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Gomantak Times-22nd August, '06
 Aug 23, 06 - 8:44 PM |
Talking Drums
Carlos Gonsalves, is a man who’s done quite a lot, from ‘busking’ in Ireland to playing with one of Goa’s premier fusion groups. This percussionist started his younger days banging on anything in sight, especially the utensils in the kitchen. “I made a makeshift drum set out of some utensils, including the snare and tom toms. I even got a hole made in a plate and turned it into cymbals. My parents finally figured that I really wanted to play and so they sent me to music school to learn more,” says Carlos. From then on, Carlos was hooked, jumping at any chance to sit behind a drum kit. He was even part of a college band and Deep Red was very popular with the St Xavier’s crowd. A few years later, he was alone once more as all his bandmates left Goa for greener pastures and enticing jobs. But, being left alone was a boon in the end. That’s when Carlos started to look at what he needed to do in order to improve on what he loved to do and how he would have to make a mark. “Usually, people think that being a drummer or a percussionist, you can’t make it on your own, that you need to back someone. But, I looked at it the other way around. When you look at people like Sivamani and Trilok Gurtu, these guys have done so much and others back them up. Trilok is a revered name in artistic circles in Europe and India. That’s who I looked up to and it was then that I decided to start going deeper in percussion,” adds Carlos. Soon, as Carlos started his journey into the world of percussion, he met Colin D’Cruz and Lester Godinho, two people who not only influenced him but also inspired him to explore different musical horizons, namely those that went towards world music. He explains, “Colin and Lester introduced me to world music and the different musical concepts that went along with it. I was also made the new percussionist of their band, Obligato.” The need to experiment and improvise drove Carlos to travel and soon he found himself on Irish shores. “I started playing with Irish folk musicians, after I visited a party full of musicians and I played just for a lark. Many of them liked my stuff and invited me to play with them whenever they wanted to add something different to their sound,” remarks Carlos. He’s been freelancing since then, with Shanti, a creative fusion band made up of Goan musicians, the Brown Indian Band, featuring virtuoso bassist Colin D’Cruz. He’s also jammed with Hari Kumar, a violinist who learnt his trade from the great L Subramaniam, Remo, Goa’s best export to India’s world of pop and Hindi music and Graeme Hamilton, UB40’s trumpet and saxophone player. “Playing with Graeme was one of the best times in my musical career. In fact, until then Graeme had played with a few bands but was disappointed as they were all sequenced. When he played with us, he was amazed and even asked us why the bands here had to sound so artificial. That was the state of music here in Goa at one time, luckily, quite a lot of bands today are moving away from sequenced music and are practicing hard to do proper live music. For Goa, this is a very good sign,” states Carlos. When Carlos started playing the Djembe, which is one of the instruments that he adores, he worked out his own style of playing before picking up instructional videos to hone his skills. He even went to the extent of picking up finer points from an African player who helped him out. He adores Bob Marley, not just for his intense passion for music but also the way his music flows, Santana for his Latin rhythms, Remo, who he claims has “talent beyond what you can see,” Zezinho, an amazing Goan guitar player and his bandmates from Shanti, who he thinks have a lot of talent. Plus, add to that his friend and in some ways, mentor, Colin D’Cruz and you know Carlos is in good company. Lastly, though he laments that Goa seems to be resigning itself to playing covers and not being open to new and creative ideas, he also acknowledges the efforts of quite a few musicians who are working hard to change people’s perceptions of good music. “We need a lot more original music here and its not like we don’t have the talent!” he concludes. To help improve the scenario, Carlos wants to put out an album, which will feature percussion in a different light and have other instruments backing it up. This will happen in the near future but until then, Carlos does what he does best — play! By Kurt Gidwani |
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