A native from Niterói, a city known for its musicians in the state of Rio, Rebel moved to Boston to study at the renowned Berklee College of Music in 1996. He moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating from college, in 2000. “Besides the appealing U.S music market, I always had an interest in expanding my knowledge by learning about other countries’ cultures. America, and more specifically L.A, being the melting pot that it seems like a good place to experience and learn cultures from all over the world” added Sandro.
He did not want to be limited to cities where there’s a certain dominance of music styles and specific ethnicities as the other 3 big music centers in the U.S: New York, Nashville, and Miami. Sandro considers L.A, despite its many issues, seemed to the best combination of diversity both musically and as a society.
He worked in the music business in Brazil for 8 years before he moved to the U.S. Sandro started learning acoustic guitar when he was 10 but slowly transitioned to the piano, starting piano lessons when he was 13. The work of Brazilian pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano as a sideman was definitely one of my strongest inspirations during those years.
During those 8 years, he had the privilege of visiting 60% of our beautiful Brazil as a touring musician. Sandro did
extensive work with Brazilian artists like José Augusto, Zelia Duncan, Sandra de Sá, Armandinho, Roberto Frejat, Diogo Nogueira, Chico Batera, Marisa Gata Mansa, Tânia Alves, Orlando Morais and Mutante’s Sérgio Dias among others.
“Los Angeles was the second city in the U.S where I had to start a new life so I had the usual struggles that come with it. I only knew a couple of people here. They were both Brazilians and very accomplished musicians so they introduced me to some other Brazilian musicians in town. Ultimately the word got around and I got some work. By the end of my 1st year I had already worked for 24 different singers and/or companies, 60% of them were Brazilians – that percentage dropped to 24% in my last 5 years, though” added Rebel.
He has performed at some iconic venues in the U.S as the Hollywood Bowl, the Memorial Coliseum, and the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby) in L.A. Outside L.A he has performed at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Among the venues outside the U.S he has played at U.K’s 02 Arena and the “Kölnarena” in Cologne, Germany.
We asked him for a piece of great advice for a new musician coming to California: “Uhm, what’s that Brazilian saying again? Great advice should be sold, not given lol… Anyway, be on time, organized, reliable and do your best in learning English! You live in the United States, after all. For many reasons, there are not as many places in Los Angeles to perform as it used to be. If playing is your main thing, consider other potential skills you might have (teaching, producing, composing) and be open-minded about the diverse opportunities that come your way. To follow him on instagram: @brazilianmusician
Facebook Comments