Celebrity percussionist and live remixer RaviDrums has played gigs in churches with prophets speaking in tongues, at white-magic ceremonies and at the Playboy Mansion. Now he comes to Vegas.
How did you get your first drum kit?
When I was in fourth grade, my dad finally got me a pair of sticks. My first memory is me throwing my body down at Kmart crying for a Blue Sparkle ... this silver little drum set. My dad was like, "Get a job and I'll match you dollar for dollar." I got a job throwing the paper for the Houston Chronicle. I was this skinny little runt; I probably weighed 43 pounds wet.
Who have been among your mentors?
Gumbi Ortiz. He was so tough. He stabbed the last drummer he had on stage with a drum stick! He just bruised the guy, it's not like it punctured his skin or anything, but then he kicked over his entire drum set.
Hugh Hefner tapped you to be the Playboy Mansion's resident drummer for four years in 1999. How did you meet?
Hef came to Garden of Eden [in LA]. All the girls he was with, all the Playmates, I knew ... they were all jumping up on my drums. And in the middle of the whole thing, I just stopped playing and Hef was looking right at me and I just bowed at him and I said "You're the man!" and he stopped everything and he bowed at me like, full namaste.