Biography … Leonardo Gonzalez

In the beginning …

“Does this include beating on boxes, pots and pans, or an actual drum kit?” This is how Leonardo Gonzalez answered the question, ‘When did you start playing music?’ And as funny as he admits it is, it is no joke. By the time Gonzalez was six years old, Nicko McBrain and Neil Peart were inspiring him to keep rhythm on anything he could reach with his mom’s wooden spoons. “I got an actual drum kit when my mother kept finding dents in her pots and pans…” When other kids his age were listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks, Gonzalez discovered Iron Maiden, Rush and King Crimson, playing 6 hours a day in the family garage, and making his family wonder why their little boy was not like other kids. He was seven years old.

Playing in his first band at 16, Gonzalez quickly developed a reputation as a solid drummer, and was soon found on many musicians’ call lists. But high school bands weren’t enough for Gonzalez, “…I couldn’t wait to graduate so that I could go to Grant MacEwan College and learn music. All I knew about the college is that it had a great music program and that I was going to be in it.” Fresh out of a jazz & fusion-focused college program, his number ended up in the hands of touring country artists, the Outriders, and he found himself immersed in yet another genre of music he would not have expected. “…I felt I was able to play a gig with anyone at any given moment. I felt confident in my abilities and had a desire to go out and play more.” The experiment worked. When Gonzalez returned to his rock roots, “…It took me a while to get it back but when I did, I was better than ever.”

Fast forward to the present …

Gonzalez, now a graduate of the Grant MacEwan College music program, is a working musician on several fronts. He is always playing in several musical projects, and currently has three that keep him busy. Gonzalez is the newest member of working band, the Mishaps, fronted by veterans Dave Melin of Tailspin and 5Shy fame, and Auzzie Leah Beier of internationally acclaimed vocal group Tempa and Australia’s own Pure Logic.

On the side, Gonzalez is collaborating with singer/songwriter James Seabrook, of Despite the Blindness on a project he describes as allowing him to “..explore all the musical ideas that go around in my head.” Perhaps the project that has garnered the most recent success for Gonzalez, however, is Cockatoo. The western Canadian gothic-influenced three-piece group has opened for the Romantics and the Ravonettes, and were slated to open the recently cancelled New Model Army Canadian tour. With a new album ready to be released in the spring, Cockatoo will be touring in the summer of 2009 and headlining the Sasquatch Festival in central Alberta in July.

From recording studio …

Recording studios have been a familiar second home for Gonzalez over the years. From his first recording experience with his high school band, to recording with latin group American Rosa, who credit Gonzalez with inspiring their early 90’s transition from sequenced horns to a live horn section, to his recent studio time with Cockatoo, Gonzalez has developed a reputation for being accurate, adaptable, and appropriate. He has worked in studio with Latin, Jazz, Country, and Rock musicians, and finds the right influence to infuse into each recording. “…it’s not about the part or the instrument, in the end its about the song…”

… to author/drum instructor

Gonzalez’s love of music and percussion extend him far beyond performance, however. He is currently compiling exercises and practice routines to arrange into a series of books for beginners and advanced drummers alike. His range of exercises varies from warm-ups, speed and endurance exercises, to four way coordination exercises and beyond. His excitement about the work he does is evident; “I also transcribe different songs just to keep my chops up, not to mention my ear.”

There really is something unique about Gonzalez. It could be the trench coats he fancies or his Chilean roots. Perhaps it is his easy smile or his soft spoken nature. Most importantly, it is his desire to do what is right for the music. For all his accolades, he is careful to remove ego from every project; he knows the dangers, he knows what’s at stake. Gonzalez sums it up best when he says, “…I know what I’m meant to do. I’ve always known.”