I started playing classical music when I was 9yo. I started playing jazz and Brazilian music seriously when I was 23.
What gear do you use?
I use a French violin from late 1800s and a Guasti Brazilian bow for my classical gigs and for jazz, blues, Brazilian, and other acoustic styles. For louder gigs, I use a 5-stringed NS design electric fiddle. I use a Baggs pre-amp/D.I, a POD x3live, a J. Hendrix crybaby wah, a jamman looper, and a Roland JC-120 amp. I also have a Ribbon mic, an Avantone CR-14, which I use to record remotely, and I might start using live too.
Who was your biggest musical influence growing up?
Mozart, Ysaÿe, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Led Zeppelin, Shostakovich, Jean-Luc Ponty, Charlie Parker, among others. Lately I've been listening a lot to Egberto Gismonti, Hamilton de Holanda, Adam Rogers, and others.
Are you in a band? Have you been in bands?
I'am not in a band at the moment, but I'm looking for one. I played a lot of shows, from country to avant-guarde jazz, both lead and section. Shared stage with TSO, Foo Fighters, John-Paul Jones, Patty Labelle, and many others. Studio musician in Brazil and US.
If you could jam with anyone, who would it be?
Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Zappa.
What's the biggest audience you ever performed to? What's the smallest?
Live at the Grammy's 2008 with the Foo Fighters + John-Paul Jones.
You're stuck on a desert island and only get to bring one album with you. What do you pick?
Visions of Emerald Beyond, by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.