Claudio da silva
Hello there! Music has been a significant part of my life for as long as I can remember. At the age of 5, my father taught me my first guitar chord, and that was the starting point of my musical journey. I was part of a garage band, and we played original songs for small groups of friends and small clubs. Our only goal was to have fun, and it was indeed fun. As I decided to take music more seriously, the opportunity to take a big step knocked at my door.
Music Education
At the age of 21, I moved to the USA to pursue a music career. I was thrilled to register myself at The Collective College of Music in NYC, where many of my idols had gone to study too some of them were even teachers there. During my school years, I built a network and started playing in small clubs around Manhattan. That was when the opportunity to create a Spanish pop band with three other friends showed up. We became successful in the New England area in the Hispanic Community, but eventually, the band broke up, and we went our separate ways; that’s when I moved to Atlanta and continued pursuing my love for music.
Music Career
In Atlanta, I started playing in the church circuit and made many great connections and wonderful friends. It was then when I received an invitation that showed me a new perspective in the world of music. I was then invited to sub as a bass player on a Corporate Band, and after a while, I became part of the band. Playing cover songs was never something I thought I’d do but when I had to learn over 50 songs in just two weeks, I realized how hard it was and at the same time how fun it became to me even more when I saw people dancing, singing along and having a blast on the dancing floor I am so grateful to have had the chance to play in this corporate band and to have had the chance to find myself as a musician with the purpose of bringing joy through music.
After this band I participated in a few other corporate bands, but nothing excited me until I saw a band online that was different from what I was used to. They were very energetic, playing non-stop for three hours, and it was a real show. It didn’t look like a wedding band at all, and I knew that was what I wanted. I immediately called Wagner Gracciano who I had played with in another Corporate Band, and showed him the band. He didn’t hesitate, and we started Mix Drive Machine in 2018. It took us eight months to create the set lists, arrangements, mashups, and medleys. After that, we held auditions for musicians and it seemed our three hour set was intimidating for many. However, we eventually found the band and singers who were brave enough to do it. We rehearsed for a year, and just as we were about to launch the band, COVID happened, and everything was shut down.
Current Status
When things started to get back to normal, we had to start auditions and rehearsals all over again. In 2022, we played for the first time, and it was a dream come true for all of us. It’s my band, and we had been working on it for so long that expectations were high. After 10-15 minutes during the set, I had the same feeling again, the entire dancing floor was taken, and every single person was dancing and having fun. It was an incredible experience, and I am excited to see what the future holds for Mix Drive Machine.