Mike Gonzalez — Congas

Mike Gon­za­lez — Con­gas & Percussion

What instru­ments do you play?
Drums, con­gas, bon­gos, tim­bales, shaker, chekere, guiro, mara­cas, cowbell(yes, you always need more), clave and have always been a singer.

Who are your musi­cal influ­ences?
Prince, James Brown, Gio­vanni Hidalgo, Cha­cao, Robi Rosa, Chan­gito, Bobby Sanabria, Tito Puente & the Afro-Cuban All-Stars.

What was your favorite gig?
We were open­ing up for latin rock’s Enani­tos Verdes at teh Pal­la­dium ni NYC. We took to the stage dressed up in the tack­i­est pur­ple and gray suits you could imag­ine we had bought in a base­ment thrift shop. Ever­body looked at us like we were crazy. We played to a packed house and had a blast. I think I wore that suit to my wed­ding

What is your favorite per­cus­sion instru­ment to play and why?
Con­gas. Aside from being lots of fun to play, it’s a big part of my puerto rican her­itage. It’s also a very raw instru­ment due to the fact that it’s hardly ever ampli­fied and you need to come across with a wide range of dynam­ics. you really need to cut through the band, whether play­ing in a rock set­ting or a latin ensemble.

Is there an instru­ment that you still want to learn?
Piano or blues gui­tar. I play a lit­tle gui­tar but need to take it to the next level.

What is the key, in your opin­ion to learn­ing a new instru­ment effec­tively?
You have to be patient, be a good lis­tener and above all, be ded­i­cated to your instrument.

~Mike Gon­za­lez