Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Gamboa.
Daniel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey as a musician is a unique one. I started playing drums when I was nine months old in San Jose Costa Rica which is where I am originally from. It started on pots and pans. After wearing holes in the best sounding ones my parents decided to take a chance and buy me a full size kit. They sat me on it and played the radio and the rest is history.
I have never known a time without music in my home or as a part of my life. My parents are both musicians and were a Christian Duo singing original compositions. My Dad has always told me that what he did was for God and that he loved it. He traveled to over 60 countries around the world as a missionary and used music to bridge the gap. As a result, I have also traveled to various countries on mission trips and I can honestly say that the experience helped to shape me both as a person and as a musician.
Then my father decided to turn his passion for music into a career and built his professional recording studio: FICMI Productions Recording Studio. He passionately pursued that career for well over a decade and was very successful. As a result of this, I was in and out of recording studios from a young age and had the privilege of spending time alongside some of the best musicians that Houston had to offer across various styles of music.
This made me want to become not just a better drummer but also a better musician and as such, I was led to cross paths with Steve Allison, the main drummer for Lakewood church for the better part of the 90’s and early 2000’s. I truly had to thank him as he decided to invest his time and effort into my drumming education after watching me play when I was six years old. I took various lessons with Mr. Allison throughout the years and we have been close since my childhood. As such I consider him to be one of the most influential people in my life alongside two other drummers/teachers.
When I reached Middle School, I saw the high school drumline perform and knew that I wanted to be a part of that program. This introduced me to the Band program at Moorehead Jr. Highschool in CISD. After making the Jr. High School Roster for the drumline, I met Mr. Jeremy Rehbein the Head Band Director of Caney Creek Highschool. He mentored me and filled in the gaps in my knowledge. I was always impressed with him as a person and as a band director. But what truly made me respect him was his love and passion for teaching and it made me want to become a teacher. He helped me to grow as a musician and I am eternally grateful for his friendship and guidance during my formative years. He inspired me to compete at UIL competition and helped me to achieve many 1st place and gold level performances which allowed me to compete for a chance at various awards and scholarships. He also saw promise in me as a drummer and introduced me to the world of Jazz Drumming. After three years of involvement in our High School Jazz Band I was hooked. After graduation, I decided that I would go to Stephen F. Austin State University and I was accepted into the Music Education program and played as a part of the Swinging Axes Jazz Band for four years.
During these periods of my life, I met and played music with many great and wonderful people and kept gaining experience along the way. I am grateful for the opportunity’s life afforded me as they have made me who I am today. I have had the pleasure of playing many top class musicians and bands including: The Anthony Caceres Trio, The Legacy Band, The Gary-Michael Dahl Band, Treynwreck and Sol Flair. I have also had the privilege of working alongside many great churches and music education programs such as: CRF Libres En Cristo, The Art of Music Studio, The Guitar Center Lesson Program, New Covenant Christian Church, April Sound Church and Grace International for their EYC Youth Camps. I have also worked with various Christian producers and artists such as my father Jorge Gamboa, Perucho Rivera, Carey Wise and Ken Parks.
In the most recent years, I have gained an endorsement with Diril Cymbals from Istanbul Turkey and am working on a lot of awesome up and coming projects including Daniel Does Drums and Drum Dojo HTX alongside my longtime friend and fellow drummer Alex Ruata.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life can be messy and detours can and will happen but that is a part of life and helps to make it beautiful. The journey has definitely had its ups and downs and has been filled with many triumphs and disappointments but through it all God has been good and I have been able to keep pursuing what I love alongside those I love and respect including my parents, wife and son. There were many long and bitter practice sessions made up of hours upon hours of metronome work, rudiments, chart studies, limb independence studies and exercises along with many other disciplines but that is what it takes to achieve your goals and dreams in any environment. As it stands music is no different but the joy I feel when I get to do what I love and the connections I make when I create music alongside other passionate people has been well worth the ride. Now, I hope to keep doing so for as long as I am able and to have the privilege to pass on what I know to other aspiring drummers and musicians.
Please tell us about your music.
I am an independent musician specializing in drums and percussion. I can provide high quality video and audio recordings and can provide professional level studio recorded drums. I have 14 years of studio experience and 20 years of drums and percussion training and can read and write chord charts and percussion charts. I can travel to any studio or record from my personal studio should distance be an issue. I am also available for hire for live events. I have extensive experience in live performances and can play large scale concerts either as a fill in or full-time drummer. My rates for providing these services vary between performing and recording but my pricing is negotiable. I take pride in my work and if anyone trusts me with their project or wishes to collaborate with me, know that I always strive to provide excellence in my playing and musicianship. If interested in my services please reach out via Email, Social Media or via Phone.
How do you, personally, define success? What’s your criteria, the markers you’re looking out for, etc?
To me, success is a relative term. Everyone views and measures it in different ways. As for me, work ethic and honesty have been the most important factors to my success. It is my experience that among musicians and creative artists there is an unspoken code that follows us and allows us to work with each other. As such have done my utmost to be a man of my word and to deliver on my promises not just in my professional career but also in as many aspects of my life as possible.
However, I also believe that persistence is also important in this industry. You will hear “no” more times than you would ever want to, but those that are successful learn to look past it and keep going forward.
Regardless of my successes and failures, I have decided to be consistent and persistent in my pursuit of my musical goals and endeavors. This encompasses practice and dedication to the craft as well.
The road isn’t easy but I truly believe that those that are successful in this industry are those who don’t give up and keep striving to be better while staying true to themselves, their beliefs and their craft as musicians. In that regard I believe myself to be successful but I know there is more success to be found and greater heights to be reached on the road ahead.
Pricing:
- Recording Pricing for Drum Tracks: $125 per song
- Recording Pricing for Percussion Tracks: $125 per song
- Live Performance Rates: Start at $125 for 4 hrs.
- Private Lesson Rate: $30 per half hour
Contact Info:
- Phone: 936-537-2384
- Email: danieldoesdrums@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danieldoesdrums
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danieldoesdrums
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrumDojoHTX
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/DrumDojoHTX
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
