Vivi Rama
	Vivi Rama is a very talented bass player from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her musical career has not only taken her around the world on various tours but she has also spent time living and working in Paris, Madrid, and NYC. She is currently based in Los Angeles and Vivi and I were originally introduced a few years ago through a great independent LA artist that we had both worked with. It’s been exciting to see where her career has taken her since then.

David Avenius – You’ve had a busy year!  Who have you been touring with recently?

Vivi Rama - Will.i.am and Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) here in the US and Europe. I also performed with Will on Letterman, Kimmel, Ellen, American Music Award’s, Dick Clarks New Year’s Special and the MTV European Music Awards.

DA - When not on tour who have you been working with in the studio?

VR - I did some sessions with Will on Nicole Sherzinger’s single “Baby Love” at the Record Plant in Hollywood. After we played with Nicole at the MTV European Music Awards, Jimmy Lovine really liked what I played for the live version so he wanted Will to go to the studio and recut the track with the new bass line. I was really excited and it was a big compliment.
I do some session work on projects with producer/engineer Marc DeSisto (who has worked in the past with Don Henley, Stevie Nicks and Michelle Branch), and producer Ron Harris (Christina Aguilera).
I also have a Pro Tools rig at home and do a lot of sessions for independent producers and artists.

DA - Eric Smith was MDing for Will.i.am while touring with Rihanna.  He picked you from the very talented group auditioning for the Will.i.am  gig.  Eric also paid you some nice compliments in his Artist Spotlight a couple of months ago.  What can you tell us about the audition?

VR - Regarding the audition for Will, they had not found a bass player yet so they ran across my name and number and one of the girls in the band also referred me.
Subsequently, Eric called me to come in and meet him for the first rehearsal at Center Staging in Burbank, CA. I played a couple of songs for him and he hired me that day. Eric is a badass bass player and I was really excited to work with him.

DA - How has working with Will.i.am been?

VR - Although I play all kinds of styles, R&B and hip-hop is my forte. When I heard Will’s record I loved the songs and the production and I was exited to play with him. The record is called “Songs about girls” and I though it was cool that he wanted to put an all girl band together. The other girls in the band are awesome players! Will is a workaholic and very professional and specific about what he wants.  Will requested that I play keyboard bass on some songs and that was a new thing that I really enjoyed.
He is also very generous and really respects us as players. Rehearsals were 8hs a day and Eric Smith was on top of everything as the MD. It really is an honor working with both Will and Eric.

DA – You have been using the DB 750 and a couple of GS 410’s for a few years now.  How has your Aguilar gear been treating you?

VR - I am in love with my amp. Aguilar gear is built with amazing craftsmanship and it is very reliable. The sound people that I work with really like the tone and clean sound. I use as part of my set up a full pedalboard with mostly EBS pedals on it and it works flawlessly with my Aguilar amp.

DA - What kind of bass are you mainly playing through the rig and how would you describe the Aguilar sound?

VR - I am also endorsed by Music Man basses and recently I got this new bass- a custom made 20th anniversary special with an ebony fret board and a one-piece body fitted with DR Black Beauty strings.
The combination of the Music Man and the Aguilar DB 750 is incredible.
I love the fat, warm tone. It’s really punchy and cuts through excellent. I’ve also been running my Juno keyboard bass through the Aguilar, splitting the signal with a Bassbone DI made by Radial Engineering.

DA - What's in your near future?  Where should we expect to see you next?

VR - We are on a band break right now while Will is filming X-Men. I am doing a lot of sessions and looking forward to more touring in the near future.

DA – We’ll look forward to hearing more from you in the near future.  Thanks Vivi!
To keep tabs on what Vivi is up to check www.myspace.com/vivirama