How did you get started with your music?
When I was 6 years old my mom got into music classes in order to learn professionaly the theory. When I turned 9 years old I wanted to learn how to play Violin, I tried it but at the time the school got really complicated and I didn’t continue the classes.At 14th years old my life took a turn towards music for real. At that time of my life I used to hear Rock ie. Gun’s N Roses and POP music like Michael Jackson.That’s when I got inspired to play Drums, then I started to watch music videos where famous artist would play with other famous artists. I saw Michael Jackson playing along with Slash and as soon as I saw that, I decided that I had to learn how to play instruments immediately.I started with the guitar, my younger brother started with the drums, so I learned how to play drums by just watching him and I started to picture and hear all kinds of music and that’s what helped me to be part of certain bands, rock bands, reggae and others. I started performing in a band that didn’t even have a name. I was the basis and then I showed my abilities as a main guitar player and I became the lead guitarist and I gave the band a great turn at the starting point of the band and I became a lider of the band along with the main guy after two weeks from the formation of the band. When I became one of the leader of the band and lead guitar, my brother became the basist of the band.A year later the drummer died from an accident and my brother became the drummer of the band. That band got me known in my City of Caracas, Venezuela.I called the band MEANWHILE along with the other leader of the band. The way we named was that a homeless person was checking the garbage in a friends house dumpster and he threw the Star Wars book on the street by our side and it was open on a page with bold letters MEANWHILE.I also started studing Sound Engineering with the idea to be watching out over the sound set up on my own shows but then I moved to Los Angeles California, Hollywood, I didn’t know English for starters and I only knew how to ask a gurl to kiss me since I saw it in a Jim Carrey movie. I learned in 8 months by translating Gun’s N roses songs and snoop dogs and it worked.I created a band called OKTANE with a person that up to today, he is one of my best friends that I’ve found in this huge city. I still have songs of the band registered and may be one day, I’ll make some album with those songs, why not?!! An artist should always be able to move into all kinds of music, right?We played pretty much everywhere, even in the sunset strip few times. We would open for some great bands and people would forget that the next band was coming and we would put out a great show, we were pure fire and that’s why out name was
OKTANE. After a while, each one of the members of the band took off on his on ways and at that time the latin music was becoming a sensation and going to a incredible speed. So I’m Venezuelan and of course Latino and just by looking at the latino movement into the music industry which by the way, I already used to hear this kind of music from when I used to live in Venezuela. Well my blood started to boil just like when the great hit starts on in the night club and I start to move a finger, then the leg, the arm bit by bit, etc. So I decided to do something different, While I was doing rock, I was hitting the clubs at night and I would go out with my friends. I love to dance and I can dance really good. I would even compete for dancing contests in night clubs and then win, I would take the money and head to Vegas haha!!!I would listen hip hop a lot, also listen to the actual beats, different styles and that’s when Reggaeton blew up! I started to do mixes of beats from different styles to create something different from what I was already hearing. Now days I already been working on that project for 2 years, I lived in
In this moment I’m working on my album and it will be ready in approximately 3 months. I’m recording it independently since I think that it would grow and be known better that way.There are certain people and companies that want to be sponsors for the project, but I will see which one is the convenient ones so my airplane car do the right take off. Is a specific and fairly formed plan that I have but I would tell you the surprise to ruin it and the idea is to pretty much hit the Homerun as hard as I can and get it as far as It can get. Otherwise I wouldn’t try it, but since I’m very stubborn, I got to hit it from A to B, no stops, no barriers.I’m working on the album with a small crew of 3 people: (1) the Voice producer – 5 times Grammy winner, Kenny O’Brien, who has worked with certain known artists in the industry such as Celine Dion, Cristina Aguilera and others (2) Sound Engineer – Gerry Castro known as “El Gerry” (3) the third person is me. I’m like a octopus, doing everything from the beats, recording the instruments live needed for the songs, mixing, etc. Also along with Gerry I’m producing song with other types of artists including Hip Hop and Reggaeton. That’s like, my other side of the coin; not just as an artist myself but also a producer. On this matter we are both known as DJ N-YO & Gerry and also we have few shows coming up such as 21st of September in
What kind of music do you listen to and how does it influence your music?
Salsa like Oscar D’Leon from Venezuela and Celia Cruz from Cuba, They inspired me to learn how play the percussion, Reggae ( Bob Marley ), Rock & Roll Bands like Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, GNRoses, and a bit heavier such as Korn, Punk Bands like NOFX, Pennywise, MxPx. I after the punk scene I started to hear older music like The Beatles and at that point I was more inspired to play bass guitar and some piano. Added to the fact that I heard rock and latin music I also heard at the same time several artists from the Hip Hop industry such as Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Usher, Pitbull, and others.I have a lot of friends from various races which has brought me to hear all kinds of sounds, beats & melodies that to certain races it’s appealing and that also is appealing to all races which that’s what makes my reggaeton different since I’ve been incorporating those sounds to my current music (Reggaeton) that anybody can enjoy and dance to.
What’s your opinion on mainstream music today? What do you like or not like?
The mainstream music is something that I don’t critized much, in other words, when an artist wants to make himself known and achieve their goals, they hear all sorts of other artist that have been on the radio and they say “Oh that’s music is there because if commercial”. I don’t critized, I just think that, who ever is there on the radio and has gotten somewhere did their effort to get there and at some point It will be my turn. Just like that person is happy up there, I desire the same for me with out sense of jeolusy. We all got to eat and give people so they can eat too, right? I don’t realy opinion on the Mainstream subject much, I just take a neutral viewpoint.
