BeatIt’s exclusive interview with Kaz Rodriguez, Pt. 3
During the 25th edition of the DRUM FEST Festival, which was held at the Conference and Exhibition Center in Opole, Poland, we met up with the drummers who participated in the event. They performed with their bands, conducted drum clinics and workshops, but also judged young Polish sitcksmen as part of the Young Drum Hero contest, which presented a very high level of playing.
Artists performing at the festival included the likes of Maciek Gołyźniak, Łukasz “Icanraz” Sarnacki, Katy Elwell, Jason Bittner, Jason Sutter, Rick Latham, Gary Novak, Russell Gilbrook and, last but not least, Kaz Rodriguez.The London-based drummer, educator, producer, music director and composer collaborates with some of the most popular pop acts on the British scene (Jessie Ware, Wilkinson). He has three solo albums, collectively titled “Thoughts” under his belt, composes backing tracks to be used during solo performances by the most renowned drummers of today, the likes of which include: Gerald Heyward, Chris Coleman or Aaron Spears. Kaz Rodriguez is endorsed by such brands as: Tama, Zildjian, Roland, Vic Firth czy Protection Racket Cases. He is also an official Roland V-Drums Demonstrator.
In the third part of our interview, our guest talks about his approach to warming up before performances, his new solo album, as well as his artistic plans for this year.
“I literally just go on stage and do it. I wish sometimes I could have the privilege of a soundcheck but it’s very rare. Sometimes it’s good to just go and just flow with whatever comes out because it’s just about you being you. Sometimes preparing things can make things a little bit unnatural. In these sort of clinics, I try not to over-warm up because you’re just drained for what you’re about to do on stage and your message doesn’t come across as well.”
“It’s been such a great response with the other two albums [‘Thoughts’] that I wanted to make this third album a bit more special, have some of my favourite musicians and good friends lift it up a bit more in musical influence. When you make an album from 5-6 years back, you’re obviously gonna grow as an individual. I thought: ‘Why not do this in my music?’. I, personally, feel that I’ve grown because I’ve always learned. For my third album, I started getting into listening more to cinematic music. I love Hans Zimmer to the fullest and there’s a lot of influence in that, but then, I love R&B, hip hop, funk, soul, fusion. I was like: ‘Why not make an album with everything? Why not address this to the whole world, whether you’re 5 years old, 50 or 60?”.
Drummers and Drummerettes! We give you Kaz Rodriguez in the third and final instalment of an exclusive interview for www.beatit.tv – the drummers’ website!
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