Noturnall - The cross grade - band members - part2/3

I always thought that Leo Mancini was a great guitar player. I always thought he was very versatile and precise. He's someone you'd be really proud to say you play with. To say you play with him, reflects positively on you. People think you play better just because you play with him. Leo is the one I know longer than anyone else. This is funny. I remember he already was the Leo Mancini back then. He is the kind of person whos enters a room... and everyone is embarassed... and somewhat tense like, "Damn! It's Leo Mancini". But then he says three words and you laugh... and realize he's the sweetest and funniest person in the world. You realize how good it is to work with someone like that... someone who doesn't have an inflated ego. It is simply everything for music. I have nothing to say about Leo. I have been playing with Leo Mancini for seven years... and he will always be a great guitar player for me. A great technique mixed with feeling in the right measure... a perfect vibrato... plus he is also a Kung Fu master but you can't imagine him fighting. That makes it even funnier. One of the coolest things about the band... is the harmony we have to do everything on behalf of music. It's always everything for music... and that's the perfect atmosphere for a band. And Fernando is a bass player... a real metal bass player. He sounds very heavy. It is the kind of bass you expect to hear in a metal band. Quesada was the link for me. We began working together and in little over a month... we began working together and developed a very strong friendship. It was really great. He is like a brother. We have empathy, the same musical tastes... the same jokes. It is really great. We have a good understanding. Besides being a great musician, a fantastic composer... besides being an excellent bass player... you have to see him playing the guitar. He plays very well! When we sit down to work, things just flow. Fernando Quesada will always be "Fumacinha" to me. His voice makes it seem that he's always holding in smoke. He is one of my best friends, if not the best. I share amazing moments with him, both happy and sad. I can't picture myself doing music without him. I relearned how to be a musician with him. It is funny to say that because... he started out as a student at my studio... and nowadays I learn a lot from him as a musician. It is a reciprocal relationship. He plays very well. He learned how to play the bass so he could join a band.... and nowadays he is one of the best bass players I have ever seen. He uses his fingers mercilessly and if need be he uses a pick. He can also play two hands, two hands with eight fingers.... he learns anything right then and there. It is really amazing. I sometimes call him Rain Man because he learns things so fast. He never gets the count wrong, he always plays according to the metronome. It is no work whatsoever. It is a pleasure working with him. On top of all this he plays and composes on the guitar like crazy. Wherever he is, he adds something. Fernando Quesada is a multi-instrumentalist and bass player of the band... but he is a bass player, a guitar player... so I can count with his help to compose the guitar parts. He helped a lot. Juninho Carelli. Well, Juninho is the newest band member. He was the last one to arrive and join the project. He didn't take long to get into the rhythm... and nowadays he often sets the rhythm. He is totally committed, fast and clever. Everything he does, he does very well. He is a video director, producer... a fantastic keyboard player, an editor. He reminds me a lot of Quesada as to doing things fast and well. He rapidly became one of my best friends. I talk a lot about this and it may sound like demagogy but it isn't. To play with someone you don't like or don't have any rapport with... will translate to the music. Juninho is one of the most talented guys I had the pleasure of meeting... during these last years. He really brought a lot to the band... so much so that almost no metal band has an official keyboard player. Juninho is great for the band.... and adds so much value that he's the official keyboard player... of our band. It was a pleasure meeting him... for he's very talented in terms of music and video. He is a keyboard player as well as a singer... and he is a young guy. He is always amazing us with his arrangements... and incredible timbres. In terms of technology he does everything. At the shows you'll see incredible IPad solos... many double guitars... amazing technique. There is also a modern touch to the sound... which I think is thanks to Junior. He adds a very modern touch because of the way he plays. The keyboard isn't overbearing but it comes in at the right time. There are no words to describe Aquiles. He has an amazing level of technique. The songs were difficult as to notes... but he pulled it of. Everytime I heard Aquiles playing... I asked myself how a bass player could accompany him. I'll witness this at the next gigs. Besides being very constructivist in what he does... Aquiles is also very focused. I expected more old school influences... but he came up with things that make you think... "Man, that's impossible". It is very aggressive, he really hits the drum kit... he punishes it... at the same time using a lot of technique... with incredible elements. It not like he's just hammering away. It sounds incredible, it is something great to hear. It is not overbearing. I´ve known Aquiles for a long time. We've already worked together on other projects. We were part of the same label in the beginning of our careers. I always admired and respected him a lot. Things happen in life and we never got really close. Nowadays I realize that it took too long to happen... because the energy he brought to the group is amazing. He is totally serious as to the way he talks. You're never sure if he's playing or being serious. He has a strange way of playing around. Everything is a party to him but we never know if it's serious or not. That is very cool. He was able to entwine the musical chaos... he was able to sew it together with his drums... and finalize the recording, putting a full stop to it. Thiago is an example of growth... not only in his personal life but also in terms of his musical career. With each new album he outdoes himself... reaching higher levels. This time his vocals are aggressive, powerful... that really will move everyone who hears him. Besides being very talented... and it is difficult not to use the term talented in connection to our team... because these people really dedicate themselves... they study and know what they are doing.... and do it with a lot of love. That is talent. It is not only having the facility... it is doing what you like with love... and that brings out the talent. Thiago is one of these people. Besides being an incredible professional... as to audio, he is a person who has many ideas... and adds very much in terms of video on which we work together... he is someone who is an example of growth. He had health issues that affected his throat... so if he doesn't love what he does... he simply gives up. He'd work in an office, but not Thiago. Thiago is in a constant struggle. Thiago is a great singer. He hits high notes that allow for many possibilities. High notes, a strong drive... heavy when he has to be, goes up when he has to. There are no limits for Thiago. I really liked Thiago's interpretation... and along with Russell he fit in extremely well. Both of them. I used to consider myself hyperactive until I met Thiago. Then I said, "I'm not hyperactive at all". Thiago is hyperactive. I follow his example.