Will.i.am: Vivi Rama On Gigging Globally
THE TITLE "WORLD-TOURING MUSICIAN" is the ultimate goal for many, but Vivi Rama traveled plenty on her way up, moving from her native Buenos Aires, where she toured and recorded as a member of Carmelas, to the music scenes of Madrid, Paris, and New York. Eventually she ended up in Los Angeles, where she landed the touring gig with multimedia superstar Will.i.am, who put together an all-female band to support his 2007 release, Songs About Girls. Vivi's thick sound and R&B stylings earned her the nickname "Jelly" from bandmates and fans, who've caught on to a groove that apparently has little trouble translating from country to country, or from live concert stages to TV appearances.
How have you been able to break into different music scenes in so many different countries?
I grew up and went to music school in Argentina, but my parents are from Spain, so when they moved back, I followed them and did some touring with Spanish rock and pop artists. I always wanted to have international experiences, so when a friend called me from Paris offering an Irish-Celtic music gig, I didn’t think twice. After that I went to New York, where I had some family, and I played some wedding-band gigs, joined an all-female salsa band, and started playing with a local acidjazz band. After 9/11 I decided to move to Los Angeles, where I did some tango, rock, pop, and singer/songwriter gigs, and I started getting referrals for session work and other gigs. That’s how I ended up auditioning with Will.i.am. Being able to adjust to different kinds of music helped me a lot, both for playing and getting gigs.
When you work with Will in the studio, how much freedom do you have?
At first I thought it would be mostly be a live gig, but when we sat in with Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger on her single “Baby Love” at the MTV European Awards, I got a call the next day from Will’s manager that [Interscope president] Jimmy Iovine loved the line I came up with for Nicole’s live performance. We rerecorded it as soon as possible, with Will producing, and that’s when he first got to use me in the studio. Will usually starts building up a groove from nothing, and then he sings me an idea and I start playing around with it. Then he starts recording and I add some fills here and there. He likes first takes better; he says it’s “fresh” that way. Will is one of my favorite producers; I love the stories within the songs and the melodies, but what I like the most is the grooves he comes up with. He is very precise about what he wants, but he leaves room for the groove to breathe. I think he likes having a human feel to the track.
Will.i.am. does a lot of high-profile TV and event appearances. Do you approach concerts and TV differently?
In a live concert you have time to build it up, and you also feed off the energy from the crowd. TV shows are very different. There is a lot of waiting just to play for three minutes, but when you go out there you have to rock it!
CAN BE HEARD ON
Beauty Supply, First Application [beautysupplymusic.com, 2007]; Nicole Scherzinger, “Baby Love” [single, 2007]; Will.i.am, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa [Geffen, expected November release]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple [Atlantic, 2008]
GEAR
Basses Custom Ernie Ball/Music Man 20th Anniversary StingRay 5 and ’94 Ernie Ball/Music Man StingRay 4-string, both strung with DR Black Beauty strings; Roland Juno-2 (synth bass)
Rig FMR Audio RNC 1773 Really Nice Compressor, Radial Bassbone DI, Aguilar DB750 with Aguilar GS 212 2x12 and GS 112 1x12, or GS 212 and GS 410 4x10 for bigger rooms
Effects EBS WahOne, EBS MultiDrive, EBS OctaBass, EBS UniChorus, EBS DynaVerb, EBS BassIQ, Moog Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter “I’ve played Ernie Ball/Music Man basses for 14 years; I love way they sit in the mix with a punchy sound that doesn’t lose the low end. I use the Bassbone to run both my bass and the Juno-2 to my Aguilar rig and match the volume so I don’t drive the sound guy crazy. Having the keyboard bass in my amp is a big help. I also use the Bassbone’s effect loop to run my pedals so they don’t interfere with my sound when I’m not using them.”
