me going.
There are two songs and people in particular that come to
mind: The first, "Alegria y Bomba" by Ismael
Rivera. I would play that bomba rhythm on any big car
with a nice hood that was parked in front of my parent’s
house. I preferred those big Buicks. They had such a deep
sound! The other artist was El Indio Araucano, who
played with his small hand drum while singing "Soy Marinero"
along with other songs. Why El Indio? It’s beyond me.
As time went by I started to develop my own idea of good
chops and eventually got my first "gig": the drummer boy in
school! Every morning I played the drum roll as they raised
the flag, and kids would come to me and say, "Hey! That drum
roll was really groovy"! It felt awesome. Motivation to the
max!
Next came Elvis, Teddy Randazzo, Del Shannon, Paul Anka,
Gary U.S. Bonds , Neil Sedaka, James Brown, and so many
others. But there was one band that had that special
something: The Beach Boys and their "Surfin’ Safari" in
1962… what harmonies!
By that time, an absolute upgrade was on its way. Drums!
Goodbye pots and pans. Caguas had one music store by the
name of "Bigio". My mother and I went inside for the first
time. For months I had to pass by that store front on the
school bus while I was being driven home, and right on the
store’s window I would see it: a three piece Zym-Gar drum
set in a shiny white pearl finish calling me every time.
Finally, the big day came and for three hundred dollars my
mother bought me the drum set. It was the happiest day of my
life. Now I could buy my favorite records and play along
with them, too!
I would get home from school at three, do homework for
one hour, then play drums for five or six hours. Every week
the police came to tell me to tone it down. But the second
they left, I would hop back on that kit. I still have vivid
memories of my mother sitting in front of me, listening to
me as my audience. It was phenomenal. She was my number one
fan.
I was playing for a couple of years until "The Beatles"
came out. Upon hearing them, I was totally blown away. They
were the best band I ever heard. Every time I heard them, I
felt so many emotions that I could never describe in words.
And that’s when I knew for a fact that, in my young age,
this was the very thing I wanted to do for the rest of my
life. Play music, be in a band, join a band, make a band or
just be where the music was.
My first band was with
a guy named Saury. He played the marimba. Marcos, a friend,
played on the guitar, Fico on bass, Fonsy on vocals (who
played drums later with The Carpetbaggers),
and me on the drums. We went around doing some small-time
party gigs. The next band was called The
Cherrie Generation. Robert Bonilla on guitar, Dennis on
keyboard, Rosa on bass, and me on drums (again). After
playing with my previous band, I felt that it was time to
step up. What better place to go than Casa Margarida (now
Margarida
Music). I got
a new drum kit, the Rogers 1964 Holiday Edition, and a
microphone with its own goose neck stand for singing. Again
my mother, God bless her soul, spot me the money. I was very
grateful.
From there on, my
career started to move at a faster pace. I went on to join a
local band called The Head
Hunters and we played stuff like "Detroit Wheels",
"Lady with a Blue Dress", and other covers.
Following that, I met Tomas Huertas from Los Sonsets, whom I got
together with and created an all original band called the
Vulcans (music, wardrobe and lights by Luisito Crystal).
That band was awesome. We lived in El Condado and many times
there were news photos of the band in the old "San Juan
Star" newspaper. The band played at The Trip, La Rue, and
private parties.
Soon afterwards, we went to Washington D.C. to try and
get some luck but it only caused the band to break up. I
moved to New York City and lived at the Marlston Hotel in
Greenwich Village on Eight Street. I played with so many
amazing musicians and kept moving from band to band until I
was eventually at another plateau. I got a chance to play
with the musicians of Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band in his
home in Woodstock where frequently many big stars came and
jammed including, one night, the late great Jimi Hendrix,
whom I had the privilege to play with for twenty minutes. I
was humbled, blown away, and mostly overwhelmed. It was me,
David Sanborn on sax, Howard "Buzzy" Feiten on guitar, Rod
Hicks on bass, and a couple others along with Jimi.
After that I came back
to New York City and was offered a gig by a band called The Amigos to go to on an
international tour; Of course I said yes! It was a band that
had made many records and T.V. appearances. They even had a
cameo in one of Elvis’ movies in Hawaii. For starters, we
rehearsed in California. Then we went to perform in Hawaii,
Guam, Okinawa, Taipei, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong,
Japan and so many other countries for three years, in which
I learned a little bit of each country’s native music. It
was very nurturing.
I came back to Puerto Rico to unwind, however, shortly
after my arrival, I got another gig. This time, I went to
Canada. Another wonderful experience was waiting for me. In
those years I was honored to have the opportunity to jam
with Domenic Troiano (a Canadian guitar hero) at a club in
the corner of Yonge and Bloor Street in downtown Toronto.
After three years of
Canada I returned to Puerto Rico and not before long became
the drummer for the Chosen People
with Luis "Perico" Ortiz original music and a fusion of
Latin Jazz. That project went on for about a year. Then it
was Apocalips, which became very popular on the air waves in
the Island. We played at Bellas Artes and other nice venues
(soon afterwards a re-issue of the band
Raices with Alberto
Carrion as a guest artist). I then became one of the
founding members of a band called the
D'Ratz. We were the host
band for a popular club in El Condado called "The Comic
Strip". Later, I also became a founding member of Radio
Pirata as their original drummer for whom I recorded their
very first album. At the same time I also did many jingles
for radio and television, I even had a spot on a Coca Cola
commercial. I later became the drummer for: Menudo,
Proyecto
M., Lissette, Ednita Nazario, Danny Rivera, Luis Angel,
Mijares, Franco de Vita, Carlos Vives, Ray Baretto, and many
more. You can read all about it on my web page: