We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fernando Jaramillo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fernando below.
Hi Fernando, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Since I was a very young kid, I remember resonating with music.
I was born in Santiago, Chile . When growing up I had the coolest nanny, she would listen to cumbias (a genre of music from South America, very upbeat and happy), she loved to work with music in the background, while I would be playing with pots and pans and some wooden spoons on the floor. This is what I remember as my first approach to music and drumming.
Later, when I was about 6 or 7 years old, I wanted to be a guitar player, I would listen to a lot of music, bands from Chile, like Los Jaivas (Band that mixed rock and Latin American folklore), to pop coming from Spain and Italy for the most part, all the way to Michael Jackson, I would really envisioned myself on stage playing to large crowds.
One day I was sick, and my parents brought me a toy drum kit, at the time I didn’t engage much with it, because I wanted to be a guitar player. Until one day, my older sister’s boyfriend brought home a vinyl from a band called Rush, those things where not easy to find in Chile at the time, talking about late 70s early 80s, we had Pinochet in power, not much art was aloud. So being able to listen to that at the time was a big deal. It was a live album called All The World’s Stage, and it had a drum solo from Neil Peart. When I heard that, I didn’t want to be a guitar player, now I wanted to be drummer!!
Things kept happening that would bring me closer to music and drums, my neighbor and best friend had an older brother that started playing the drums, and we both would seat and watch him play for hours!
Then my family moved to Los Angeles CA, I was already with the idea that I wanted to be a drummer. I would make drum kits at home out of cans and whatever I could find. So my aunt, who is a psychologist and a painter talked to a jazz drummer friend of her’s and he gave me a drum kit, I clearly remember the moment when we went to pick up the kit, I was so excited! And that was the beginning of my drumming journey.
I started taking lessons, and it felt really natural to me, at 9 years old I was already playing Jump from Van Halen. I would spend countless hours playing to songs and practicing. I would go to music stores and they would let me play the biggest drum kits they had, I would even get an audience!
After a few years we moved back to Chile, still in the Pinochet era, but slowly concerts started to be allowed, and the first one that I attended in my early teens was Jean-Luc Ponty, with phenomenal drummer Rayford Griffin, I don’t think I can describe what I felt, but I knew in that moment that I wanted to make people feel what I felt that night.
In my late teens I started playing in bands in Chile and understood how powerful music was, not only for me, but also for the people that would come to the shows. I remember touring Mexico with Exsimio (Progressive rock band from Chile), and after a show in Chihuahua I was walking backstage and a kid stood in front of me, he was speechless, so I greeted him and he said “you are my inspiration”… now I was speechless! I probably made him feel like I felt with Rayford Griffin, this was and still is the biggest and most important compliment I have received, all this comes with a great responsibility, so I take it very seriously, I always go on stage and give all I have, it doesn’t matter who I’m playing with, how big the venue is or how many people are in the audience. I have played to 100,000 ppl and also to only 17 very enthusiastic germans (memorable show that one!)
I feel that I’m a channel for music, feels like a higher power, like music happens through me. For that reason I also feel I have to be on top of my game, so whatever comes to me, I can execute it.
In 2007 I moved to Los Angeles to take my career further, I have found a level of success, I’ve toured and recorded with well established artists, I have a Grammy and all that good stuff, but it’s a constant grind, and I keep doing it because I feel it is my purpose, music and drumming presented itself to me in various stages of my life, I feel that music found me, and not the other way around.
Years ago a friend recommended me a book called The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success, by Deepak Chopra. The seventh law, is the law of Dharma, or purpose. Not going to get to much into the book, but here it says “Everyone has a purpose in life…A unique talent to give to others, and when we blend this talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy an exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate of all goals”
I really resonate with this, I have a talent that I share with others, and I’m definitely in ecstasy when I’m playing!
In the same book it says that you loose track of time while doing what you are better at. This happens to me a lot.
The gift that I have received from music is inspiration, and I hope I’m giving that to others as well.
I recently became a father, one of the most beautiful things that has ever happen to me, and perspective of life definitely changes, but I think my purpose stays, and now I can pass it along to my son and share it with him.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m Fernando Jaramillo, I’m a drummer and also a sound engineer. Born and raised in Santiago Chile and now living in beautiful Santa Paula CA.
I started playing drums professionally in Chile when I was 16 years old, played in various bands, 2 of them where signed to record labels. I have always loved the band situation, where we all have a saying, we feed of each other, we interact, there’s creative freedom, and also we become like family, spending lots of time together… so you better like the people you are working with!
Back in Chile I was never a hired gun, always devoted 100% to the band that I was playing with, especially my last band Exsimio, a progressive rock band, mostly instrumental, with 2 guitars, bass and drums. Great to share the stage with friends, and people who you admire and respect.
In 2007 I decided to move to the US to pursue a music career and explore new horizons. I lived in the US when I was a kid so I always wanted to come back as an adult and live the american dream!
I started trying out with local bands, but I quickly realized that the bands that I was playing with were not gonna pay the bills, so started doing the hired gun thing, playing Persian music (that I had never heard before), pop gigs, rock gigs…even R&B, which is really not my thing, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I take every gig and every show like it’s my own gig, and I learned that people hire you because of you, so trying to play like somebody else doesn’t really work.
I had recently started playing with Beto Cuevas and I was told by the bass player to listen to the two previous drummers and try to play like them because that’s what Beto was used to, so I did, until one day, at soundcheck in Bolivia, on a very sunny morning after a very long night, I was really not in the mood to pretend, so I played the soundcheck like me, thinking, if they like it, good, if not, then it’s not for me…After soundcheck I get called by Beto, he pulls me aside and said, whatever you did today is what I want! So be yourself, everybody else is taken!
Since I moved to the US I’ve played and recorded with Nick Carter, Beto Cuevas, All4one, and with Persian artists Kamran & Hooman, Leila Forouhar, Sami Beigi, among many others. Also bands Ready Never and Trope to name a few.
Nowadays I have my studio at home where I mostly do remote recordings, and since I’m a sound engineer as well, I combined those two worlds, it’s the way to do it these days, more and more people are doing the home recording thing.
I have to admit I miss the band situation, I’ve been giving it a try, but it just hasn’t been with the right people. There’s some bad apples out there!
About my immediate future I’ll be on the road with Kamran & Hooman, and I’ll also be doing some solo projects from the comfort of my studio.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
You have to be professional, in whatever you do, show up on time and prepared. Have a positive attitude, you should love what you do, and be proud of it.
When you add all these things, plus being great at what you do, the phone is going to keep ringing. My line of work works like that, people recommend you.
I take my craft very seriously, I try to improve every day. But sometimes that’s not enough, your network of people is very important. I’m playing with people, so the more people I know and work with, the more work I’ll get… So, combine these two things, work on your craft and network.
It’s important to find your own voice, it’s natural to copy your heroes at the beginning, music is a language and that’s how we learn. So my advice is to listen to, or be inspired by many different people, sometimes you can be inspired by something or someone that is not even in your field. The more sources you get information from, the more you’ll find a unique sound, and voice. Your personality should show in what you do, just be real, and you’ll see how unique you are!
One day I was trying many snares at a studio, and the producer said, they all sound like you! That’s a great compliment, because it’s my sound, the way I hit the drums is what matters and not so much what I play. So my sound is something that people call me for.
Basically, be yourself, find your voice, be professional and you’ll be just fine.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Great question! Yes, yes and yes! Collaborations and partners is what I constantly look for, and it doesn’t have to be a musician, it can be a painter, an artist, director, etc.
I can play many styles of music, but I’m a rocker at heart, and somehow it shows, even when I’m playing Persian music, I turn it into a rock show, but also, because I was born in Chile, I have a slightly different feel than just a rock drummer.
On top of that, I studied Brazilian music, Cuban music, Peruvian Cajon, jazz, Progressive rock that implies all those odd time signatures (I think it’s my forte), and I even studied Tabla and southern Indian music.
Having my studio at home makes collaborations even easier, my drums are ready to record every single day.
So if anyone wants to collaborate, just contact me on my website www.jaradrums.com, or my Instagram @jaradrums
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jaradrums.com
- Instagram: @jaradrums
- Facebook: @jaradrums
- Linkedin: Fernando Jaramillo
- Twitter: @jaradrums
- Youtube: @jaradrums
