Playing drums from a very early age,
Walter Rodriguez, born in San Juan. P.R., played his first TV show at
the age of seven. His father, the #1 studio call on the island for
over 20 years, was his first teacher and still his greatest
inspiration. While playing side by side with his dad, he was
surrounded by today's musical greats Alex Acuna and Giovanni Hidalgo;
simultaneously enhancing his musical knowledge by studying piano and
working as a sound engineer.
At the age of 22, Walter moved to Los
Angeles to study at Musicians Institute of Technology, specifically
the PIT (Percussion Institute of Technology) division. While getting
involved in the local music scene, Walter and Alex Acuna connected,
this time Alex taking Walter under his wing and becoming his spiritual
and musical mentor.
Where others would concentrate on fewer
options/activities as time passes-by, Walter is heading to broader,
more musically challenging directions. He is not only dealing with
harmonic and other relevant music-theory elements, but also opening an
even bigger sonic "palette" by studying -yet- other
World-Music percussion traditions, including the Australian didgeridoo
[the oldest woodwind instrument ever].
Walter's excellent musicianship is only
a part of his appeal as player and performer. His innate charisma,
adding warmth and flare to any stage, and his smile frequently pointed
out, as "lighting up the whole world", are only surpassed by
his sense of meaning and purpose. He defines the essence of his
musical endeavor as twofold: To shine for God Almighty in Jesus Name,
and to affect people in a positive way in a world desperately needing
so.
