Pitbull On Tour In Land Of Angels

By Radim McCue Published October 26, 2009

Pitbull seems to be everywhere these days. Between his hit songs “Calle Ocho” and “Room Service” topping the charts, his live performances on almost every hit late night show, and with his appearances on the Alma and MTV Music Awards, Pitbull's star has never been brighter. Recently, he stopped by Club Nokia in the LA Live complex to treat Los Angeles to the full stage performance that we have been waiting for since his hit singles dropped back in May. Pitbull and the band constantly had the crowd singing along, clapping their hands, and dancing like crazy to the latin/rap hits that have been invading your radio for the last 6 months.

Being in such high demand every night means that you need to have the highest quality players to back you up and give you the perfected sound that your fans have grown to love. This certainly seems to be the case with Pitbull, especially when it comes to drummer, Omar Tavarez , and percussionist, Manuel “Papayo” Corao . Omar Tavarez and Papayo have been making a big name for themselves amongst drummers and musicians alike. Breaking into the scene with Pitbull several years back, they both continue to amaze night after night and have built the reputation of being 2 of Miami’s hottest drummers, as well as, one of Pearl’s best drummer/percussionist duos.

Although Omar Tavarez has been seen rocking Pearl’s Reference Series drums throughout the course of the last 6 months, Omar turned to the quality, tone, and dependability of Pearl’s Masters MCX series for the two-month long headlining run around the States. His setup includes the following.

Masters MCX in Diamond Glitter (409)

10x8 rack tom
12x8 rack tom
14x14 floor tom
16x16 floor tom
22x18 bass drum
14x5 Sensitone Steel snare drum

The shells of Omar’s kit consist of 6 plies of pure maple, which give the optimum amount of warmth and depth. The kit is finished in a striking Diamond Glitter which catches your eyes, and captures the stage lights beautifully.

Manuel “Papayo” Corao chose a similar color scheme for the congas and bongos on his percussion rig for this tour. Papayo is out slamming on the Bobby Allende congas and bongos that we have seen in the past. However, Papayo had these finished in Solar Sparkle, a sparkle lacquer that easily catches the hue from surrounding lights, making this an easy choice for a band with such an incredible light show. The rest of Papayo’s set up is as follows

Percussion Drums

Bobby Quinto (Solar Sparkle)
Bobby Conga (Solar Sparkle)
Bobby Tumba (Solar Sparkle)
Bobby Bongos (Solar Sparkle)
Marc Quinones Timbales
Q-Popper Timbale Snare
14" Djembe
18" Surdo

Bells and Blocks

Mounted Campana Bell
Tri-Bells
Medium Clave Block
Low Clave Block
Steel Tambourine
Hex Ganza
Windchimes
Wood Clave
HH-2 ClaBELL
HH-3 ChaBELL
HH-5 Timbale Bell

Both Papayo and Omar are currently on the road until October 25th, however, being one of the hottest acts of today won’t keep them off the road for long. For more information on Pitbull’s current tour, and for ticket information and dates please visit http://www.planetpit.com or http://www.myspace.com/pitbull .

Pitbull’s new album, “Rebelution" is available wherever music is sold. Also be sure to check out the photos below to see pictures of Omar and Papayo at sound check, and during their amazing performance at Club Nokia.