Jorge Saúl Arriaga Cabrera

Keep up with Jorge here:

www.facebook.com/JorgeArriagaDrummer

Born in San Luis Potosí, México in 1993, Jorge Saúl Arriaga Cabrera started to play the drums by himself at the age of 12. He began his professional music education in 2011 as a classical percussionist in the Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila and he concludes his professional studies in the year 2018.

During his studies, Jorge Learned to play different percussion instruments like Marimba, xylophone, timpani, glockenspiel, and secondary percussion instruments. He has been a member of different Orchestras in Coahuila, Mexico.

Jorge has toured all over Mexico with his band Into The Sea, playing in almost every state of the country. He enjoys playing all different types of music, like Rock, Metal, jazz, pop, Latin and classical music. He gives private drum/music theory lessons as well.

In 2018 Jorge won two drum contests, the first one in Mexico city (Drumometer competition) and the second one a Benighted drum cover video contest presented by Sick Drummer Magazine.

Jorge Saúl Arriaga Cabrera Interview:

SDM: How old were you when you started playing?

Jorge: I started playing at the age of 12. My parents always had music at home and my sister used to listen to metal music on TV, so I fell in love with music in general, especially with the drums and cymbals sounds.

SDM: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?

Jorge: Yes! I think most of us started a school band trying to cover our favorite bands.  Later on, I joined a big band orchestra and also learned drum corps on music school with my teacher.  

SDM: Who are your top 5 metal influences?

Jorge: Damn! only 5? hahaha. Well let me think… (not in any particular order)

• Dream Theater – Mike Portnoy
• Animals as Leaders – Matt Garstka
• The Faceless – Lyle Cooper
• Obscura – Hannes Grossmann
• Death – Gene Hoglan, Sean Reinert

SDM: Who are some other of your favorites?

Jorge: I also love to see these guys playing: Alex Rudinger, Marco Minnemann, Sebastian Lanser, Chris Turner, John Longstreth.

And many many more! 

SDM: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation

Jorge: This is gotta be hard to say, I am always rotating my music playlist.

• The Faceless – Planetary Duality
• Animals as Leaders – (Every cd)
• Beyond creation – The Aura
• Necrophagist – both albums
• Panzerballett – Thank Goodness

SDM: What do you do to warm up before a show?

Jorge: I just simply start playing some rudiments on a practice pad for hands. For the feet, I normally do some singles, doubles and some stretching exercises.

SDM: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have affected your playing?

Jorge: Yes! It affected in all the ways! I mean, thanks to that now I can understand music theory. The ability to read musical scores has opened more doors for me, so I can play more precisely and I can talk more easily with other musicians in order to compose music and drum parts.

SDM: Can you tell us about the gear you use?

Jorge: I have many drum sets, but this is the one that I use to play metal and fast stuff.

Tama Silverstar Birch:

Double bass drum (22×20) x2

Toms: 10, 12, 14 and 16

Snare: Tama S.L.P G maple snare 13´

All Sabian Cymbals:

14” Sabian AAX X-plosion hats

13” Sabian HHX Groove Hats

21” Sabian AAX Raw Bell Ride

18” Sabian AA Raw Bell Crash

18” Sabian AAX Vault Crash

17” Sabian AA Holy China 

18” Sabian HH China

08”  Sabian AAX Splash

10” Sabian AAX splash

Hardware:

Axis George Kollias signature pedals x2

Roland tm2 Module

Tama, Yamaha, and Pearl cymbal stands

Gibraltar Rack 

Vic Firth 2B sticks (wood tip)

SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…

Jorge: Listen to as much music as you can, learn from EVERYBODY. Try to practice SMART instead of practicing the same thing over and over again.

Go to local shows and support the bands whenever you can. Learning how to read music will open a new world for you, so invest some time learning.

Go and pay some drum/music lessons, remember that the best investment you can do is in your knowledge.

SDM: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?

Jorge: Chris Coleman, that dude is a beast! I went to a Meinl drum festival and saw him there… I was amazed by him!

SDM: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?

Jorge: I like to go to the gym because it keeps me active and healthy so I recommend it for everyone.

Playing video games was something I enjoyed a lot, nowadays its almost impossible for me to continue playing.

I also started to enjoy taking photos with my camera as a hobby.

Jorge’s Links:

Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/batako0o

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jsacdrummer

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/JorgeArriagaDrummer

My Band Facebook: www.facebook.com/IntoTheSeaMx

My Band Instagram: www.instagram.com/intotheseaofficial/