We recently had an opportunity to sit and chat with Pitbull drummer Omar Tavarez before a show at The House of Blues in Orlando. Omar has a passion and dedication not often seen these days. Please enjoy this afternoon with Omar Tavarez, an outstanding drummer, drum head, drum geek, and iPhone Geek - the kind of people we love at DrummerConnection.com
From Sabian.com:
"Born in New York City and raised in South Florida, drummer/programmer Omar Tavarez has used his rollercoaster ride through the highs and lows of the music business to fuel his passion for success. And with a sound combining Tony Williams’ no holds barred attitude with Mitch Mitchell’s flashy fills and drive, Tavarez knows no boundaries.
In the summer of 2006, Omar recorded drums for Cash Money Records artists, “Lil’Wayne” and “Birdman”, for their 2006 release, “Like Father Like Son” (album peaked at #3) and is currently touring extensively with Miami based rapper/entertainer, “Pitbull” (international hip-hop anglo-latino ricording artist). These recent experiences come together to showcase Omar’s emotion, strength, and command behind the drums.
As a teen, Tavarez was groomed by his teachers to be a classical percussionist. Instead, Tavarez chose to mature as an artist, hone his drumming and programming skills, and ultimately land the gig with two-time Latin Grammy nominee, singer/songwriter, J.D. Natasha.
When he’s not bashing out rock songs for Natasha, Tavarez is getting krunked by programming and producing urban (anglo/latino) tracks for Reddlyne, an independent music production company in South Florida engineered by Shane Stoner and headed by Miami producer Dave Siegel. credits include Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Marc Anthony, and the now compilation cds. Omar brings years of electronic music production and a host of drumming ideas to Reddlyne, always pushing the envelope of creativity. He is equally comfortable on acoustic drums as on electric and programmed drums, and adds another dimension to his live performances."
Everyone at DC would like to thank Omar for taking time to share his knowledge with us!! At the end of the day we wound up with 4 Parts to the interview and two awesome kit walkthroughs from the Pitbull Crew!
Part 1:
Getting the Pitbull gig
Setting up his own rig on tour
Tuning for the gig
Tips for being comfortable behind the kit
Starting at a young age
Part 2:
Omar's influences
Part 3:
Practice routine
Importance of muscle memory
Mental side of drumming
Pre show warm-ups
Part 4:
Recording the new Pitbull CD
Playing with loops and click tracks
Doing TV shows
Monitor mixes
Endorsements
Part 5:
Drum Kit Setup and Walkthrough with DrummerConnection.com and Omar Tavarez
Part 6:
Percussion tour with Manuel "Papayo" Corao - Pitbull's Percussionis