Conversations With The Professionals Meet One Of The World’s Best Kept SecretsProfessional Drummer Memo Reza

by John in Houston

Lead blues rock guitarist Martin Craig from Turin Italy was in Houston as a special guest of recording artist Evelyn Rubio performing two gigs with her and the band. It was at the Big Easy that I saw Memo Reza on stage. I had seen him perform previously but not like this night, it was this night that caught my eye. I had seen Memo perform with his band, Dream Band, previously but this night it was Memo sitting in with Evelyn Rubio’s Band. Both of Memo’s events were tribute shows, one to Juan Gabriel and the other to Selena. In both of those events Memo was noticeably good but his job was to remain subdued and not overpower the ambiance that was building in the room and the man did his job well. However at The Big Easy Evelyn had Memo let the genie out of the bottle and the man did his solo and did it ever catch the attention of the crowd. I was sitting next to the owner of the club and when Memo lit the fuse on those fireworks with his impeccable timing and theatrical stage presence the owner was deeply impressed. The crowd was digging it big time too. The second time I experienced Memo was at a blues club known as Green Oaks Tavern. Once again the man did his thing and he knocked the socks of this crowd as well. This reaction is not unusual as Memo Reza is a well known rock drummer in Mexico. He was with Sistema on the Sony Music label for seven years beforeemigrating to the United States. He relocated to Houston and became a naturalized citizen. Today in Texas he’s regarded as a top session drummer, he teaches percussion at the Teora Music School in The Woodlands Texas and has his own band, The Dream Band. Memo has toured with the USO in Japan, Kuwait, Iraq, and more. Most recently he’s been on tour with Shaila Durcal, Carlos Cuevas and the Woody Witt Jazz Trio. An incredible portfolio and yet many of us may have never heard of him. He’s performed in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans plus others in the U.S. My take on this guy is that if you like John Bonham’s performances, that kind of cool presence and energy, then Memo Reza is your cup of tea. Memo has been teaching drums for 29 years and when asked who has influenced him the most from his youth up he couldn’t limit the list to just three musicians. He cited Ringo Starr of the Beatles, Neail Peart of Rush, Will Kennedy of the continued on next page