Before Carlos Gonsalves had set any goals
in life, he knew deep down in his heart that the drums would be his best
friend. Mapusa’s Carlos Gonsalves was studying commerce at St Xavier’s College,
Mapusa when he fell in love with music. His first band, Deep Red, was formed
when he was in class XII. “The band was formed among five friends, Julio
Rodrigues, Avito Carvalho, Trevor De Gama, Clyde and I. Our biggest boost to
the band was to perform for the St Xavier’s College socials. After college, the
band split as members went on for further studies. We are still in touch and
most of them still play. Julio and I are the only two professional musicians
who stuck to performing,” says Carlos about the short-lived five-member band.
Carlos went on to Mumbai to study music
with musical greats like Shivamani and Peter Cardozo. On returning to Goa, he
regularly jammed with musicians Lester Godinho and Colin D’Cruz. Gradually,
Carlos drummed his way into becoming one of the premier percussionists in Goa.
Humble and soft-spoken Carlos is always seen with at least one percussion
instrument; even if he is without one, you will still find him constantly
tapping his fingers. “I wanted to give more importance to music and I got a
chance to learn more after moving out of Goa. After returning to Goa, I did a
few gigs and eventually, there were major shows that wanted me to perform,”
says Carlos, who has been professionally performing for the past 15 years. With
bands, Carlos performs rock, jazz and blues as a drummer, but his solo act
‘Talking Drums’ is an exceptional performance.
After jamming with some of the best
musicians in Goa and India, Carlos recently was part of the East meets West
project under Banglanatak dot com and performed for Sufi Sutra in Kolkata,
Bangladesh and Goa. His versatility shone as he was asked to join the musicians
from not just East meets West but also the Egyptian and Spanish musicians; and
he did not disappoint. Before leaving for this season’s IPL Matches, Carlos
performed at the World Konkani Day show in Margao.
Currently touring with the Royal
Challengers Bangalore, Carlos has been performing for the Indian Premiere
League for the past five years. During every match, the TV audience can see
Carlos smiling away as he creates magic on his drums. “It feels great to play
as a Goan and Dr Vijay Mallya chose me to perform for the audience as part of the
Royal Challengers Bangalore team. It is a proud moment for me and Goa,” says
Carlos.
