to music school . There I learned music theory and realized that it was applicable to any instrument . I decided to apply my knowledge in chords and progressions on the keys , and that was it . I never took piano lessons , but what I learned was enough to compose , record and even follow a singer . A great thing about keys is all of the plugins and VSTs available . The possibilities are endless .
As for the drums , I ’ m just another Brazilian who grew up surrounded by rhythms and syncopated beats . I played drums on my mother ’ s pans and buckets and filled in for church services when there was no drummer around .
[ WM ] Before you knew the Lord there was one time I ’ m told when you were so depressed and down while using drugs that you literally climbed over the edge of a bridge and were about ready to jump . Tell us what happened next ?
[ Renato ] I ’ m a guy of few words , I ’ ve always been very shy , but I found in the guitar a way to get out everything that was stuck inside of me . Maybe that explains the way I play , and the choices of chords and scales . However , there was a period when I found drugs as another way of expressing myself , I found it easy to socialize with them , but at some point I realized that I was depending on drugs to relate to people , and it was also a time when music was no longer satisfying me emotionally and financially . Things were really bad , to the point that I didn ’ t see hope in anything anymore .
That ’ s when I regrettably decided to take my life . I went to a very high bridge and I was determined to jump . Right before I was going to leap off the bridge my phone rang ! I decided to answer and it was my mother . She was praying and God told her to call me . She talked me off the ledge and convinced me to come home .
From that moment on , a process of change began in my life . A few years later Christafari came to São Paulo , Brazil . At that concert God spoke to me through Mark . That ’ s how my
Christafari story began .
[ WM ] Tell us more about that . The Lord really must have really impacted you at that concert if you are now playing in and producing the band !
[ Renato ] It was crazy . I thought it was just going to be another reggae concert . I showed up stoned like usual . But God sobered me up real quick , and the message and prayer guided me to the right path . After going to that concert I started listening to Christafari , unconsciously learning all the songs . This seems crazy , but I feel that God immediately started preparing me to be in the position I am in today as producer and music director of the band . I heard so much of those albums and memorized all the guitar parts and bass lines , so years later when I was invited to play with Christafari , I was fully prepared . I already knew how to play all the songs without any practice and was able to seamlessly join the band without being able to speak a word of English - something I eventually learned to do years later !