As he liked to play guitar in the comfort of our parents home with the window open, and I had been playing the drums since the age of 7, we started jamming out Green Day songs together. He became a loyal Green Day fan after that. They had been around since the 90’s, so there was plenty of their music music to easily fill a day. We watched the video and listened to the song together, and after that he started looking up more of their music. So I ran upstairs and urged him to come down quickly. I was sold instantly, and I knew that my older brother would really like it as well. One day when I was watching, the band Green Day came on with their then brand new single Boulevard of Broken Dreams. "As a teenager I watched a lot of MTV (this was back when MTV was actually still showing music videos) to discover new artists. It’s also made me appreciate singer/songwriter music, blues music, jazz music and country music (yes, The Boss uses influences from many different genres) a lot more. ![]() And reading through/listening to Bruce’s lyrics, especially the ones from The River album, has made me a life long fan. By working with so many different instruments and professional musicians I’ve been able to improve my musical knowledge a lot. Now I don’t know if you’re familiar with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and the E-street band, but they fill the stage with quite a large and variated backline. I worked 6 years as 1 of their 3 main crew members and have seen nearly every small pub, large venue, community centre and festival there is to find in the Netherlands. I moved on to work for the Bruce Springsteen tribute band the Bruceband. "After several years of collaboration my father and Vengeance decided to go their separate ways, and so did I. Apart from that I’ve seen every professional stage in the Netherlands with the band." However, I did join them on the road to countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Italy. As I was still in school back then, I wasn’t able to support them with all of the shows. With this album being released, the band went on a European Tour. I had been working with the band for a few years when they released the album Soul Collector in 2009. So when my father started managing the band Vengeance, it didn’t take long for me to be added to their main roadcrew as a drum technician. As I grew older I learned how to become a great backliner. I had been joining my father on the road since the age of 11 and started out carrying a few guitars from a van to a stage. One of the bands that he managed for several years was the Dutch Hardrock band Vengeance. "My father ran his own Bookings and Management bureau for (inter)national bands, cover bands and tribute bands. One day I played through the entire album 3 times in a row, only to get send home by one of the teachers because it was late and they were closing the school." There I would spend all my breaks and time between classes to listen to Nirvana’s Nevermind album and play along to it on the drums that were in the classroom. ![]() As I started avoiding people in school, I befriended my music teacher who would give me the key to the music classroom. We all know that dressing differently makes you a target in the jungle we call high school. Thing is, I’ve always dressed myself to how I feel. "As I grew into a teenager and started going to high school, it didn’t take long for me to find myself as the victim of bullying. After finding out, I showed my parents and without hesitation my father rushed to the car to drive back to the shop to buy another copy for them." One that my parents, as die-hard Bon Jovi fans, didn’t own yet. It wasn’t until we got home that I realised they had actually bought a special double disc edition. My parents already owned a copy, but I really wanted to own a copy for myself, so they bought it for me. ![]() ![]() There was a CD Shop named Free Record Shop, and they were selling the solo album Destination Anywhere by Bon Jovi. The first time I bought an album was when I was shopping with my parents in Naaldwijk (NL). So it seems that I was always meant to play drums. That’s why they named me after the drummer (Tico Torres). "Let me start from the beginning my parents have always been die-hard Bon Jovi fans.
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