Backstage Pass with... Toca Rivera
Everybody loves Toca!
By: Jennifer Fong
With
his long black braids, easy smile, and trademark sunglasses, Toca Rivera
is hard to miss. Rivera has been on the road with singer-songwriter
Jason Mraz since 1999
and his exceptional vocal ability combined with a unique flair for the
djembe drums has gotten him noticed by fans and critics alike.
Rivera, who has been interested in music since he was a kid growing up in California, got his professional start touring local San Diego hotspots with his brother, guitarist Carlos. One club they frequented often was Java Joe’s – also a favourite venue of then-up-and-comer Jason Mraz. That’s where Mraz and Rivera first met, and both were impressed by the other’s talents. Soon, a partnership was born and the duo have been working together ever since. Rivera has seen Mraz’s rise to stardom while also accumulating quite a fan base himself, thanks to his fun, down-to-earth attitude and love for fan interaction.
So when Rivera agreed to take some time out of his busy recording schedule for a phone interview with Tuned In, we decided to find out what makes him tick.
Tuned In: First off, Is “Toca” the name you were born with?
Toca Rivera: No. The name was given to me by my brother.
TI: What does it mean?
TR: It means to play or to touch in Spanish.
TI: Appropriate. You play a pretty unique instrument, the djembe drums. What do you think playing the djembes brings to the music and why did you choose to specialize in it?
TR: I don’t even think it was my choice in the very beginning. My brother just knew that I could sing, and he wanted a backup vocalist and some rhythm behind him. He knew of a friend here in San Diego named Jeff Berkley, who was playing djembes with a lot of singer-songwriter, guitar-and-vocal guys. I didn’t know anything about the djembes, I just saw Jeff Berkley play it. And [my brother] said, “I think you can do this.” So I just played with it, and played with it… What has come about as a result of being thrown into the fire, basically, is this style that I play djembes in. It’s not traditional; it’s my own style of playing the drum. But I try to get every nuance and every sound and every pitch that I can possibly get out of the drum and just try to make it sound like a drum kit.
TI: And you didn’t really have any actual schooling in music right? You were self-taught?
TR: Self-taught or taught through my parents. When I was a little kid I used to watch all the commercials and I’d sing them. Somehow, at the age of five or six, I learned how to harmonize. I have an ear for sound. Just in watching commercials, I noticed that not everyone was singing at the same note. I learned how to do that, and then I taught my brothers and sisters how to harmonize. I got them all together and we’d do old stuff, the Beatles, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young – any group that have had a lot of different harmonies mixed in. I learned that at an amazingly young age. And it’s always stuck with me.
TI: So you’ve been working with Jason now for five years and during that time, there have been changes to some of the band members in the Mraz crew. But you’re that stable rock that hasn’t changed. What is it about Jason that keeps you here?
TR: To this day, when I get up on stage, I smile. I actually get “happy,” is what I call it. He’s got a great voice, and I don’t just pick anybody to play and sing with. I try to make sure that I really like them and I liked his vocals right away. I was already trying to figure out different backup vocals that you could sing with Jason when I first met him.
TI: How has your life changed since you started working with Jason?
TR: I think it’s changed very little. You can get pretty caught up in all the kudos that everybody wants to throw at you. I think I feel pretty much like Jason. We’d made it when we had more than 40 people in the audience. But when people see you on stage, they want to put you in a different level, even if you’re not at any different level. I think it’s because we put on a show. We try to make contact with the audience, and that’s probably the reason why people walk up to you after the show and go “Oh my God, you’re Toca Rivera!” and I say, “Yeah, that’s who I am!“ I walk up to them and say, “I’m your biggest fan!” because I don’t want to get swept up in the Hollywood crap. I still believe that I’m just backup vocals. I have a talent just like thousands of other musically-inclined people.
I just try to be grounded. I live in a mobile home. I’ve lived in a mobile home for 23 years. Unless I’m making money hand over fist, I don’t expect to move out of here. The only difference is that when I walk outside and go somewhere, people recognize me a whole lot more than they used to.
TI: What’s the most unusual experience you’ve had with a fan?
TR: I guess the really strange thing about interacting with fans is that you never know when somebody will recognize you, and it just makes the world that much smaller. We flew to New Zealand (and I’ve never been to New Zealand in my life) to do a few shows. When I’m on the plane waiting to get from New Zealand to Australia, this guy gets on and goes, “Hey, aren’t you Toca Rivera?” Here I am, halfway around the world, and some guy in New Zealand recognizes me. So again, the world just seems smaller because of those kinds of experiences.
TI: When you think back on your career so far with Jason, what’s one event that sticks out most in your mind?
TR: I think the most critical show that we’ve done so far was last year, when we did a show in Melbourne, Australia. Three of the greatest musicians that I know of and listen to, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and Ani DiFranco, were all on the same stage. I was honoured, humbled, and amazed to be afforded the opportunity not only just to meet Ray Charles, but to play with Ray Charles and Bob Dylan. That was a pretty wonderful experience for me.
TI: What do you see in your future, in terms of your partnership with Jason?
TR: I already heard a lot of good new songs, so I look forward to working with Jason on the new material. I just want the music to be long lasting. For videos and DVDs and stuff to be “the No. 1 DVD bought and sold” – that would be cool, ’cause then your name and your face is forever imprinted in the minds of people. Jason will look a lot older than me before I look old, even though I’m older than Jason by a few years. I mean, he still looks like he’s 12 years old right now but there’s gonna come a time when he’s going to run into that wall. I’ve already run into that wall, hit that wall, bounced off that wall… [laughs] And I’m still prettier!
TI: Is there any other artist out there that you would want to collaborate with musically?
TR: Yeah, I just met up with Martin Sexton. My brother had met him years ago and he gave me the opportunity to meet Martin the other night. I left my card, and I said, “Hey, if you ever need a backup vocalist, a little percussion…”At first, my brother introduced me as “Toca, my brother,” and it had no effect on Martin.[laughs] And then I mentioned that I played with Jason Mraz, and he goes, “Oh my God!” and he stuck his hand out again, like he was re-meeting me or something. I thought that was a huge compliment on his part. I guess you could say I was star struck by meeting Martin Sexton and he was star struck meeting me, which was pretty cool.
TI: And do you write music yourself?
TR: I think my forte is just listening to a song and arranging it: vocal arrangements, rhythm – like producing a song. I like to think up what sounds you can throw in, what instruments you can use, what voices to have in the song… But yes, I have written songs, I have written music. But I’ve never played that music to anyone.
TI: Is there anything else you want to accomplish in life? Anything wild you want to try?
TR: When I was a little kid, I had decided that there were five things that I wanted to accomplish in life. One, at that time, was to be a carpenter. The second thing was to be a police officer. The third thing was to have my own business. Fourth thing was to do music, and to have music incorporated in my life and ultimately, to be a “rock star,” I guess. And you know, I can say I have had my own business, I have been a police officer, I worked as a carpenter, and I’m doing music for a living now. The fifth thing – I’ve accomplished that too. My fifth goal in life was to love and be loved by one person. I’m looking at that one person right now. She’s sitting right here next to me. And out of all my hopes, my dreams, that had to be the most settling, the happiest, the most rewarding, the most satisfying…it’s indescribable, really. Cause it’s difficult to find someone to love and it’s difficult to find somebody to love you. But she’s a special one.
TI: So what are you up to right now and when will we see you out on tour again?
TR: At this very moment, I’m going to be delivering a bunch of congas over to the recording studio to finish recording vocals and percussion. I’m in the process right now of starting my webpage – it’s called TocaRivera.com and it’s going to be really tough; it’s gonna be a bitchin’ site. It looks really cool and I can’t wait for the website to open up. Between interviews and recording and this website, that’s about all I can do, other than practice.
As far as going on tour, nothing is really going to happen ‘til after the beginning of the year. This album will have to be mastered and we’ll have to be comfortable with it to tour with it. So finding that really cool niche about how we want to play this new music, how we want to introduce it, and tour it…that won’t really happen until after the album is done.
TI: We can’t wait.
Now I’d’d like to invite you to a little game I’d like to call, “Complete the Sentence”…
Toca Rivera Completes the Sentence:
The movie that changed my life is… The Shawshank Redemption
One book I can’t put down is… The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz
If I had 24 hours to live, I would… Make love to my girlfriend. I would thank everyone that fills my heart with happiness, and even sadness. I would thank them for their part in my life.
And my last meal would consist of… Pork chop, rice, and beans.
If I had my own island in the Caribbean, I would… Live a very isolated life. I’m very much a homebody, so you’d have to come to my island to party.
The CD I currently have on repeat is… Martin Sexton, Black Sheep
One thing people don’t know about me is…that my toenails are really thick.
If I could go on a dream date with anyone in the world it would be… I met Jennifer Aniston, and I think she’d be very cool to go on a dream date with.
Photo: Jeff Nicholas