< PreviousModern Drummer June 2022 48 Alejandro Sanz’s By Daniel “Ziggy” Laverde P laying with legends, virtuosos, and top touring musicians is unattainable for many, but for Helen De La Rosa, it is as natural as day and night. Helen has gone beyond playing it safe, her career is anchored in perseverance and bravery. Helen takes risks and doesn’t allow anything to bring her down. These are two of her most remarkable qualities. She became one of the best female drummers in the world by getting a strong education and throwing herself headfirst into drumming. Helen, a native of the Dominican Republic, discovered her love of music at a young age, and it has taken her around the globe. She is currently on tour with the legendary Alejandro Sanz, performing for up to 60,000 people per night. Her journey and story are very humbling. I had the opportunity to speak with Helen about the many facets and challenges of being a female drummer at such a high level. David HidalgoJune 2022 Modern Drummer 49Modern Drummer June 2022 50 MD : Growing up, did you find the drums, or did the drums find you? HDLR: Well, that’s a really funny story. At the beginning, I hated the drums, which still amazes me. When I was six years old, my dad showed me a video of the pianist and composer, Yanni. He had a big orchestra that consisted of strings, horns, a whole choir, and a rhythm section. Funny enough, when I saw the drummer in the video, my reaction was “ew.” However Karen Briggs, the violin player in that video, blew me away. I wanted to be her! I remember asking my dad how she was playing like that, I became hooked on music for life. I wanted to play the violin, but someone told my parents that I had good fingers and that I needed to take piano or guitar lessons, so I studied classical guitar. MD: You knew you wanted to pursue music at a young age? HDLR : Exactly. It was something that I felt. I wanted to play music. I started playing guitar at around seven, and when I was eight my brother started taking drum lessons at home. Seeing him taking David HidalgoJune 2022 Modern Drummer 51 lessons in our living room was my first real experience with the drums. I suddenly got this feeling that I can’t describe. I felt that I understood the drums at that very moment. My creative mind just exploded when I saw the drums being played in person. That’s when I really got hooked. When I was nine I started taking drum lessons with my brother. MD : Did you have a sense of how the drums functioned? HDLR: Yeah. I could tell it was very mathematical. When I sat down at the drums for the first time, my brother was there. I wondered if I could match what he had just done. And I did, I could play exactly what he had just played. It was as if I was learning through him. Of course, I had to learn, so I sat there through every one of his drum lessons. I would just stare in silence and play drums in my head. Then when I sat down, I could play what I had just heard in my head. That’s when I realized that I needed to study drums for real. Fast forward seven years, my brother and I were practicing both instruments (guitar and drums,) and he had the same experience as me but inverted. Seven years after that, I realized that I connected more with drums. I stopped studying the guitar and focused on the drums. Before that, I would practice the drums for two or three hours a day. When I stopped studying guitar, I started practicing the drums for eight to ten hours a day. MD : I read that you received the presidential scholarship from Berklee, how did that come together? HDLR: I studied at the National Conservatory of Music of Santo Domingo, and I had some teachers there that were Berklee alumni. They brought the Berklee experience with them to the conservatory. After listening to them speak of their experiences at Berklee, I decided that I was going to go to there too. However, I had no idea how I was going to do it because we had no money. At the time there was an economic crisis in the Dominican Republic and my family had lost everything. We had no money. I practiced the audition every day for hours. I did that for eight or nine months, it was insane. There were a lot of tough days and doubts. My mom used to ask me “Do you want to visit some different colleges since we’re making this trip?” They made a huge sacrifice, but I was determined to go to Berklee. I put all of my effort into the audition and how I was going to pay for the trip and pay for the transportation. My family decided to send my brother with me because he was also interested in attending Berklee. I got my acceptance letter about a month later, I also learned that I got a full-tuition scholarship and my brother got about $20,000 a year scholarship. However, even with that full- tuition scholarship, I didn’t know how we could afford it. Even if I worked at the college, I still needed a few thousand dollars a month for the living expenses. A month after I found out that I had gotten a full scholarship; I got an email saying that I had been nominated for the Presidential Scholarship. Three days later, I got another email congratulating me on receiving the Presidential scholarship. MD : Did you know that you were nominated for the scholarship beforehand? HDLR: At Berklee, the scholarship is based on your audition. You are automatically entered for all the scholarships. To qualify for the Presidential Scholarship, you need to first get a full tuition scholarship. Then they evaluate who received those and decide who is going to get the Presidential scholarship. They only give out about seven Presidential Scholarships a year, and five of them are reserved for US citizens, so it’s nearly impossible. I am so grateful, it was such a privilege, but I worked hard. The most valuable lessons are the ones when you’re just observing. The truth is there, you just have to look for it.Modern Drummer June 2022 52 MD : So, you get to Berklee, what was your experience there? HDLR: It kicked my ass. There was a lot of talent at Berklee, there were incredible people and musicians from all over the world in every class who were constantly kicking my butt. I’ll never forget something that the president of Berklee said on the first day. He told everyone, “This can be overwhelming for a lot of you but listen to me when I tell you this; the only thing you need to do is improve 1% every day.” So from that moment on, I was committed to growing. School is about having a mindset of learning. That requires you to be humble and not put anything in your mind that would impede the process of learning. To learn, you need to accept that you don’t know anything. I knew that I needed to learn as much as I could from the teachers at Berklee. The most valuable lessons are the ones when you’re just observing. The truth is there, you just have to look for it. MD : Who was an extremely influential teacher that affected your career? HDLR : Terri Lyne Carrington. One day, during class she said to me “Helen, do you know what you’re missing? You’re not committed to your playing.” That really confused me, I didn’t know what that even meant. She went on to say that I needed to constantly be present in whatever I was playing. At first, I understood it in my head, but I had to process how to apply it. A few days later I was in a recording session, and I had a drum solo at the end of the song. I remembered Terri Lyne’s words and thought, “What if I think about this and really commit to what I am playing? I asked if I could do another take. I didn’t say anything, I just thought about it, and I was blown away by the effect. When you start focusing on playing and expressing something, all these amazing things start happening. You can tell that it’s coming from another place, rather than “just” playing. After my solo, all my bandmates were asking what happened? Everyone felt it. That was the beginning of me starting to truly understand the power of committing to the music and learning how to be a vessel. That was one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned. MD : That gave you the mindset of intention that has shaped everything for you in your career. It’s like you’re in a zone, right? Like you float away? HDLR : Exactly! You get it. The more times you play with that mindset, the deeper you get into the music. I was in LA years later, and I was in a rehearsal. This was our twelfth rehearsal, we’re just playing the songs over and over to form the habit. At the end of this rehearsal, we were doing the artist’s biggest hit, and it had a little solo at the end. I remember when I was playing, there was a moment where I was in the zone you were describing. Suddenly, everything was flowing so fast that I felt as though I was outside my body. By the end of the solo, everybody was amazed. I felt like it wasn’t me playing. I felt like I tasted a little bit of what the masters like Brian Blade or Vinnie Colaiuta must feel. They are drummers who really say something when they play, and you can feel it. There’s communication happening. The fact that I didn’t say anything about it and everyone in the room felt “something,” is evidence that the zone is real. It’s physical, it’s vibrations, its frequency. I’m just humbled to have experienced it. MD: What did you do after you graduated from Berklee? HDLR : I didn’t know what to do. During my last semester I could barely scrape enough money together to survive. I thought maybe I’d go back home or maybe just work and stay in Boston. Then my best friend, who graduated a semester before me, told me to move to LA. She said that the industry was there and that I needed to be there. So I moved to LA without visiting or knowing anything. I had no idea what to expect. I started having coffee and hanging with a bunch of people I didn’t know, just to see if they had any advice. I had about six months of total uncertainty, during that time I cried a lot and was down. Eventually I started going to a lot of jam sessions, I was really trying my best to get somewhere. Eventually, thank God, I started getting calls. Those calls led to more calls, and eventually I was working with a few signed artists and doing way better gigs. MD: After you got the chance to play with some signed artists, did LA get better for you? HDLR : I did LA for about a year and a half, and it was going great. Meanwhile, I was applying for my O-1 Visa. I already had the F-1 with OPT, which meant that I could work in the US with the student visa for a year. Most people try to get their O-1 visa application going while they’re working. With the artist visa you can stay longer and work as a musician, but it’s crazy expensive. It was a long application process that took me seven or eight months to even finish. I finished it and I got denied. That was a very strong blow. After working in LA for all that time I had begun to get calls for major artists and world tours. I had gotten a call to do a South American tour with Lauren Jauregui who was a member of the group Fifth Harmony. I got called to play 12 nights at Blue Note in New York City with Michel Camilo. I even got a call to play with Mike Shinoda who was the rapper in Linkin Park, but I couldn’t accept them due to my visa circumstances. MD : That’s very unfortunate. What did you do to fix the visa situation? HDLR : After all the hard work and effort I put into creating a career in LA, I had to move back home to the Dominican Republic. I was in the DR for about eight months. I was trying to get work there and seeing what I could do. I got very depressed. MD: Did you play or practice at all when you had to move back home? HDLR : Not at all. I was devastated. That’s one of the lowest points that I’ve ever had. After a couple months, I decided to try and play again. Eventually, I found the strength to prepare and apply for my second visa application. That’s when I got the call for Alejandro Sanz. It was crazy. I’ll never forget that day. I was in my pajamas. The phone rang around 10:00 AM and I saw this weird number, I After my solo, all my bandmates were asking what happened? Everyone felt it. That was the beginning of me starting to truly understand the power of committing to the music and learning how to be a vessel. That was one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned. June 2022 Modern Drummer 53 picked it up and the rest is history. The Alejandro Sanz gig has been a dream come true. I’ve been listening to him since I was a kid. He’s one of the biggest Hispanic artists in music history. Life is crazy sometimes. I got the biggest and sweetest fruit when I was at my lowest point. It’s just interesting how life works. MD : That must have been a huge relief. How did you feel? HDLR : For me, the most important thing is to keep going when nothing is going in your direction. Sometimes things don’t work out. Everyone sees the success, but not too many people see the struggle before it. No matter how hard you try, sometimes life can bring you down. I was told that I had 33 days to leave the U.S. The logical thing would have been to quit. Everyone would understand, but at the same time, it’s my life and I wasn’t ready to quit my dreams. MD : Why did you get called you for the Alejandro Sanz gig? HDLR: When I was at Berklee, I had the mindset that I needed to play every gig like it’s the most important gig in my life. It didn’t matter if it was for 50 or 1,000 people. I remember I went into a recording session with a producer named Javier Limón. He’s a Grammy award winning producer from Spain. He’s very established in the Flamenco genre. He hired me to do a session with José Mercé who is a very famous flamenco artist. We sat down before the recording session and did a production session. I went home, I prepared the day of the session, the next day I was on time, and it went very well. We did seven songs in about an hour and a half, it was one of the fastest sessions that I’ve ever done in my life. He was amazing to work with. After the session we had dinner and talked. Then we didn’t talk or see each other for maybe four or five years. I found out that Javier Limón was the person who showed a video of me playing to Alejandro Sanz, and they talked about that session that we had done together years before. I guess what I’m trying to say is that even when you’re depressed or you’re at your lowest, you must respect the music and whoever is hiring you. When you do that in everything you do, it eventually comes back to you. MD : Was it a challenge to integrate into Alejandro Sanz’s band? HDLR: The moment I got the gig I needed to be aware and understand how things worked especially dynamically. I needed to pay attention. I went into the gig thinking that their approach would be the same as with the musical directors in LA. Musical directors in LA have the mindset that time is money. But with Alejandro Sanz, the rehearsals were approaching, and no one had sent me anything. I got a little worried. There are many Alejandro Sanz albums and so many amazing songs. When I got to rehearsal, and I saw the dynamics I was really confused. I didn’t know what to do because it was a completely different technique of musical directing than I was used too. Now I appreciate it, and David HidalgoModern Drummer June 2022 54 I actually prefer it, but in that moment, I could not understand it. Basically, the musical director would arrange the songs as we went. This approach really brings out the strengths in the musicians because the MD adapts the song to the certain skills and abilities of each musician. It does take a lot more time and is a lengthier process. We were rehearsing for two months everyday all day from 10 – 8pm. It was tough. MD: is it fair to say that this was a new approach that was difficult to grasp? HDLR : Yes, at first. I didn’t get why the musical director seemed to be wasting so much time. I would think, “Don’t you want to do it faster?” I wasn’t really trusting in his way of directing because I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand his personality either. We even had a couple of clashes. He would tell me to try certain ideas that I knew wouldn’t work, and he would get mad and ask me to please listen to him! Eventually we talked and worked it out, but it was tough at the beginning. MD : Tell me a bit more about the band, was it easy to get along with everyone? HDLR: This particular band has 12 musicians total, and it’s one of the coolest bands I’ve been in because of the mix of age and ethnic diversity. We have people in the band who are in their sixties, we have younger people like me, and everything in between. It’s interesting because half the band is Spanish, and half the band is David HidalgoJune 2022 Modern Drummer 55 from the US or some part of Latin America. And half of the band is female. There’s such a cool mix of personalities cultures and perspectives. I really enjoy this band. MD : Do you get that out-of-body experience when playing with Alejandro Sanz? HDLR : Yes! His music is amazing and so fun to play. The cool thing about working for him is that he’s a musician and an artist. He’s a great guitar player and composer, he understands the band’s perspective and how we approach the music. There is a great energy in his performances. When you are working with an artist that understands that mindset, there is a huge difference in the way the music and the show happens. When you have everybody on the same frequency, constantly supporting and showing each other love throughout the show, everybody can feel it. Then the crowd’s energy comes back to you. MD : Was there ever a moment with Alejandro Sanz where things didn’t go your way? HDLR : We had a show in Mexico and the boss (Alejandro Sanz) was really excited for some reason. Depending on the night and venue, we are often playing for 30, 40, 50, even 60,000 people, so I always need to play my heart out with no excuses! We have an intro before we start, and Alejandro got into our in-ears and said, “Let’s do it guys!” He was just giving us that extra push of motivation. At that moment, my left in-ear died. All I could think was, “What do I do now?” During the first two songs I was communicating with the techs while they tried to fix the problem. They told me that the problem was my in-ears and they gave me another pair between songs. But they were generic ones and the cable was way shorter than mine. During the next song, I moved while I was playing, and the cord unplugged from my system. Suddenly, I had no click, and I couldn’t hear a single thing. Of course, I needed to hear, so I played with one hand while I was trying to plug it back in with the other. Eventually I was able to fix the problem and I finished the song strong. It was crazy. MD: Did anyone notice besides the techs? HDLR: The Musical Director started to notice. He had the, “What’s going on?” look on his face. I was lucky because at that same moment Alejandro had taken his in ears out and was dancing with the crowd. MD : What drums are you currently using? HDLR : On tour, I’m using a DW kit, but I think I’m going to change. MD: Do you endorse DW? HDLR : I want to say no, but at the same time, it’s weird. A few years ago I was talking with Mapex drums, but because I had to deal with the visa thing and I had to leave the U.S. it kind of fell apart. But right now, I’m actually very curious about Hendrix Drums. I endorse and use Meinl Cymbals, and am also endorsed by Remo. MD: What was the experience of playing with Victor Wooten like? HDLR : We met at Berklee and did a few gigs. To my surprise he kept calling me for shows. He’s amazing. He could call any drummer in the world, but he kept calling me. He’s a legend. When we played together, he was unbelievable. This man is something The Alejandro Sanz gig has been a dream come true. I've been listening to him since I was a kid. He’s one of the biggest Hispanic artists in music history. Life is crazy sometimes. I got the biggest and sweetest fruit when I was at my lowest point. It's just interesting how life works.Modern Drummer June 2022 56 else there are very few musicians on that level. We played a big conference for jazz music and colleges. All the big brands, jazz groups, and musicians were there. We performed in the biggest hall in the whole building, and it was full of jazz musicians. That is the toughest audience that I’ve ever played for. It was three bass players: Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Steve Bailey, and me. They all took solos and played together. It was an amazing experience. MD: How do you prepare the day of a show? HDLR : My mind has to be focused on what I have to do during the show. Therefore, I barely agree to do anything else the whole day. For example, if I do something it’s usually really early in the morning. I like to read, stretch my whole body, and warm up. I like David HidalgoJune 2022 Modern Drummer 57 to do my own thing because I need to play big and be focused for playing a show for between 20,000 and 60,000 people. MD : Have you faced any obstacles while touring? HDLR : One day I got my period before a concert. I was feeling very unbalanced and angry for no reason. It’s tricky because it’s literally chemistry in your brain and you can’t control it. I felt emotions that were completely justified in my head but, I couldn’t explain them. I tried to play my best. After the show Alejandro approached me and asked if I was ok and what had happened. He could feel that my energy was a bit off. He could tell that I wasn’t a hundred percent there. He’s very sensitive to that. He really cares about the music and that’s why he pays us well. He wants us to be as giving and as into his music as he is. MD: Did you tell him what happened? HDLR : In that moment, I tried to talk it down, to be honest. I told him that I was ok and that it was just one of those days. I didn’t want it to become a thing. It’s something that a lot of women might go through especially at a performance level. I didn’t want my band and team to become predisposed by thinking that if I’m on my period, I can’t do my job. From that point on no matter if I got my period, I made sure my mind was focused and I was ready to create the energy that my boss expected of me. As the drummer, we are the rhythm, and we carry the rest of the band. After the vocals, the drums are the loudest instrument in the band. MD : Have you ever faced any prejudice in school or in your career? HDLR: I remember one time when I was playing an audition. They were looking to hire instructors based on how they ran a session. We had to pretend we were an ensemble class. The musicians that were auditioning were basically giving a class in front of the department heads. Everyone in the band was very skilled, including me. We were a hand selected quintet, and everyone was super calm and ready to play in whatever style. However, I was the only woman. A particular teacher comes in and walks around the room. Then he came to me and acted as if I didn’t know what I was doing. He asked me if I had ever played this style or this time signature? He even asked me if I was a drummer. This got me very upset because out of the whole band, he only asked me questions. Considering I was the only woman, it felt wrong. MD : Did you play in front of him? HDLR : Yes, and I killed it!!! Those kind of judgements and predispositions about women come from the lack of seeing and hearing women playing music at a high level, and the simple lack of realization of how many women play drums. There are still way more male drummers, it’s just a fact. The momentum and creativity that women are bringing to the drums and music in general is amazing. It needs to continue for generations to come. Maybe one day we will have an equal number of women and men in drumming. The momentum and creativity that women are bringing to the drums and music in general is amazing. It needs to continue for generations to come. Maybe one day we will have an equal number of women and men in drumming. 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