BATTERY SERIES : Maurício Velasco / Ignited

1.What is your name and what band do you play for?

My name is Maurício Velasco and I play in the Brazilian band called Ignited. We are from the state of Santa Catarina, located to the south of the country.

2.Who made you want to play drums and why?

My first influence and inspiration to play drums was very early, around 9 years old, I remember that my brother and I started listening to Guns n 'Roses, then Metallica, without understanding what it meant, we liked the music rhythm. Then my mom bought a cd player and drove us to the store to buy a gift cd for each one. I chose Guns n 'Roses, Use Your Illusion II and my brother Metallica, Black Album. Both were releases. The joy was so great to hear those sounds loud at home. But listening to the song called Locomotive, played by the incredible Matt Sorum, with that impactful start was what made me choose to want to play drums. Lars Ulrich, with his take on Enter Sandman also made me turn my head. But initially it was Matt Sorum. To this day I put Locomotive in the sound and see myself as that child!

3.When did you get your first kit? Tell us about it…

 

This story is kind of funny, because I always liked drums, was the first instrument that caught my attention since I understand myself. However, as a child we lived in an apartment, with no space to mount a drums, and an expensive instrument. So all my learning from the instrument was playing in school books, on the couch at home, at the dinner table, watching the videos that were playing on MTV, my brother and I were waiting for the MTV Furia that spent midnight on tv, to record on VHS and then watch for hours and hours. Time passed and after much insistence my parents put me in a acoustic guitar class to see if I would give up the drums. Did not work. Haha ha. Shortly thereafter I got a battery, some second-tier brand, but for me it was the best battery I could have. The kit was basic, bass drum, deaf, two tone, box, hi hat and a driving. But when things started to happen, I formed my first band in 2001 with two classmates, Rodrigo Dantas and Selvino Girardi, then Denis Lima joined us and I never stopped playing until then. It's worth noting that the first kit lasted until last year at my parents' house and I bought my first kit last year in 2018, but the kit I always wanted to have.

4.Where your parents supportive of you and your loud / expensive new habit?

My parents tried to make me play guitar before the drums, maybe because it's a more "social" and less noisy sound. Hahaha It didn't work out, they gave me the drums in my teens, in those days of rebellion, that what matters is that you make noise and play loud. But in a way they supported me as soon as I started my band and we started playing festivals in town, at school and even got some awards for best instrumentalist, best music and others. We rehearsed at home in a small, tight room, drums, bass, guitar and voice. But the available times were on Sundays, when my father went to church and my mother stayed with my grandmother, I always respected the time to play. I still remember the feeling of being able to gather people and play, what mattered was the fun and the pleasure of making music, well, to this day, I really like to practice and play drums.

5.What drum performance on an album is perfection to you?

 

It would be unfair for me to quote just one. Can I name 3?

First performance comes to me on Guns n 'Roses' album Use Your Illusion 2, in addition to Matt Sorum's performance that draws attention to this day is the very clear and clean recording quality of the drums. The songs Locomotive and You Could Be Mine are worth mentioning! This album to this day I hear and feel like a child. Every time I'm down, in a bad moment of life, I put him to listen and everything is adjusting, it's really magical!
Secondly, I put Lars Ulrich on Metallica's Black Album. Ulrich became a reference in the drum world after recording this album and touring the world with that classic white Tama kit. My brother and I used to collect magazines, posters, but the drum that caught the most attention was that Lars kit. He is not the most technical, but the sound that he was able to extract from that recording and the feeling with which he played is something to be remembered always.
The third but not least performance I consider is that of Scott Travis on Judas Priest's Painkiller album. The intro of this record is one of the most insane drums in music history of all time. Scott Travis is a reference to me for technique and feeling behind the kit. Of the 3 performances, which I quoted, is the most professional, technical and plastic, a work of art.

6.Tell us about your current kit and set up in DETAIL.
 

Model: Pearl Export EXX Jet Black Double Bass
Color: Jet Black
Toms: 8x7 ", 10x7" and 12x8 "
Floor toms: 14x14 "and 16x16"
Bass Drums: 2x 22x18 "
Snare: 14x5.5 "
Remo Drumheads: Encore Ambassador Toms, Powerstroke on Bass Drum and Coated on Snare
Power Click DB-5 Monitor
AKG Headphones
Cymbals
2x 14” Hi-hat
16” Crash
18” Crash
19” Crash
10” Splash
20” Ride
18” China
   

7.If you could have a dream kit tell us about it in DETAIL

Honestly, this kit I have from Pearl is my dream kit, it has the pieces I need to play in a pleasant and happy way. Note: I am not an endorser.

8.Name your top 5 drummers excluding Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy

Come on, I will not sort by order of importance, but by alphabetical order.
- Igor Cavalera
- Lars Ulrich
- Matt Sorum
- Nicko McBrain
- Scott Travis
Speaking of Mike Portnoy, I played with him here in Porto Alegre on 11/11/19, he is touring with the band Noturnall and we opened one of the nights. I put my drums next to Mike's drums on stage, exchanged a few words and took a picture. Mike, besides being a drum genius, was very kind.

9. Do you prefer Live or Studio?

   I prefer live because of the energy of being with the band and the public. I think the public recognition of applauding your music is what gives you motivation to do what you do, you know. I am definitely a live musician.

10.Do drummers really get all the chicks and if so how do we convince the guitarist?
  

Bro, each one has their own space and I'm not going into this fight, not at all. Hahahaha
Thank you very much for the interview and for the space to tell a little of my brief story, very cool to remember all this. I'll leave my social networks and my band, Ignited, for those who want to know more about my work. Thanks and see you!

https://www.instagram.com/csarvelasco/
https://www.instagram.com/ignited_official/
www.ignitedmetal.com

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