tobosar.ro

Ramon a acordat tobosar.ro un scurt interviu dupa concertul din Romania.

Born in Barcelona, on July 10, 1977. At the age of 10, he begins studies of theory and solfeggio at Conservatorio del Liceo, and at the age of 15 he begins playing drums, self-taught.
After forming part of several bands , at the age of 20 he begins the Heike project, a band in which he'll have have the opportunity to record his first studio album, produced by Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins). The above mentioned formation will tour and promote his songs all around spain until its final split.
Later, he decides to extend his studies of percussion with Salvador Niebla, and in parallel, he keeps on performing or doing studio sessions with other bands such as Heike, Mürfila, Fulanitos de Tal, Caspar David, Luna Roja, Rodamons, The Linn Youki Project, Daniel Higiénico,Carles Mestre i la Sinfonica de Gavà, Erm or Electric Barbarella, among many others. This musical experience is summarized in a dozen of published records and in more than 500 shows.
In 2007, he joined David and the guys of Brazzaville for a Russian tour, living one of his best experiences as a musician.
Finally, He's still doing singing lessons with Jaime Aragall in parallel with his continuous growing as a drummer by following the Berklee method with jazz drummer, Ramón Ángel Rey

Questions:

tobosar.ro: when did you start drumming and how was the circumstances that pushed you to this step?
Ramon: I started at the age of fifteen. I was in the high school period and a friend of mine wanted to start a rock band. He played the guitar pretty well and he asked me to join the band with another guy that was beginning bass lessons. That was my first experience as a drummer, despite the fact that it almost took one year to finish a song , but it was a fun. After a couple of months, I decided to take lessons with a jazz drummer, the first guy that really got me into the basics, although I had studied piano and solfeggio for years. That was basically the beginning of everything. From then on, I might have played in 20 or 30 bands….

tobosar.ro: who influences your drumming? Who is your “icon”?
Ramon: I cannot name only one drummer, because I’ve been listening to a lot of different music, but I had to name two or three, I would choose the guys that have been playing in my favorite bands. For example, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Matt Cameron from Soundgarden, Phil Collins with Peter Gabriel in Genesis (until 1975), Clive Bunker from Jethro Tull, Philly Joe Jones or any drummer from Miles Davis or John Coltrane, my teacher Ramon Ángel Rey. I could name a hundred more…….

tobosar.ro: when and how did you meet with the band?
Ramon:I met David one year ago. Ivan, his current drummer at that time was leaving the band and he was looking for a new one. The guys came to see me playing, we met to jam a little bit and I got the job. Since then, a lot of touring and a lot of fun…

tobosar.ro: can you please describe your drum? Shells, hardware, cymbals, sticks what is the gear that you are using and what do you want to improve in the near future?
Ramon:I play with four of five bands now, and they’re quie different from each other, so it depends on the style. I got a DW jazz kit and a huge Ludwig rock kit. As you can imagine, they sound completely different and I choose one or another depending on what the band needs. The heads are also changing, and I alternate between the classic remo ambassador for jazz sound or the powerstroke for rock. Finally, the only that never changes are my sticks and my cymbals. I use vater drumsticks (sweet ride, fusion model or power fusion model). And for cymbals, I use my old K Zildjian jazz set for almost everything. I also change to K Custom or Avedis, but always Zildjian. They’re definitely my sound.

tobosar.ro: I heard that you are training with Ramón Ángel Rey. How is it? Is it hard?
Ramon: Well, it’s a complete different thing for me. Ramon is a monster drummer and comes from the jazz music. I started playing and growing as a musician listening to rock and pop records, so jazz for me has become a real challenge.
On the other hand, Ramon teachs me not only jazz drumming, but how to develop all my skills and become someone in the music business which, as you can imagine, is really competitive.

tobosar.ro: how was your concert in Bucharest? Did you like the crowd, the sound etc?
Ramon:The show went great, and the best thing is that we didn’t expect so much success. Ramona and Julia (www.indiehours.ro) did they job perfectly and made a lot of promotion, so the place was packed and we had a lot a fun. Actually, I received mails from people who came to see us telling me that everything was great. We’re looking forward to playing again there

tobosar.ro: what do you recommend to the beginners reading this article? Is it hard to rock the drums?
Ramon:I recommend to listen to a lot of music. Drums were made to play along with other musicians, so it’s crucial to listen a to good songs and not only to good drummers. Nowadays, there’s a lot of information concerning to drum technique, so that could be combined with a good and experienced teacher. Finally, I would recommend young drummers to study a lot, but without forgetting that music is an artistic way of expressing ourselves, not a contest.

tobosar.ro: please tell us a rhythm that you enjoy to play. If you have a link where to see it or hear it will be great
Ramon: I recommend you to visit my web: www.myspace.com/juanramonaragall. There you’ll be able to listen to a lot of recordings that I’ve been doing through out the years. I hope you enjoy at least one of them, especially the first two. There are from 5 years ago, but I like the sound and HEIKE is my favourite band. I also recommend you the my space : www.myspace.com/heikemusic