Today we’d like to introduce you to Fabrizio Cavallaro.
Fabrizio, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing drums when I was ten in Milan, Italy. Music never interested me, but my mom forced me to attend school with a music program since it had the best teachers in my area. During orientation day, right in front of me, someone played a groove on the drums, and that was it… One of the Strongest Feelings I have ever felt up to this day.
In just a split second every single part of myself went from ZERO interest in it to knowing that would have been my life calling… I became completely obsessed, won many different awards and played countless live shows while still being in Italy.
When I turned 18 I auditioned for Berklee College Of Music in Boston, I always dreamed about studying there. I was awarded with an exceptionally high scholarship based on the skills demonstrated at the audition which allowed me, together with my family being always amazing and supportive of my choice, to leave my country and go study in the USA…
While in Berklee I had the chance to collaborate with many world-renowned musicians and be the drummer for multiple projects and videos that reached several Millions of Views on YouTube and all the different social media platforms. That was such great exposure for me, I was surprised when I came to LA about how many fellow musicians already knew me.
After Graduating from Berklee, I moved to Los Angeles right away. Living here was always a part of my plan, but my first months were though. I didn’t know anybody, and I lived in a room as small a closet in Pasadena (I couldn’t extend my arms to my sides without touching the walls), but that was the cheapest spot I could find.
I would go to local shows and jam sessions almost every night to meet other musicians and find work. I was lucky enough that a few months after moving here I got my first bigger gig with the Pop Star Lilit Hovhannisyan.
The more I worked, the more work kept coming, it was amazing, I even moved to China to be the house drummer on one of their bigger music TV shows ‘Called ‘Golden Melody’ and play every week for several months in front of Millions of people watching TV.
After the first dream-like year and a half here my biggest setback happened in LA during the following year, but I’ll talk more about it in the “obstacles section.”
Three years and a half have gone by now since I moved to LA and I am currently working Full-Time with many different artists and bands, teaching both online and in person Lessons and also traveling to Europe to teach drum Masterclasses multiple times a year which is one of my favorite things to do.
I am also working on my first original album which was a necessary step since only playing drums for other artists can get frustrating at times. As a session drummer, your role is to exclusively make the artist’s musical vision come alive, even if sometimes you don’t agree with it.
In this original music project, I am able to express my artistic vision fully… It’s a half electronic, half acoustic duo with a film composer friend of mine. Our music is scored to specific landscapes in nature, and the live shows are going to be a multi-dimensional experience of both sound and vision.
I’ve learned a lot working here… College doesn’t teach you much, compared to life… I’ve improved the most trying to create structure in a profession where there is no clear path like music… When school is over, and you are starting out as a musician, you wake up every morning, and there is no office to send resumes to, no internship, no boss that tells you what time to get to the studio.
It’s all on you, constantly creating all the content for promotion on social medias, networking, finding auditions, practicing to keep your skills and improve. Organizational skills and discipline are extremely helpful here if not a must!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I was extremely lucky for the amazing career opportunities I got only a few months after moving to LA. I didn’t realize that fully until I started losing some of the gigs. I wanted my voice to be heard in a context where no one cared about and RIGHTFULLY so… business is business if you want to get creative and take decisions to go do your own original projects.
There is a place to be a rockstar but definitely not when you are hired as a session musician… when you are a hired you read the charts or learn the music, you play it well, you treat others respectfully, take the money and go home, period. So after one year and a half in LA working a lot and playing in front of thousands of people I suddenly found myself almost back to square 1.
That was a huge life lesson, I really struggled during the following year. I had all the time to think about the mistakes I had made with my behavior which in turn made me incredibly grateful for all the opportunities I was given since then. When you are truly grateful and genuine, being extremely professional and reliable is just a natural output of how you really feel inside.
Another struggle I have encountered as I said before has been creating a structure in a very disorienting career path such as this one. Having all this freedom is potentially the quickest path to slavery of your own mind… How do you solve that? Action! That is what solves almost any problem you will encounter as a freelancer…
When the phone is not ringing, and work is not coming your way that is actually the best time to push harder on creating content to market yourself online and building true GENUINE connections. Also creating different sources of income is extremely important… you can’t rely on work for hire only, that’s why I am also working on my brand, and I truly love every single small step about building it.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a freelance drummer, playing live and in the studio in a pretty wide variety of music styles and artists.
I also teach both in person and online lessons, and I travel teaching masterclasses.
Email or on Instagram for any info.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
You have very few chances of getting lucky without repeatedly pushing out of your comfort zone. The only times I actually got lucky have been when I really did the things that weren’t easy.
Getting out of the house after a full day of work, giving your 100 % anytime you see even the smallest opportunity to improve your life, and many more continuous “uncomfortable” actions are what brings luck your way.
Once luck comes your way you need to prepared. No matter how many powerful connections you have or how many auditions you may sign up for. If you are not skilled enough, you will not be able to use the opportunities you created for yourself.
As someone once told me when I first moved here “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fabriziocavallaro.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabriziocavallaro11/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabrizio.cavallaro.9
Image Credit:
Alessandro Serra Ig: @framed_by_axia
David Chua Boon Ghee
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