Editor's pick

ALTERNATIVE/METAL DRUMMER ANDRES VEGA

Many people consider drums to be the oldest of all musical instruments. Pounding on things may just be one of the things that seems to be instinctive to man’s innate character. But pounding on things and keeping time and a consistent beat is not in every person’s inner makeup. Some of us can drum a steady beat for a minute or even two, but then somewhere down the line we skip a beat and get out of time and then we know for sure – that we will never be a real drummer like Andres Vega.

Andres, the popular Alternative/Metal drummer from Mexico City has been pounding skins since he was ten years old. He’s worked with some of the best musicians in the business and has recorded live and studio albums. He’s also toured extensively and played at many music festivals and is now in Los Angeles as a member of two very prominent Southern California bands, Bonesteel and Haster.

Andres is one of those guys who has a natural rhythm in his soul. He doesn’t play drums – he breathes drums. He walks to the beat of his own drum and it is a fabulous beat. Andres studied with one of the best drummers Mexico has produced: Tino Contreras. He attended Tino’s Drum Academy and won the confidence of Tino and the other students immediately. Why? Simply because Andres was such a great drummer and he was only interested in learning more and getting better. His sincerity, combined with an enormous amount of skill, talent and concentration, moved him to the top of the class quickly.

Andres is often asked how he compares self-taught musicians to professionally trained ones. He says that each has pros and cons. He believes that the self-taught musicians have more feeling within the music instead of thinking about having the right technique. The professionally trained musicians, like Andres, know about music theory and techniques and they can pick and choose which technique to use and even break some of the rules.

When asked what advice he would give to aspiring musicians Andre’s answer is very short. He simply says that you should never quit your dreams, even if at the beginning it seems hard. Hard work and dedication to your goal will get you wherever you want to go.